Phrasing+and+Shaping

This lesson was developed and used with an 84 person high school Symphonic Band comprised mostly of Freshmen and Sophomores. It was created to help students better understand phrasing and shaping in an ensemble setting.


 * Subject/Grade**: High School Concert Band


 * Concepts/Skills/Values**: Phrasing, balance/blend, listening.


 * National Standards**: 1. Sing 2. Play 5. Read/Notate 6. Listen 7. Evaluate


 * Learning Objectives**: Students will demonstrate the ability to shape phrases and balance/blend as appropriate in “Yorkshire Ballad”.


 * Materials**: Yorkshire Ballad

__**Sequence of Activities**__:

//**Warm Up**//
 * Begin by warming up with a concert Bb scale. Play the scale with quarter notes ascending then descending, without repeating the top note.
 * Ask them to now play it with dynamics. Explain their dynamic range as a scale from 1-10. They must start out at a “1“ and pace themselves correctly to reach a “10“ by the top of the scale while keeping a good tone. Reversely, they must go from 10-1 on the way down the scale.
 * Next, have them play at a constant “3“ on the way up, and on the way down reach a “10“ by the time they reach the bottom Bb.
 * Ask for two different volunteers to give a “shaping” to the scale. Have them write their shaping schemes on the board for everyone to follow.

//**Phrasing in Yorkshire Ballad**// Perhaps you could have the "support" line play the same rhythmic figures as either the melody or counter-melody. That way they are not just playing half and whole notes. - Landon Thanks for the suggestion, Landon. The reason I had them play half notes and whole notes is because that is what is in the music. As a result, the challenge falls in them being able to play the phrase and shaping with their somewhat "minimal" part. It's a realistic application to the music. Hopefully the melody and counter-melody on the same handout helps them if they are struggling; they can just look up to remember what the entire class did prior to dividing into the three groups.
 * Start at the beginning and play up to rehearsal number 3. After a rep, ask the students who has the melody, counter-melody, and “support” (we labeled these in the previous lesson).
 * Hand out sheet music of the melody in this section for their respective instruments and transpositions. Students will play the same melody in unison.
 * Have them first sing the melody and treat the line as the scale we played. In other words, follow the line and increase dynamic as it gets higher, decrease dynamic with lower notes. Then, play it with instruments.
 * Now have them play it with increasing dynamics for one measure, holding at that dynamic for one measure, and tapering for two measures. If they’re struggling, attach a number system we used earlier to help them with dynamics. This is a better way to phrase this passage since it is in 4 bar phrases. Ask them which they prefer of the two ways.
 * Draw their attention to the counter-melody on their same sheet. Ask for any spots where the melody has sustained notes. Then have them compare it with the melody. If the counter-melody is more active while the melody is sustaining, the counter melody must be brought out. Play the counter-melody “static”, and then play it with an assigned shaping.
 * Point out the “support” line. Assign groups to each part and tell the “support” that they must emulate the same shaping that the melody and counter-melody have. This may be challenging, as they only have half and whole notes. However, they do have the other lines on the same sheet that they can refer to as they’re playing.
 * Inform the students that they must be able to balance in a way that supports the melody. Run the section starting from the beginning a few more times with this goal in mind to end the lesson.


 * Assessment**:

Assessment will be done informally, however, I will be calling on students that don’t normally raise their hands to answer questions. Was there appropriate balance between the three groups? Were the phrases shaped in a way that makes sense to the listener? Furthermore, did everyone commit to the phrasing the class decided upon? Were the students eventually more aware of their “musical surroundings” by the end of this lesson?