th
7 Grade Blues
History and
Improvisation
7th Grade Band, April 2013. Monroe Central High School, Parker
City, IN.
Teacher: Mr. Eric Meginnis
Cooperating Teacher: Mr. Eric Bowman
Unit Duration: April 10th-April 18th 2013.
2
Table of Contents
Pg. 3 Purpose of the Project
Pg. 4 Unit Narrative
Pg. 7 Vocabulary
Pg. 7
Timeline
Pg. 8
Lesson Plans
Pg. 17 Technology
Pg. 18 Differentiation/Accommodations
Pg. 18 Student Assessment Tools
Pg. 19 Pre/Post Tests and Graphs
Pg. 29 Narrative: Interpretation of Results
Pg. 31 Assessment Narrative
Pg. 32 Instructional Narrative
Pg. 34 Strengths and Weaknesses
Pg. 35 Overall Statement
Pg. 37 Self Growth Rubric
3
Unit Purpose Statement
The purpose of this project was to show student growth over a six-day unit lesson plan. Students were assessed prior to the unit plan
beginning with both a written and playing exam. The written exam incorporated historical knowledge pertaining to the subjects of
improvisation and Blues history. Using a multitude of questions such as true/false, multiple choice, fill-in the blank, and short answer,
students were asked to fill out the exam to the best of their ability. The students’ tests were then assessed using a rubric. The second part of
the pre-test involved a playing exam. Students were asked to perform with the ensemble a four-bar phrase of improvisation using the
hexatonic blues scale. The two grades were then combined to form one final total for the pre-test assessment. The same assessment took
place in two parts, a written exam and playing exam. Students answered the exact same questions that appeared on the pre-written test and
played the exact same requirements that were on the pre-test. The students were then assessed and the scores were recorded. If the project
was successful, student’s grades should have increased from the pre-test score and the students should have gained a wealth of knowledge
pertaining to the history of the Blues.
4
Unit Narrative
National Standards of Music Education
Primary Standards:
- Standard 3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
- Standard 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
- Standard 9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
Secondary Standards:
Standard 2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
Standard 5. Reading and notating music.
Cross Curricular Standards:
National Standards of Social Studies Teachers:
Standard 1 Culture d. Compare ways in which people from different cultures think about and deal with their physical environment and
social conditions.
Standard 2 Time, Continuity, and Change. f. Use knowledge of facts and concepts drawn from history, along with elements of
historical inquiry, to inform decision-making about and action-taking on public issues.
Standard 3 People, Places, and Environment. a. Construct and use mental maps of locales, regions, and the world that demonstrate
understanding of relative location, direction, size, and shape.
5
Objectives:
-
-
-
Students will learn what the hexatonic blues scale is and will be able to utilize that scale while improvising over a 12-bar
blues progression. They will accomplish this by several lessons where the instructor breaks down the scale and provides
guidelines for improvisation ideas. Using multiple rehearsal techniques, the students will begin to gain information and
musicianship skills while the instructor rehearses the ensemble. (Standards 2, 5, 3.)
Students will gain a wealth of knowledge involving the history and culture of the Blues throughout the 19th and 20th
century. Using multiple strategies such as: lecture, use of media, use of technology, and supplemental materials, students
will be able to ask assessment questions both, verbal and written, formal and informal. (Standards 8 and 9).
Students will learn a wealth of knowledge about analytical parts of the blues scale and style of music. Including: cadence,
blue notes, progressions, chord symbols, and lyrical subjects. By specifically practicing the above content, the teacher will
engage the students in verbal discussion, use of media, assessment questions, and group discussion. (Standards 5, 6, and 9)
Differentiation/Accommodation
-
Students were assessed on an individual basis weeks prior to the unit. After thorough discussions with Mr. Bowman, I was
able to create a unit that best suited all students’ learning styles. I presented material in both verbal and non-verbal ways.
Students were given the choice to read along, take notes, look at and listen to Youtube clips, perform musical ideas on an
instrument, and then take a written based assessment prior and post the unit. By providing the students with multiple
strategies and teaching styles, they were given the opportunity to succeed on many different levels. Overall, using multiple
strategies that helped provide excellent data in support of this teaching tool. In future lessons I will incorporate different
choice options like the ones listed above to help students succeed on many different levels.
-
None of the students had any learning disabilities that I was aware of. Although, there were two students who have had
several discipline and grade issues in their other classes, so I made sure to try to keep them as engaged as possible, by
calling on them often and making them participate just as much as everyone else in the classroom, if not even more.
