This lesson plan is designed to tackle several areas of
music appreciation. The class should have already be fluent in standard
notation and have discussed the many elements of baroque music, such as voice
leading, counterpoint, cadences, non-chord tones.
Row 1: Access
To begin, the lesson focuses on class discussion on the
nature of the composing in the Baroque era and the potential difficulties of
mass producing music without the aid of modern technology or printing presses,
specifically addressing the monotony involved with creating both a conductors
score which covers all the parts of the composition, as well as the scribing of
each individual parts while also accounting for clef changes and
transpositions. (NJCCCS 1.4.8.A.7
Analyze the form, function, craftsmanship, and originality of representative
works of dance, music, theatre, and visual art.)
Row 2: Analyze
The students are encouraged to work in groups as they navigate a nearly blank Bach Chorale. Supplied for the students is a chorale worksheet on Sibelius for them to fill in. Most of the chords in the chorale have been left blank, leaving ample room for innovation on behalf of the students, and ensuring that each student or group creates a composition that is fully unique in its own right. (1.1.5.B.2 Demonstrate the basic concepts of meter, rhythm, tonality, intervals, chords, and melodic and harmonic progressions, and differentiate basic structures.NET-S 2.D contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems. 1.1.8.B.1 Analyze the application of the elements of music in diverse Western and non-Western musical works from different historical eras using active listening and by reading and interpreting written scores.NETS-S 6.A understand and use technology systems. NETS-S 6.B select and use applications effectively and productively.)
Row 3: Produce
Following the completion of the chorale, the students will be asked to open a new score. This new score will be set up for a string quartet. The class will again discuss how Bach primarily wrote for keyboard then individually transcribed his compositions for other instruments. As a class, we will do the same – however, we will be aided by modern technology. (1.1.12. B.2 Synthesize knowledge of the elements of music in the deconstruction and performance of complex musical scores from diverse cultural contexts. NET-S 1.B Create original works as a means of personal or group expression. NET-S 2.A interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media. NETS-S 2.D contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems. NETS-S 6.A understand and use technology systems. NETS-S 6.B select and use applications effectively and productively.)
Row 4: Communicate
Finally, each group/individual will create one final score: a Wind ensemble of their design containing 4 instruments. The students will copy their previous parts to these new systems, creating their own arrangement of the Chorale. Using the playback feature of Sibelius, each group/individual will play their arrangement for the class and explain their choices for musical instruments. (1.4.8.B.1 Evaluate the effectiveness of a work of art by differentiating between the artist’s technical proficiency and the work’s content or form.)
I admit that I struggled with this assignment. Music is an odd subject in school. It already uses some technology (the instruments themselves) and focuses on self-reflection and improvement. It is, in a sense, a course on philosophy. For the overwhelming majority, music will not be the primary focus of their careers. Rather, the lessons learned in music must overreach into life lessons for the class to maintain its educational value, and music innately accomplishes this. The focus on self-improvement and active observation branches into every aspect of professionalism, and technology is not the greatest tool to accomplish this goal. At the same time, the availability of the internet and other digital technology makes it far more possible to self-educate in a way never seen before in human history. For the music teacher, this leaves very few technologies which lend themselves to the smaller focus of music. Additionally, many of these existing technologies are very expensive, and compete in the school budget against more fundamental costs such as new instruments, uniforms, annual repairs, competition entrance fees, etc… With budgets stretched as thin as they are, the only way the most beneficial programs are chosen is by their expense – Making it highly unlikely that many schools will have full access.
