Intonation+lesson


 * Teacher Name**: Zach Brown **Date:** January 28th, 2008


 * Subject/Grade:** Beginning trombone (group lessons)


 * Focus Concepts/Skills**: Intonation, matching pitch, accurate slide positions, note accuracy

National Standards (put X before all that apply): __(x) 1. Sing__ __x 2. Play__ 3. Improvise 4. Compose/Arr. __x 5. Read/Notate__ __x 6. Listen__ __x 7. Evaluate__ 8. Related Arts 9. History/Culture

Objectives:**
 * Learning
 * 1) Students will demonstrate improvement of the Bb concert scale.
 * 2) Students will attempt to play F scale for the first time.
 * 3) Students will begin to use concepts of intonation in their playing.
 * 4) Students will attempt to evaluate other students playing using appropriate vocabulary (sharp/flat).

Activities:** //(10 minutes)Warm Up:// (//5 minutes) New scale//
 * Sequence of
 * Review notes of the bass clef scale on the blackboard.
 * Review correct playing posture.
 * Begin with Bb concert scale whole notes up and down. Be sure students use correct slide positions. Students should articulate each note for this exercise.
 * With a piano have the students sing the scale with solfege. If they know the hand motions, use those too.
 * Play Bb scale with 4 quarter notes up and down. Check for slide positions. Repeat as necessary.
 * Introduce F scale to students. Notate the scale on the blackboard. Have students identify all slide positions before playing.
 * Play F scale in whole notes up and down one time.
 * Like with the Bb scale, have them sing with the piano on solfege.

//(5 minutes) Intonation exercise//
 * Begin to explain the concept of intonation using basic examples.
 * Demonstrate playing two different pitches (Bb and F) and how they are different from each other. (I.e. one sounds higher than the other). Then demonstrate how even when playing the same note (Bb) can be different from time to time. (Being in tune and out of tune)
 * -Play a Bb normally, and then play with the slide position out so that it is very flat. Then play the Bb normally. Students should be able to recognize a flat pitch before a sharp pitch.
 * Now have one student play and hold out a Bb and then the teacher play a Bb with them. Match the student so that it is “in tune”
 * Have students identify if the two were playing “in tune” with each other or not. (Answer is “in tune”)
 * Now have another student play a Bb and the teacher plays a Bb flat and “out of tune”.
 * Have students identify if the two were playing “in tune” with each other. Answer (“out of tune”)

//(5 minutes) Timpani exercise//
 * Gather around the timpani
 * Use timpani to demonstrate how to match a pitch. Explain that when you are in tune that you can almost feel it in your body. When you are out of tune you don’t quite feel comfortable and that you should hear “waves” clashing against each other.
 * Lightly sing an A into the timpani as if you were tuning it. Press the pedal until the drum “sings” back the A. Explain that the trombone works very similar to the timpani’s pedal in that you can use the slide to bend the pitch up or down.
 * See if students could hear when the drum matched the pitch. Repeat the exercise if necessary.
 * Have students try the exercise themselves (under close supervision).
 * See if students could get the experiment to work.
 * Now go back to the trombone and do similar pitch matching exercises with them. Stand behind the student and play a note (something in 3rd position). Have the students start in 6 or 7th position and slowly slide up until they match the pitch of the teacher.

//(10 minutes) Standard of Excellence book//
 * Go through the previously assigned exercises from the S of E book.
 * Have student play through in groups and as individuals to assess.
 * Assign new material for next lesson.


 * Assessment:**

1. Students should play with ~65% accuracy of notes and slide positions on the Bb scale 2. Goal of 40% accuracy of notes and slide positions on the F scale 3. Goal of 50% accuracy of intonation on playing exercises and 65% accuracy of notes and slide positions 4. Students will attempt to evaluate each others playing during intonation exercise. If a student is able to even recognize that a pitch is off then that is a start. Student should try to incorporate vocab such as sharp or flat. 5. The timpani exercise is just another way to show how intonation functions on instruments.

The idea for this lesson came from the timpani section of the lesson and the rest followed into place. I came up with the timpani thing the night before and thought it would be great to use. I can't say that the lesson went fantastic but it was pretty effective. The biggest obstacle for me was getting the students to sing pitches because they were not used to that. Another issue with success was the fact that the students really didn't know the bass clef that well. I think they had been playing trombone for about a week.
 * Background:**