Best+Lesson+-+Second+Rehearsal

After the initial sight-reading and the following more in-depth run-through,working on rhythms and other more straightforward concepts, this was my first lesson for Children's March by Percy Grainger. After the run-throughs, I came to the conclusion that the first thing that we needed to work on was to work on style. Using the book, Teaching Music through Performance in Band, I developed an understanding of how the style should be interpreted. I decided that just not saying things myself, but by reading directly out of the book in front of the ensemble would be very beneficial to the students.

**National Standards:** Performing: Analyze, Rehearse; Responding: Interpret, Evaluate

**Materials:** Score, Baton, Teaching Music through Performance in Band

**Objective:** Students will develop a deeper understanding of style by responding to the text used in Teaching Music through Performance in Band, playing more marcato and march-like.

**Assessment:** While rehearsing individual sections, listen carefully for an improvement in a march-like feel, listening for small separation between notes.


 * Sequence of Events: **

-Warm-up - Choral #24. Tune to a Bb. Play with So-Do, listening and asking for a good pyramid shaped sound. Play through #24 again.

-Take out Teaching Music through Performance in Band p. 313. Read through the section titled "Stylistic Considerations" Ask students how they would change how they would approach the music.

-Start at ms. 85 of Children’s March. Play to 117. Play at 93. Pick-ups in 1st Tpts and 1st Tbns. Before they play, sing their part to model how the style should be played.

-Have 1st trombone and trumpet play at ms 92. Everyone else then play, starting at ms. 93. Now, have two tpts and tbns and two flutes and clarinets play, starting at ms 92. Then have everyone play at ms 93-100.

-Have 2nd altos play at ms 93. Than have 1st altos play at 93. Put all alto saxes together at ms 93.

-Everyone play at 93, reasserting previous segment by asking students to play marcato. Sing an example of the style.

-Have “lows”, (Tuba, baritone, trombone, bass clarinet, bari sax, tenor sax, and bassoon) play at 93. Sing lows rhythm at m. 97. Have lows play there a few times. Start again at ms. 93.with just lows. Reassert the style of market. Sing their part to model how the style should be played.

-Have everyone play at ms 93-117. Pick-ups with tbn and tpt.

-Have altos play at 109. First, explain that they have half melody, half counter-melody. Have them play there a couple times.

-Start at 101 with just “single eighth-note” people. Play all staccatos very short.

-At ms. 107, there is a break on beat 5. Play 107-108 multiple times until there is a complete stop in sound. To show how this is accomplished, write ms. 107 on a staff on the whiteboard. Ask the students if their part has a rest on the fifth eighth-note.

-Play through 85 to the end. Restate the style of marcato.

-End with saying that what we worked on applies to the rest of the piece, that everything else that is played can be found in these few measures.