BDA Strategies: A Basque Lullaby

Clark Elford

Before: Think-Aloud Strategy

Sequence:

 Introduce eight measure motif from A Basque Lullaby

 Go through my sight-reading mentality and process for the first four measures
 Do a guided marking/analysis process for the second four measures
 Transition into full sight-read of the piece

What students will learn:

Students will gain not only insight into A Basque Lullaby and how to play it, but also the process
of sight reading a new piece, a skill that will apply to literally every piece of music ever put in front of the
student. They will learn how to quickly and efficiently process a piece of music in order to have the most
success both in terms of accuracy and expression while sight-reading.

How the strategy will help students read difficult parts:

This approach will allow for the highlighting of difficult parts in A Basque Lullaby and get
foresight in how to tackle them before playing the piece. The strategy allows for easy identification of
the difficult parts and starts the process of breaking them down and identifying how to address them
(key signature, fingering, rhythm, etc.).

During: Macro-Micro-Macro

Sequence:

 Sight-read the full piece

 Break down into smaller portions, such as first iteration of main motif in woodwinds, brass
feature section, etc.
 Break down those portions by musical part
 Return back from the micro level of rehearsal to macro level, and repeat for other sections
 Re-run the full piece or a large section

What students will learn:

Students will not only learn how to play some of the more important or trickier parts in the
piece, but will also be learning the process of breaking down music that they can use in their own
practice.

How the strategy will help students read difficult parts:

This strategy allows for students to play and hear difficult parts in context in the music before
breaking them down and focusing in on that difficult part in an isolated setting. After diagnosing issues
and prescribing potential solutions (which is often to wait until notes and fingerings develop naturally),
the part is slowly put back into context. It is akin to taking apart a machine to find the part that is broken
then reassembling it.
After: Generalize

Less of a specific literacy strategy, but in the context of music the most effective thing to do is to
continue working on similar concepts in other literature, which is inevitable, and referring back to A
Basque Lullaby in instruction, warm-ups, etc. Emphasis will always be placed on working fundamentals,
which are at the core of improving instrumental playing, and referring back to old pieces when working
on new ones allow that message to come across more clearly. This assists students in approaching
difficult parts in that they will have a more solid foundation and will sound better even if notes and
rhythms are not necessarily there yet.