Music-Themed Shows

Teacher fatigue is a real epidemic, espeically during reporting season. It can be a last resort plan as you race to finish assessing or out sick and needing a sub plan. Maybe you just want to have a movie party with your students! There are so many different things out there, with many different ratings. Sometimes there are even a few surprises thrown into pirated recordings as well, which can be scary! Here is a GROWING list of music-themed shows that you can feel good about showing your elementary students and below that is a summary of each and how you can use them to teach!

GROWING List of Music-Themed Shows

Click the episode name to read the descriptions! Find the links below.

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Summaries of Music-Themed Shows

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Animusic Playlist

Animusics are a series of music videos that have been computered animated. These instruments are inventions and each come with their own song. Popular videos are “Pipedream”, “Future Retro”, and “Pogosticks”.

Bugs Bunny: The Pianist

Bugs Bunny is performing a song on the piano when a mouse climbs out of the the piano. In the meantime, Bugs makes a composer joke about Franz Lizst and incorporates humor. WARNING: there is a photo of a scantily-clad woman hidden in his sheet music. He also motions to the mouse that he will kill him and proceeds to set up a mouse trap.

Bugs Bunny: Rhapsody Rabbit

Once again, Bugs is performing on stage. WARNING: The clip opens with Bugs playing and then says “Look ma, no hands!” As the camera pans down, his hands are in the air and for a brief second, it is unknown how Bugs is playing. Then it is revealed he is using his toes.

Bugs Bunny and the Fan Rabbit

Bugs Bunny returns to conduct the London Philharmonic. This clip is taken from a longer scene as Bugs is getting revenge on the opera singer by making the building crash on top of him.

Musical World of Mr. Zoink

A series produced by Sesame Street using the iconic singing voice of Tom Hanks. The show focuses on musical elements in the context of jazz genres. Each character represents a different element which is narrated through Mr. Zoink’s singing.

Tom & Jerry: Can’t Stop Conducting

Typical Tom and Jerry mischief occurs while they are conducting a symphony. Demonstrates the concept of “the show must go on!”

Tom & Jerry: Concert Madness

More Tom and Jerry shenanigans as they perform on the piano. Again, “the show must go on!”

Music Video Parody: We Don’t Talk About Pluto

A Parody of the hit song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”, this video talks about space and the demotion of Pluto’s planetary status. WARNING: It uses a lot of humor but if uses the lyrics “You stinky butt” and “makes me wanna pound the crap out of you.”

10 Minutes

Arthur: Binky’s Musical Madness

This episode features musical artist “Bang on a Can All-stars” and explains how soundscapes are created. Binky is determined to prove to his friends that experimental music isn’t an art but ends up creating an artful soundscape in the meantime.

Blippi & Meekah Play Musical Instruments

Blippi & Meekah experience instrumentation at the Rockwood Music Hall. The episode opens with the duo playing various auxillary percussion. Next the play with a recorder, flute, melodica, acoustic guitar, and a piano. Closing the clip, Blippi and Meekah play a rhythmic improv game.

Mickey Mouse (1935): The Band Concert

Mickey Mouse conducts an outdoor band concert featuring the piece “William Tell”. Donald Duck rudely interrupts as he’s trying to sell ice-cream, annoying Mickey. When Donald notices the music, he wants to join with his flute. Irritated, Mickey breaks all of Donalds instruments. The performance depicts an array of instruments from different family groups. As the video continues, a storm begins to brew causing a tornado.

Mickey Mouse (1942): Symphony Hour

Mickey Mouse conducts a symphony in a concert hall. Pete enters excited because he discovered a new sound he wants to sponsor for a live on-air concert. Whilst setting up for the performance, Goofy damages many of the instruments causing silly sounds. WARNING: Pete smokes a cigar and upon hearing the monstrosity, motions to Mickey that he will kill him. During the chaos, Donald duck tries to walk out but Mickey runs to hold a gun in his face.

Silly Symphony: Three Little Pigs

Each piglett has their own instrument to play as they narrate the classic story of the big, bad, wolf. WARNING: for a short amount of time, while the two piglets are singing, they use their instruments to imitate guns. While the wolf tries to blow the houses down, he changes voices by sucking helium and loses his pants. He climbs down a chimney and scalds his bottom in a cauldron. He butt-scoots his way out of the scene.

20 Minutes

Little Einstein’s Playlist

Four friends embark on adventures discovering classical pieces of art and listening to classical music. Each episode features new art and music. The friends explore music concepts such as tempo, dynamics, conducting and instruments. These shows encourage audience participation.

Tom & Jerry: Face the Music

A compilation of all Tom & Jerry musical episodes. WARNING: the last clip contains a rather bodacious performer with a low-cut dress.

Bugs Bunny & Music Compilation

Compilation includes all music episodes of Bugs Bunny. WARNING: In the second clip, Elmer Fudd is seen wearing armour and stabbing a spear into the rabbit hole singing “kill the rabbit” and then appears to conjure a storm in an operatic fashion. Clip three features Bugs Bunny wearing women’s clothes during a square dance in order to seduce two men and evade capture. Half-way through the video, Bugs Bunny is seen yeat again wearing women’s clothes sitting atop a pegasus seducing Elmer Fudd again in opera.

Blippi Plays Drums

Blippi visits the Rhythm Discovery Center and escorted by Rob throughout the sound museum. Blippi tries several different instruments and joins a drum circle.

30 Minutes

Little Amadeus Playlist

Originally a German cartoon, Little Amadeus depicts the life of young Mozart. The language used is more appropriate for older audiences. WARNING: Each episode has a “nemesis” that causes trouble for Amadeus. In his lair, the nemesis has a pet rat and appears to bully his nephew into making life harder for Amadeus.

Magic School Bus: Inside the Haunted House

This episode is perfect for Halloween. The episode features Carlos trying to invent an instrument to play for the class “William Tell” performance. Along the way, the bus breaks down and leaves the class stranded in a mansion. The students hear bizzare sounds and try to figure out what is producing the noise. They discover the function of soundwaves and the importance of vibrations. WARNING: while on the bus, the production team made a stylistic choice to pan the camera up while Arnold marches down the aisle brielfy showing a shot of his butt.

45 Minutes

Stomp Out Loud

An oldie, but a goldie. Music group transforms garbage and random objects into rhythmic soundscapes. Features brooms, basketballs, match boxes, cards, an industrial kitchen, a sewer system (?), rain and rags on barrels, and more.

60 Minutes

Arthur: It’s Only Rock and Roll

The Backstreet Boys visit Elwood and Muffy develops a crush on the boy band. Francine is frustrated and creates an anti-band called “U Stink”. Francine and Muffy’s friendship is strained further so Francine quits the band. U Stink hires Muffy as their manager and continues to day dream about her crush. She becomes bossy and loses her friends. Muffy ends up locked in a closet with Nick Carter at a BSB concert so U Stink must perform and impromtu concert.

Movies

Soul (Trailer)

Soul is a movie about a jazz musician that teaches middle school band when he catches a luck break with a famous group. Due to a series of unfortunate events, his soul lands in “the great before”, the place between heaven and earth. The musician desperately tries to return to human form to make his gig. The question posed is “what is the point of life”.

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