Pentatonic orff Improvisation lesson

Grade: Elementary, early secondary

Topic: Music/Improvisation

Lesson Overview
Objective:
• The student will be able to improvise in the key of D major using a pentatonic scale.
PASS Standard:
● Creating:
○ Imagine: Generate musical ideas for various purposes and contexts.
■ Enduring Understanding: The creative ideas, concepts, and feelings that
influence musicians’ work emerge from a variety of sources.
● MU:Cr1.1.1a With limited guidance, create musical ideas (such
as answering a musical question) for a specific purpose.
● MU:Cr1.1.2a Improvise rhythmic and melodic patterns and
musical ideas for a specific purpose.
● MU:Cr1.1.3b Generate musical ideas (such as rhythms and
melodies) within a given tonality and/or meter.
● Performing:
○ Select: select varied musical works to present based on interest, knowledge,
technical skill, and context.
■ Enduring Understanding: Performers’ interest in and knowledge of
musical works, understanding of their own technical skill, and the context
for a performance influence the selection of repertoire.
● MU:Pr4.1.3a Demonstrate and explain how the selection of music
to perform is influenced by personal interest, knowledge, purpose,
and context.
○ Analyze: Analyze the structure and context of varied musical works and their
implications for performance.
■ Enduring Understanding: Analyzing creators’ context and how they
manipulate elements of music provides insight into their intent and
informs performance.
● MU:Pr4.2.2a Demonstrate knowledge of music concepts (such as
tonality and meter) in music from a variety of cultures selected for
performance.

Introduction:
1. Have orff instruments out.
2. Ask students if they have ever played one before.
3. Ask students if they have every improvised before. (Made music up on the spot.)

Procedures:
 1. Conduct a quick call and response activity to engage students in an act of improvisation
and establish D major as tonic in their ears.
2. Align students in front of the orff instruments.
3. Instruct proper technique for holding the mallets.
4. Instruct for proper technique on striking the instrument.
5. Explain to student what the instrument in front of them is.
6. Introduce concept of pentatonic scale and explain how the instrument in front of them
only possess the notes contained in it.
7. Demonstrate and explain what an ostinato pattern is.
8. Have students join in. (Mimic your given pattern)
9. Encourage students to come up with their own ostinato patterns consisting of either D
(DO) or A (SOL) take turns around the room in a circle activity listen to each others
pattern and mimicking.
10. Choose a reasonable pattern that a student came up with and begin to improvise over it.
11. Explain to students how their are no “wrong” notes do to the nature of the chosen scale
12. Allow them to practice improvising
13. As the teacher choose a pattern and then go around the room allowing students to take
turn improvising over 8 counts.
14. If time permits allow two students two improvise at a time while you continue to play the
ostinato pattern.
15. Repeat as time permits.

Conclusion:
1. To conclude have students return the instruments as they found them and then have
students return to their spots.
2. Go over the activities present in today we learned / today we statements.
3. Have student share with their partner one thing they learned and aurally reteach it to
their partner.
4. Have students rate the activity on a scale of 1-5.
5. So long song as they leave.

Materials:
● Class set of orff instruments and mallets.
● Large room for students and instruments to comfortably fit.
● Long table to set smaller instruments on so that students do not have to sit on the
ground in order to properly play them.

Assessment plan:
● Pre-assessment:
○ Open discussion over what knowledge they know of improvisation, the pentatonic
scale and orff instruments.
○ Discussion on what concepts of tonality and meter the students know and
remember.
● Post-assessment:
 ○ During the end of the different cycles of the activity I will have students self
assess their playing and understanding of the concepts on a 1-5 scale indicated
by them raising the corresponding fingers.
○ As the activity is in session I will take note and record observations as to whether
the students are are able to demonstrate tonality, meter and express unique
creative ideas.

Modifications:
● ADHD: I would attempt to place this group of students near me. I would also encourage
them to be the volunteers who would sustain the ostinato rhythm with me.
● Visually impaired: I would allow this group of students to use the larger keyed orff
instruments. I would also provide bright colored mallets for them to use.
● Autism: For this group of students I would provide clear tone headphones. I would also
allow them them to use alternative seating if available and I would have textures grip
mallets handy in case they preferred them.
● Emotionally disturbed: For this group of students I would also provide the
aforementioned clear tone headphones. I would make sure to be careful with the
students placement in the class as well as the language and volume being used in the
classroom. As a precaution a would also have a designated evacuation plan in case of
an emergency.

Reflection:
● ADHD: I would attempt to place this group of students near me so that I can aid in
keeping them on task. I would encourage them to be the volunteers who would sustain
the ostinato rhythm with me so as to keep them occupied and limit the opportunity for
them to become destructed or get off task.
● Visually impaired: I would allow this group of students to use the larger keyed orff
instruments so that they may be better able to see the individual notes. I would also
allow and encourage them to to use bright colored mallets so as to aid in the
coordination of playing the instrument.
● Autism: For this group of students I would provide clear tone ear plugs so that students
who are easily affected by multiple loud noises aren’t as bothered. I would also allow
them them to use alternative seating if available to aid with attention retention and I
would have textures grip mallets handy in case they preferred them to aid with the need
to fidget or feel textile stimulation
● Emotionally disturbed: For this group of students I would also provide the
aforementioned clear tone headphones to aid with extra noise cancelation. I would make
sure to be careful with the students placement in the class as well as the language and
volume being used in the classroom in order to try to avoid setting them off or
accidentally saying a trigger word. I would have the evacuation plan in severe cases
where things could get out of hand and students health and well being could be at risk.
● It was a little difficult coming up with modification as all special needs students are
unique and different. No two even if the have the same disability are the same and the
methods that work for one are not guaranteed to work for anyone else. I tried to come up
with my modifications based off of recommendations from my cooperating teacher which
she based of her own years of experiences working with special needs children.