12-Bar Blues Lesson Plan Logan Bloom Class Setting: A high school music theory class or jazz band.

Overall Goals/National Standards: 1. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. 2. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines. Behavioral Objectives: 1. Students will understand the chords and phrasing of a basic twelve bar blues progression by singing and playing the roots of each chord. Materials: 1. A guitar for the teacher. 2. Any instrument for each student. 3. A PowerPoint presentation with the chord progression. 4. A recording: Mean Red Spider by Muddy Waters. Procedures: 1. Opening: Teacher asks students to pay attention to the style, then plays recording. Teacher asks if any students can identify the style. Teacher answers that this is a blues song. 2. 12-Bar Blues Progression: Teacher puts the Roman numeral progression up on the screen, one measure at a time. Teacher divides the 12-bar progression into three 4-bar phrases. Teacher plays each phrase that he or she explains once, then has the students sing the roots. 3. Class Involvement: Teacher will use the PowerPoint to lead the class in developing a 12-bar blues in Ab (the key of Mean Red Spider). Teacher will ask class as a group what note each Roman numeral translates into and specify for transposing instruments. Teacher will explain the shuffle rhythm to be used. Teacher will lead students in playing through the roots of the chords in the twelve bar blues progression in the designated key. Teacher will lead students in playing the roots of chords in the twelve bar blues progression along with the recording (Play recording starting at 0:08). Assessment: The teacher will listen to the students answers for each chord when creating the progression. The teacher will listen to the class play the blues progression together.