How to Make a Music Timeline

Music has been around for thousands of years. Making a timeline means you will need to record all significant events about the history of music in order of their date. If you have been assigned a school project to make a timeline and have chosen to make a timeline about the history of music, you will have to narrow your subject. Making a timeline can be easy with free online tools and using Microsoft Word. If you decide to make a hand drawn timeline, make sure you have a ruler.

Things You'll Need

• Large sheet of paper (optional)
• Ruler (optional)
• Pencil (optional)
• Permanent marker (optional)
• Glue (optional)
• Printed out pictures (optional)
• Colored markers (optional)

Instructions

Planning and Organizing Your Timeline

1. Narrow down your topic by choosing a single genre of music. It will take too much time for you to research every type of music and when it began.

2. Research your music genre so that you know when the first form of this type of music was recognized and how it evolved. You will also need to know all the major artists of that genre and when they started playing music.

3. Organize all of your dates and events on a scrap piece of paper. This will be your rough draft.

4. Decide whether you want to make a digital timeline and print it out or make a hand drawn timeline. If your handwriting is not the most legible and you want a professional look, you should make your timeline on a free online timeline creator, or with Microsoft Word.

   If you are a creative person, and your handwriting is legible, you may enjoy making a hand drawn timeline. Choose this option if you have enough time to hand draw your timeline. You will need a large sheet of paper, a ruler, a pencil, a black permanent marker and you may optionally print out pictures of musicians and use colored markers.

Making a Timeline Online for Free

1. Visit a free online timeline creator. Links to some creators are available in the "Resources" section.

2. Select the specifications of your timeline. Most free creators give you the option of a vertical or horizontal timeline -- letting you choose whether you want increments by time, date, year or event -- and some let you decide whether you want a themed design.

3. Type in the title of your timeline and your name if applicable. Type each date of your timeline and the event that coincides with it.

4. Generate your timeline when it is complete. Print it out.

Timeline on Microsoft Word

1. Scroll down the "File" menu and select "Page Setup." Set your page to landscape.

2. Scroll through the "View" menu and hold your mouse over "Toolbars." Select the "Drawing" toolbar. From the Drawing toolbar, click "Rectangle tool." Click and drag a long rectangle across the screen.

3. Click the "Fill Color" icon on the top menu and choose the color you want the rectangle to be.

4. Click "Line Tool" to make markers on your timeline. Draw lines through your rectangle to mark each event.

5. Click the "Text Box" tool to add text to your timeline. Click and drag a text box under each section of the divided rectangle. Type the event and the date that the event occurred.

6. Click "Word Art" on the Drawing toolbar. Select the design you want for your title and type your title in the text section. When you have created the Word Art title, move it to the top center of the page by clicking and dragging.

7. Add images to your timeline by scrolling down the "Insert" menu and selecting "Image." Choose whether or not you want to add clip art or a picture saved on your computer. "Clip Art" will allow you to search for and select an image in the Microsoft Word program. "From File" will allow you to search for an image saved on your computer and upload it.

Hand Drawn Timeline

1. Draw a long, straight line across your large sheet of paper using a ruler and a pencil. Add evenly spaced notches for each event you will add to your timeline.

2. Draw the title in bold lettering across the top of the page.

3. Write out each event and the date in large, legible lettering. Make sure each event is written near one of the notched markers you drew along the line.

4. Trace over all writing and drawing with a black permanent marker so your timeline can be read from across the room. Color in your title with colored markers if you want.

5. Glue printed-out pictures of musicians and events described in your timeline. Space out pictures so they illustrate the written events.

References

• Social Studies for Kids: How to Make a Timeline; 2011
• Microsoft: Creating a Timeline in Microsoft Office Word
• The Strawberry Bricks Guide to Progressive Rock: Timeline

Resources

• teAchnology: Large Time Line Generator
• ReadWriteThink: Student Materials: Time Line