Real-Life Skills
-
Throughout the unit and prior to the post written exam I informed the students that by using context clues, they would be
able to figure out the answers to questions by using small amounts of critical thinking. An example of this appeared on the
written exam. Students were asked to define the word “Hexatonic”. By remembering the roots of the two parts of the
word, “hexa” and “tonic,” the students were able to answer the question correctly. Critical thinking questions like this can
be transferred over later in life while students are taking other assessments or are put into real life situations.
6
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Students gained a wealth of knowledge that they may be able to apply to other classes or facets of life. For example, the
inspiration of improvising does not only apply to music, but applies to cooking, communicating, and many other aspects of
life. Creation is something beautiful and unique that plays a very important role in being a well-rounded human being and
I am very pleased that I had the ability to introduce them to a new way of improvising. As an effective teacher, I can begin
to incorporate different teaching styles, activities, and lessons that focus around different functions of the mind.
Instructional Strategies Used within Lesson
-
-
Lecture
 The instructor in front of the class presenting the unit material.
Note taking
 Several students took their own personal notes.
Music and audio clips watched and listened to.
Group rehearsal instruction
Individual rehearsal instruction
Timeline placement activity
 Students were given pictures of blues artists and historical subjects to go up and place on the large timeline
that is on the dry-erase board.
Worksheets created by the instructor to help provide guidelines when practicing improvisation.
Listening to Blues music.
 Critical listening
Technology and Materials Used
-
Mac Computer
Youtube
Itunes
Projector
Microphone
Amplifier
Speakers
Dry-Erase White board.
Magnets
Drum Set
Vibraphone
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Vocabulary:
-
Cadence
Scale
Blues Scale
Improvisation
Solo
Hexatonic
12-bar blues progression
Intervals
Scale degree
Blue notes
Chord
Timeline for Unit
Day 1
- Slavery in America influences the Blues.
- Large overview of Blues history
- Hexatonic Blues Scale
Day 2
- Review historical timeline
- Improvising using two scale degrees
- Learn the 12 bar blues scale
- Discussion of 1940s-1970s Blues
Day 3
-Review the scale and progression:
- Spend some time to accommodate the student’s who missed yesterday’s class.
-Improvising using 3 scale degrees or more for the more advanced students.
-Discuss history about 1920s-1960s
-BB King, Ray Charles, Son house
- Introduce Cadence to them.
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Day 4
- Critical listening (review of artists and history)
- Review cadence
- Improvising using 3 different scale degrees per 4-bar phrase.
Day 5
- Take improvising test
- Review and go more in depth over the history about 1980s-today
- Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and John Mayer.
Day 6
- Short overview review.
- Explanation of directions and expectations for test taking.
-Take written post-test.
Day 7
- Make up post-test for one student.
Lesson Plans
Lesson Plan 4/10/13 – LAMP Day 1
Pre lesson duties:
- Set up the projector
- Set up the Youtube videos.
- Set up Speakers
- Make sure the videos will be easily viewed by the students.
- Set up Mac Book.
- Set up Vibraphone.
Objectives:
- Students will learn about the origins of Blues history
- Students will learn the Hexatonic scale and what that word means.
- Students will learn 12 bar blues progression.
Procedure:
Standard 9
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- Play short history Youtube clip of (end of civil war, end of slavery, origins of the Blues, lyrical topics)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dclNCcdYho
-Put pictures of slaves, the word “The Blues” and Freedom of slaves on the whiteboard timeline.
-Discuss what the lyrics of blues probably pertain to.
- Play short clip of Bessie Smith playing and Louis Armstrong playing.
- Put pictures of those 2 in the 1920’s part of timeline.
- Play a short clip of Muddy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5IOou6qN1o
- Discuss the use of electric guitar.
- Expansion of blues into different parts of the country (Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis, Detroit)
- Put their pictures in the 1940’s-1950’s era.
- Play short clip of Eric Clapton and BB King. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5mL1UOsK74)
- 1970’s era
Play short clip of John Mayer
- Today’s Era
Standard 6
Hexatonic Blues Scale:
- Use the projector to show the differences between their Major scale and their hexatonic scale.
- Students will write out the scale degree of their regular Bb scale.
- Students will copy down the hexatonic scale on a piece of paper. Use the projector.
- Discuss the word hexatonic.
- Model the scale on Vibraphone.
- Practice the scale and help students play correct notes.
