Lesson Plan Information 

 
Lesson Plan Name: 
3/6/2018 
Concert Band 
 
Lesson Objective: 
Students will: 
● Perform the halftime sections of Our Kingsland Spring with expressive dynamics 
(decided upon by performers) and blend.  
● Perform with correct intonation and support throughout Our Kingsland Spring 
● Critique our own performance of Our Kingsland Spring and compare this 
performance to a past performance. 
● Analyze and discuss similarities and differences between performances and identify 
the next steps to take in rehearsal to improve in identified components of a 
successful performance. 
 
Standards (National Core Arts Standards):  
MU:Pr4.2.E.HSIII 
a. Examine, evaluate, and critique, using music reading skills where appropriate, how the 
structure and context impact and inform prepared and improvised performances. 
MU:Re9.1.E.HSIII 
Develop and justify evaluations of music, programs of music, and performances based on 
criteria, personal decision-making, research, and understanding of contexts. 
MU:Cn10.0.E.HSII 
Demonstrate how interests, knowledge, and skills relate to personal choices and intent when 
creating, performing, and responding to music. 
 
Repertoire:  
Our Kingsland Spring b​ y Samuel Hazo 
 
Materials: 
Scores for the piece listed above, a whiteboard, metronome, recording device (phone), 
instrument for amplification of recording, “Comment Sheets” worksheet made by the 
teacher. 
 
Assessment: 
● Comment Sheet and discussion 
○ Students will identify musical qualities they deem as important in a musical 
performance and self-assess their demonstration of these qualities in their 
own performance.  
 
Procedure 
● Teacher will put the Comment Sheet on the students’ stands before they enter the 
room. 
● Students enter the room, go to their chairs and begin setting up their instruments. 
Once instruments are set up, teacher will begin warm-up. 
● Warmup: 
○ Chromatic Long (Bb-Bb) tones at 75 bpm, stop after top note, we will not go 
back down 
○ Scales at 115 bpm 
■ Entire Circle of Fifths in Regional scale pattern with arpeggios. 
○ Tune 
■ Pitch Barometer exercise 
● Students will all hold a Concert F together and listen for 
blend and intonation. Teacher will point to a particular 
section or small group of students and cut the entire 
ensemble off except for those students.  
● Teacher will ask those students if they think they were sharp, 
flat, or in-tune with the rest of the ensemble.  
● Teacher will then ask the rest of the ensemble.  
○ Repeat for each section in the ensemble 
● Informal assessment: students will demonstrate the 
development of listening for small differences in pitches. 
Students will also need to demonstrate their ability to discuss 
intonation and give positive, constructive feedback. 
○ Rehearse Our Kingsland Spring 
■ Start at measure 58 
● Play 58-64 
● Woodwinds play their part without previous changes (last 
class, we decided as a class where to add dynamics and 
phrasing) 
● Play the same section with the upper woodwinds as we 
changed with them the previous day (with phrasing and 
dynamics). 
○ What was different? Why was it different? 
○ How did we decide on these specific changes? 
● Listen to the same section with only low brass instruments.  
○ Listen for tuning 
○ The baritone is consistently above pitch in this 
section - use the chord and keyboard to assist student 
in matching pitch. 
● Play the entire section 58-64 together 
○ Students over-romanticize this section 
○ “Instead of thinking of our notes as individuals strung 
together, I want us to play our notes within a phrase.” 
○ “How would we do that?” 
 ■ Focus less on each individual note, play like 
how you would sing this part 
○ Model with a vocal example 
○ Focus on note length 
○ Have students play just 58-60 
● 64-72  
○ Listen for phrasing in the saxophone section 
■ Apply the same strategy for adding phrasing 
as before 
● 72 
○ Apply phrasing from sax section to the rest of the 
band 
■ Match sections that have the same part. Have 
them play together and add phrasing.  
○ Recording and Listening: Record a run through of Our Kingsland Spring 
■ Before run-through: What are some musical qualities that you think 
someone like a teacher would listen for? Why? 
● List answers on board 
■ Listen to run-through and have students take out the “Comment 
Sheet” for taking notes on what they hear 
● A guided worksheet that has students make comments based 
on the musical qualities they came up with. 
■ Discuss what was heard 
● What did you notice about (insert musical qualities)? 
● How can we make them better? 
● What is one achievable goal we can set for ourselves next 
class? 
● What is an achievable goal we can set for ourselves one 
month from now 
○ Write down goals on the back of the comment sheet.  
○ Write steps to take to reach our short-term and 
long-term goals 
 
Assessment 
Informal assessments: 
● Tuning exercise,  
Formal assessments: 
● Listening exercise: The teacher is going to record the performance and have students 
listen back. The worksheet will have guided questions that will break the music into 
the chunks we worked on in class so that students can follow along and write down 
what they hear for each individual section. It will also have a section for overall 
comments. We discuss their findings as a class 
○ Teacher is going to collect the Comment Sheet and use for a participation 
grade.  
 
Next Steps 
● Using the comments we made on our comment sheets and goals mentioned, 
students will have individual action plans they can use to guide their own practice. In 
addition, teacher will gain awareness of students’ individual needs.