Jake Grimsley

Original Music Lesson Plan

Summary/Overview: This lesson has the intention of being used for a beginning band ensemble
that has learned, rehearsed, and practiced Blue Ridge Rhapsody by John Kinyon so that they now
can play it at performance quality without too much strain or effort. This lesson uses informal
learning to give them the experience of using compositional techniques and improvisation to
create music based on Kinyon’s piece, which they should already be familiar with.

Objectives:
 Students will understand the concept of improvisation.
 Students will understand the concept of embellishing a known melody..  
 Students will be able to improvise a melody over harmony they already know.
 Students will be able to embellish a known melody over harmony they already know.

Relevant Virginia Standards of Learning:

 6.1 - The student will demonstrate creative thinking by composing and improvising
original music. 
a) Improvise four-measure melodic and rhythmic phrases. 
b) Compose four-measure melodies and rhythms. 
c) Arrange an existing musical phrase.
 6.13 - The student will perform a variety of music. 
a) Sing or play music in unison and simple harmony. 
b) Follow dynamic and tempo markings. 
c) Identifying appropriate performance practices.
 6.5 - The student will identify and demonstrate collaboration and communication skills
for music, including active listening.

Relevant National Standards:

 MU:Cr3.1.6a - Evaluate their own work, applying teacher-provided criteria such as
application of selected elements of music, and use of sound sources.
 MU:Pr4.3.6a - Perform a selected piece of music demonstrating how their interpretations
of the elements of music and the expressive qualities (such as dynamics, tempo, timbre,
articulation/style, and phrasing) convey intent.
 MU:Cr2.1.6a - Select, organize, construct, and document personal musical ideas for
arrangements and compositions within AB or ABA form that demonstrate an effective
beginning, middle, and ending, and convey expressive intent.

Required Materials and Visual Aids:

 Staff paper
 Pencils
 Instruments
 Blue Ridge Rhapsody sheet music
 Blue Ridge Rhapsody score
 Whiteboard/blackboard
Procedures:
 Students will walk in the classroom and sit at their normal destinations (nothing changed
here).
 Students will go through a ten-minute scales warm-up with the teacher.
 Students will play Blue Ridge Rhapsody by John Kinyon once all the way through.
 Students will be told that they will be playing the piece again, and to focus this time on
who has the melody at any one time.
 Students will play Blue Ridge Rhapsody by John Kinyon once all the way through.
 Students will go through the music with the teacher, documenting who has the melody at
any one point throughout.
 Students will be told that there are two distinctly different melodies, or themes, in the
piece, and discuss with each other and guess until they figure out which one occurs when.
 Students will raise their hands indicating which of the two themes would seem more
enjoyable to improvise and adjust.  
 Students will pick a four measure section of the theme they chose together.
 Students will write the four measures of the melody they chose on the board through
volunteering, and all students would also be expected to write said exercise down on a
piece of staff paper.
 Students will play the four measures they selected as an ensemble, with everyone playing
the melody part together, repeating said exercise until everyone feels comfortable playing
it.  
 Students will be shown by the teacher how to embellish a melody, with the teacher
playing one measure of the exercise as written, and then improvising with the given scale
in the second bar, playing the third bar as written, and improvising the fourth bar.
 Students will be asked to volunteer to try the exercise the teacher demonstrated, with the
teacher playing harmonies underneath each student who volunteers.
 Students will be shown by the teacher how to improvise a melody, improvising over all
four measures in the embellishment exercise.
 Students will be asked to volunteer to try the exercise the teacher demonstrated, with the
teacher playing harmonies underneath each student who volunteers.

Assessment:
 Students will be assessed on their level of participation in the exercises shown to them by
the teacher.
 Students will be assessed on their understanding of the exercises shown to them by the
teacher.
 Students will be assessed on their ability to perform the exercises shown to them by the
teacher.

Extensions:
This lesson should provide a base of interest in improvisation, which should hopefully lead to the
students not seeing their music as just strict formulas on paper, but rather as notated versions of
the same exercises they played in class.  This lesson would also hopefully lead to the students
having more of an interest in improvisation, hopefully so that they would show that same interest
in later years when they would have the opportunity to perform with jazz ensembles of different
kinds.

Adaptations:

 Size:
o All musical examples could be written on the board at a size all students can see
as well as notated and given out to students who request it.
 Color:
o All students could have the ability to view the musical examples with a different
color coding based on their individual needs.
 Pacing:
o The lesson could be split into two class periods to use slower pacing, or it could
be utilized in one class period, just skipping to the improvisation portion quicker
so that most of the class time would be spent on that.
 Modality:
o All students would receive a piece of paper with bullet points from the lesson.
o The lesson would be recorded so all students would have the opportunity to go
back and listen to parts they don’t understand.

Winding:

 Back:
o Students will improvise with just rhythms, either on a drone pitch playing or on a
neutral syllable singing.
o Students will focus on the rhythm of their chosen excerpt, either on a drone pitch
playing or on a neutral syllable singing.
o Students will improvise with the pitches of the melody, but only playing half
notes (whatever note the melody plays after every two beats, that’s the note
students would play).
o Students will play through the excerpt, but only in half notes.
 Forward:
o Students will play through their exercise multiple times in a row, giving more
opportunity for improvisation.  
o Students will play through their exercise once, wait two measures, then play it
again modulating the key up by one half step.
o Students will play the exercise three times through, waiting two measures in
between and modulating to a new key shouted out by the teacher randomly.
o Students will play the exercise through, changing keys after every measure to a
random one they must choose while playing the previous measure.