Rebecca+Smith+Best+Lesson

This is what I consider to be my most successful lesson plan in my student teaching so far. I was hoping to find a creative way to implement ear training into the warm up and find new ways to conceptualize the piece we were working on. The game was an effective way to get students excited and involved in playing by ear, and the discussion about rhythmic motives enabled them to open up their ears and listen to each others' interpretation of each motive.

Concepts/Skills/Values

Playing by ear, Musical motives, Matching style and articulation

National Standards used:

Listen, Evaluate, Play, Read/Notate

Objectives

Given E, F sharp, G, and D of the E natural minor scale, students will be able to play black at least one melody heard by ear at 100% accuracy. Given “Danse Infernale,” students will be able to identify a rhythmic motive within the piece and cite the specific places it occurs.

Sequence

1) Aural skills warm up: 10 Minutes. Have students play an E, do call and response exercises implementing E (la), F# (ti), G (do), and D (sol) in relation to the E natural minor scale seen in “Danse Infernale.” Introduce La first, then La and Ti (do not use the solfege after you have introduced them), La, Ti and Do, and finally, all four pitches. 2) Game: 10 Minutes. Split the group into Team 1 and Team 2. Sing a melodic line to one person on a team and have them play it back to you. If they do not play it back correctly, the other team may steal it. If they get it correct, one point is awarded to the team. Whoever gets to 10 points first wins (secret: they all have to get to 10 points, and they all get a prize).  3) Discussion on musical motives and articulation: 15 minutes. Go over to “Danse Infernale.” Play the 4 similar sections of music and instruct students to listen for rhythmic motives. Have them identify them after playing the sections, and then agree on a particular style in which to play the rhythmic motives.