7th Grade General Music Lesson Plans
Week of January 20th, 2014
Weekly objectives:
1. Students will analyze and describe music from a variety of genres, as well as cultures and
historical backgrounds, and write about the form, tempo, dynamics, texture, and
instrumentation of selected pieces of music.
2. Students will analyze and write about the listening examples in their listening journal logs.
3. Students will define the rhythm and blues style of music
4. Students will describe the origin of rhythm and blues style of music
5. Students will describe the musical instruments and vocal styles used in the rhythm and blues
style of music
6. Students will define and play I chords, IV, chords, and V chords on the Orff instruments
7. Students will play the C Blues scale on the keyboard
8. Students will define and perform improvisation using the C Blues Scale on the keyboard.
9. Students play the 12 bar blues chord progression on the guitar and Orff instruments (I,I,IV,I,
V,I)
10. Students will compose an original blues song with lyrics and perform it for the class.
11. Students will research Blues composers/performers and create a presentation about one of
these musicians.
Activities to assist in achieving the objectives: - CONTINUE UNIT FROM LAST WEEK
1. Blues Research projects - history of the Blues – from “Explore the Blues” curriculum book
a. Students will draw a name of a famous Blues performer and research their life, their
music, and the impact they made on the music industry. Students may choose to do a
presentation, create a trivia game, or write a newspaper article about their performer.
i. Presentations must include:
1. Where the Blues performer/composer was from
2. How the performer got their start
3. The instruments the Blues performer played and composed for
4. Obstacles the performer encountered on their journey in making music
5. The major contributions the performer/composer had on the music
industry then and now.
2. Improvisation: Piano/keyboards
a. Students will continue to practice playing the Blue’s Scale in the Key of C and will
practice improvising a melody using only C Blues Scale while the other students vamp on
a 12 Bar Blues Chord progression in C major.
3. Perform original compositions – Blues Lyrics
a. Students will share their blues song lyrics with the class and discuss the reasoning
behind the choice of their words.