Amber+Knight+Best+Lesson

This was one of my most successful lessons with East Singers, the auditioned choir at East High. The students have been working intently on //In Virtute Tua// for contest, and I tried to shake up the typical rehearsal format by working for precision with entrances, and stopping frequently to address issues and provide feedback. The students realized that my expectation was improvement throughout rehearsal, and they put forth good effort.


 * ** Teacher Name: ** || Amber Knight || ** Date: ** || Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 ||


 * ** Subject/Grade: ** || East Singers ||


 * ** Concepts/Skills/Values: ** || Recognizing similar chord changes between pieces of music; singing by ear; independence of vocal line; phrase shaping ||


 * National Standards (check all that apply): **
 * **X** || ** 1. Sing ** ||  || ** 2. Play ** ||   || ** 3. Improvise ** ||   || ** 4. Compose/Arr. ** || **X** || ** 5. Read/Notate ** ||
 * **X** || ** 6. Listen ** ||  || ** 7. Evaluate ** ||   || ** 8. Related Arts ** ||   || ** 9. History/Culture ** ||   ||   ||
 * **X** || ** 6. Listen ** ||  || ** 7. Evaluate ** ||   || ** 8. Related Arts ** ||   || ** 9. History/Culture ** ||   ||   ||

** Learning ** ** Objectives: ** || The students will demonstrate independence of voice by singing a different musical line from their neighbors (warm-up) and by singing section entrances with accurate rhythm, proper pitch and strong tone (“confidence”). The students will practice “singing by ear” using their prior knowledge of a familiar piece of music (or by listening to the recording). The students will demonstrate phrase shape by crescendoing through running eighth and sixteenth notes to the downbeat of the next measure. ||
 * ** Behavioral **


 * ** Materials: ** || // One Tin Soldier // (arr. Kirby Shaw); //In Virtute Tua// (Grzegorz G. Gorczycki); recording of Pachelbel’s //Canon in D// ||

** Activities and Assessment: ** || Warm-Up: 1. The students will match the instructor’s pitch in order to focus in (Eb). 2. “Listen to Linda and raise your hand if you know what song in our repertoire this part comes from.” 3. Sing the bassline along with the piano as indicated in their parts (Eb, D, C, Bb, Ab, G, F, Bb). 4. “What other piece of music does this sound like?” (Pachelbel’s //Canon in D//) 5. Sing the cello part from the //Canon,// transposed for Eb major (Eb, Bb, C, G, Ab, Eb, Ab, Bb). a. Ladies sing the bassline, gentlemen sing the cello line. b. Basses switch to //One Tin Soldier// melody on “loo.” c. Another section (sopranos?) switch to the violin melody from //Canon in D.// 6. Rotate parts if time; “choose your part.”
 * ** Sequence of **

// In Virtute Tua: // 1. Sing through mm. 40-71, listening for confident entrances and correct pitches. a. If a section does not sound confident with a passage or is singing incorrect pitches (ie, basses and tenors at m. 48; altos around mm. 58-66; sopranos around mm. 55-56), all parts will sing that section’s part together so the section can really hear the structure of the melody. 2. Once entrances in this section are confident, back up to m. 15, alto part: Lightly pulse the sixteenth notes AND always lead to the downbeat of the next measure. a. Same with eighth notes in m.34. Have each section sing their part when they have this structure until they demonstrate an audible crescendo to the downbeat. 3. If time, put into context: mm. 9-71, demonstrating phrase shape (crescendo to the downbeat) and confident entrances in the latter half of the segment. || 

** Effectiveness ** ** Reminders: ** || Move around the classroom as appropriate. Use good eye contact. Have high expectations for success. ||
 * ** Teacher **