Carter King

Sample 7th/8th Grade Band Rehearsal Lesson Plan

Objectives

-The objective of this lesson is to expand the students’ understanding and

application of ensemble skills within a concert ensemble. Introducing the idea of a

student’s “trio” of sound which includes the musicians to the immediate left and

right of the student, this lesson aims to build upon ideas of balance within that

“trio” and within the larger ensemble of students.

Standards

- The Virginia SOL’s met within this lesson are primarily MIAD.16 a-d:

a)Make adjustments to facilitate correct intonation.

b) Produce the characteristic sound of the instrument being studied.

c) Blend and balance instrumental timbres.

d) Match dynamic levels, playing style, an

Materials

- 16 Chorales by J.S. Bach, arr. Mayhew Lake

- Tuning Drone

- Working-order instruments for the concert ensemble.

 - Instructor access to a whiteboard/blackboard

Procedures

- [5 Mins] Setup and Individual Student Warm-Up

- Allow Students to set up instruments/chairs/stands and give them

time to start playing on their own

- [3 Mins] Explanation of Ensemble Blend Concept

- Begin to explain the idea of ensemble blend. Ideally, the students

should have basic knowledge of the concept but no advanced

information.

- Upon a large writing canvas, draw the Ensemble Pyramid as

well as visual of the Ensemble Trio, explaining how sound fits

into these two concepts and how it can be applied

- Start a discussion and involve students in examples of poor and

excellent ensemble blend, detailing scenarios and allowing the

students to deduce how ensemble blend can be used to solve these

scenarios.

-[5 Mins] Demonstration of Ensemble Blend Concept

- Break the students up into groups of three. Play a Concert F tuning

drone and have the students all sing it. Allow them to blend together,
 providing multiple scenarios in which one of the three students has

the ‘melody’ Concert F when the other two students have to blend to

that melody.

- Repeat this exercise in a variety of scenarios. Allow the

students ample time to answer these questions, possibly

having them write it on a whiteboard to allow everyone time to

finish.

- [10 Mins] Warm-Up w/ Concept Application

- Start with the “routine” warm-up that the band is familiar with,

focusing on breathing, singing, longtones, and flexibility on the horn.

-Place heavier emphasis on singing and longtones for this

lesson will focus more on excerpts that include those concepts.

- Work on two/three chorales out of 16 Chorales by J.S. Bach.

- Bach Chorales will be the standard in the application of this

lesson. On a copy shared to a projector, specific SATB lines are

highlighted whenever they are the melody or in order of

balance importance.

-Using a process of playing through the excerpt, then

singing the excerpt, having each part play individually

(separating SATB), then finally playing the excerpt as a whole,

the students will learn each of the parts and the instructor will

instill the ensemble blend concepts within this process.

 -Ask things such as having students only play the melody lines,

which are highlighted. Repeat this process for each ‘color’

representing ensemble blend.

- This process will be repeated for one or two more chorales,

depending on time.

- [13 Mins] Rehearsal of Piece w/ Heavy Emphasis on Lesson Concept

- After the Bach Chorales, the students will then work on one of the

pieces being rehearsed for an upcoming concert.

- With the obtained knowledge of ensemble blend and

understanding of both the trio and the triangle, the majority of

this piece’s rehearsal will be on blend and tweaking that blend

based on the piece.

- After a thorough rehearsal of the piece, the instructor will run

through the section(s) worked on within the piece to assess the

students’ grasp of the concepts introduced during class.

- [5 Mins] Warm-Down and Class Announcements

- A simple warm-down, focusing on low tones and relaxation of both

the face and body, will occur.

- Any announcements about events within the band program and

other relevant information will occur.

- [5 Mins] Teardown and Packing Up Time

- The students will finally pack up their instruments and move the
chairs and stands of the classroom to best fit the next class within the
day.