Blended Learning Lesson Plan

Lesson Title: Songwriting: Using Finale and Garageband

Objectives:
Students will be able to… take the skills they already know from music theory and apply it to
composing their own tune using basic music composing software
Students will be able to… get a basic understanding of using Finale software and Garageband
software
State Standards:
Benchmark GM.CR/AL.1 : I can arrange, compose, and explain intent using melody, rhythm,
and harmony.
Context: In this lesson, students will be taking what they already know from previous lessons,
(music theory, part writing, counterpoint) and apply this to composing their own melody (16-32
bars) on two different types of composing software, the first to create a score (Finale) and the
second to create a recording of their song (Garageband). This lesson should take place ideally in
a computer lab or the students should have access to iPads. The whole class will be participating
in the independent digital section at the same time, so it is important that there are enough
computers or iPads for every member of the class. Midi keyboards would also be a great
resource for this lesson if available.
Data: Students will be grouped based off their music theory knowledge (taken from previous
assignments). It will also be based on any prior knowledge that the students have on this
software, which will be gathered by a quiz on the software given right before the start of this
lesson. Students will be split into only two groups, (beginner and advanced) so that students will
rotate between the Teacher Directed and Collaborative section, but the independent digital
section will be completed by all students at the same time. How students perform in this lesson
will determine how they are grouped for future lessons in music software.
Materials:
Garageband
Finale
Midi Keyboards (optional)
Mac Computer
Staff paper
Pencil
Procedures:
Introduction (15 minutes): Students will settle in and get out their materials. Students will
be introduced to the assignment. Instructor will give a brief presentation (Powerpoint) on Finale
and Garageband, their purposes and how they work. This will last about 7-8 minutes and take up
most of the introduction so that students with no prior knowledge of this software will have an
understanding of what they are using. Students will be assigned their groups and what they will
be doing in each group. Students will get out pencils and staff paper, and there will be extra staff
paper to provide to students that don’t have any. Students will be made aware of how much time
they will spend in each station, and then be directed into their first station.

Teacher Directed (10 minutes): For this section, students will work with the teacher to
gain a better understanding on using both Finale and Garageband software. Teachers will give a
demonstration of all of the basic uses of both softwares, and let each student of the group try it
out and make sure that they have enough understanding to the point where they will be able to
perform the basic functions of the software on their own. Teachers can teach students in the
advanced group more advanced functions of the software, such as pedals in Garageband, or
dynamic/articulation markings in Finale. Once the teacher has made sure all students are
proficient enough at using the software, they will move on to the next station. If any students are
struggling and need extra help on using the software, the instructor will spend more time with
these students during the independent digital station.

Collaborative (15 minutes): For the collaborative section, students will work on
composing their own melody using staff paper. Composing on the staff paper instead of
composing it directly on the software will help students sight reading skills by transferring what
they wrote on their staff paper onto the composing software when they move to their next
station. It is also important for students to have the skill of notating on staff paper, which is
another reason that they’ll be composing this way. They will be working with others in their
group to share their ideas and get help if they need it. Once they have a melody that they are
ready to put on garageband/finale, they will switch to the next station.

Independent Digital (20 minutes): This station will be completed by the whole class, and
will be the last station in the rotation. Students will pull up both Finale and Garageband on either
computers or iPads, and they will take the melody that they composed in the collaborative station
and notate it on Finale. This should only take about 5-7 minutes, since the melody only needs to
be 16-32 bars. Once they have done this, they will go onto garageband and transfer their melody
onto this software, using either midi keyboards or musical typing if midi keyboards are not
available. They have the creative freedom to use whatever instrumentation and tempo they like,
and explore all the different instrument options are available on Garageband. Once they are done,
students will save both their finale file and their garageband file.

Closure (15 minutes): Students will reflect on their work and will have the opportunity
to play their Garageband file in front of the class. With the time permitted, about 2-3 students
will be able to share. Students will then fill out a short exit slip, reflecting on what they learned,
filling out any questions they have and what they found interesting about the software.

Rationale:
1. Finale- Finale is a music notating software that allows you to create your own music
store. It gives you all the freedoms to create your very own symphony, opera, oratorio,
or whatever you want to create. With everything from dynamic markings to controlling
the tempo, Finale gives you everything you need to create your own score and is very
easy to use.
2. Garageband- Garageband is essentially a portable recording studio that you can use on
any apple product. It has everything from pedals to quantization. It allows you the
creative freedom to create any song you’d like and is very easy to use. Not only that, but
Garageband even provides lessons on how to play guitar and piano in multiple styles. It
can be paired with midi software to make the process even easier, and is also compatible
with mics to give you the option to record audio over your track as well. There are many
mixing availabilities, giving your tune the best sound possible. The smart controls make
this application easily accessible to anyone.