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Learning Styles Plan #2

Age/Subject Level: High school band

Aim: Students will develop musical sensitivity and expression on their instruments.

Goal: Students will be able to analyze and interpret musical excerpts based on musical relationships and their own intuition.

Concept to help facilitate goal: The unmeasured etude. This is a one-page musical excerpt without barlines separating measures. The performer must draw their own connections within the music to give it expression and direction. Unmeasured etudes can be interpreted in many different ways with no wrong or right answers. The student must then focus on dynamic contrasts, ritards, tempo changes, and line shaping. The students are allowed to use their own sense of style and creativity in performance. Since many students are not comfortable with this concept, they have their choice of projects based on various learning styles. All the students will receive the same etude and have access to a recording of it.

Learning Style Options

Abstract Sequential: Individual project

Students will write in barlines in the etude where they feel the barlines should go. They will then write a two-page essay on musical relationships in the etude and justify their work based on the following ideas:

What is a recurring concept in the etude?

Are examples of contrast evident within the work?

How is the piece structured?

Why did you place the barlines where you did?

Was this a hard exercise?

What did you learn from this project?

Evaluation:

The paper must be typed and grammatically correct.

The student must have a clear argument and exhibit a rationale for their work.

Concrete Sequential: Individual project -

Students will take the recording of the unmeasured etude and listen to it until they become familiar with the style and expression of the performer. They will then practice and play along with the performer on the tape to copy the style. After completion, the students will write a paragraph about the challenges of the assignment and what they learned from doing it.

Evaluation:

1. The student must play along with the recording in front of the teacher.

2. The paragraph must be in complete sentences and be grammatically correct.

Abstract Random: Group projects

Students will prepare the etude on their own and then gather in groups of three to four members. The students then will play for each other their own interpretation on their individual instruments and then discuss which interpretation they liked best and why.

Evaluation:

1.  Students will record their interpretations in the group and the discussion on videotape.

2. The teacher will then view the recording to make sure the group did the assignment.

   Concrete Random: Individual project

Students will prepare their own interpretation of the etude with expressive style and sensitivity. They will then come in for a coaching session one-on-one with the teacher and then perform their interpretation in front of the entire class.

Evaluation:

1.   The student must come into the coaching session prepared.

2. The student will play in front of the class.

*The students have the choice of which project they would like to complete. I have tried to make each project the same difficulty level and accommodate those who prefer to work in groups or individually as well as those who prefer to write rather than talk.

Grading will be based on whether the students met my evaluative criteria and the students will know what the criteria is when they begin the project.