- Reference the chromatic scale they already know to figure out the correct notes.
Review/Assessment:
-
Informally assess students on information taught in today’s lesson by asking them questions about the history and iconic blues
artists.
There will be no formal assessment on this lesson.
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National Standards:
Standard 2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
Standard 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
Standard 9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
Lesson Plan 4/11/13 – LAMP Day 2
Pre lesson duties:
- Set up the Youtube videos.
- Set up Speakers
- Set up Mac Book.
- Set up Drum Set
Objectives:
- Students will experience improvising.
- Students will review the hexatonic scale and Blues history.
Procedure:
Standard 9
Motivational Introduction: Play the history video at 4:25 -5:20 and discuss http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dclNCcdYho
Review Prior Lesson Activity
-
Students will each receive a picture of a particular musician and will place them correctly on the timeline using magnets.
Use the other students to assess if the active student places the picture in the appropriate place.
Warm-up/Review
Standard 6
1. Review the hexatonic scale.
-
- Play the scale up and down.
Students will write out on a piece of paper the scale degrees of the hexatonic scale.
o Have one student come up to the board and write the hexatonic scale and discuss.
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2. Write out the 12- bar blues progression on the white board and discuss roman numerals and scale degrees to students.
- Rehearse the progression.
- Play drum set along with them to lead the group and to grab their attention and see that their teacher plays music too.
3. Split into A and B groups (phase 1 of pizza party. Attempt to improvise.)
A - Play progression
B – improvise only using two scale degrees the students chose on half notes. (Standard 3)
5. Do the same thing but choose different notes. The students pick which intervals to use.
- Switch groups.
Standard 9
7. Show clips of Muddy Waters and BB King playing and discuss how music started going up into the northern cities like St. Louis,
Detroit, and Chicago.
Review/Assessment:
- Students will come up to the timeline and place the pictures using magnets to the appropriate area and tell the class one particular
thing the artist is associated with.
- Students will be asked to write down the correct scale degrees of the hexatonic Blues scale.
Standards:
Standard 2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
Standard 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
Standard 9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
Standard 3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
Lesson Plan 4/12/13 – LAMP Day 3
Pre lesson duties:
- Set up the Youtube videos.
- Set up Speakers
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-
Set up Mac Book.
Set up vibraphone.
Objectives:
- Students will experience improvising.
- Students will practice writing out their hexatonic blues scale and notate their 12-bar blues progression using the worksheet I created
for them.
- Students will learn more about the 1920s-1960s era of the Blues.
Procedure:
-
-
-
-
Standard 6
Handout the worksheet I made and have them fill it out.
o Make time to have an overview of yesterday’s lesson for the two students that missed yesterday’s lesson.
o Review of hexatonic scale degrees and the 12-bar blues progression.
o Discuss cadence and listen to a few examples of musicians playing cadences.
Warm up playing the hexatonic blues scale.
Rehearse the blues progression.
o Opportunity to practice proper air support, posture, tone quality, balance and blend.
o Play along with Bb blues progression Youtube clip.
o Model improvising on the vibraphone.
Have students fill in the blanks on the worksheet the 3 notes they want to choose to improvise on today.
 The students could choose to only play half notes or could expand their rhythms to incorporate quarter notes as
well.
Standard 2
Improvise using those 3 notes or more for the more advanced students.
o Inspire confidence by providing encouraging feedback.
o Phase 2 (3rd note) of the pizza party incentive to encourage participation.
Standard 3
- Discuss the use of blue notes – hexatonic scale
- Discuss the use of sad lyrics in the 1920s-1960s. Play the Youtube clip of “Hit the Road Jack” by Ray Charles.
- Discuss information on Ray Charles.
- Introduce the word cadence to them.
Review/Assessment:
- Students will improvise using 3 of the hexatonic scale degrees.
-
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Students will come up to the timeline and place the pictures using magnets to the appropriate area and tell the class one particular
thing the artist is associated with.
Ask each student individually what cadence means.
Standards:
Standard 2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
Standard 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
Standard 9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
Standard 5. Reading and notating music.
Standard 3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
Lesson Plan 4/15/13 – LAMP Day 4
Pre lesson duties:
- Set up the Youtube videos.
- Set up Speakers
- Set up Mac Book.
- Set up microphone.
- Set up vibraphone.
Objectives:
- Students will experience improvising.
- Students will practice writing out their hexatonic blues scale and notate their 12-bar blues progression using the worksheet I created
for them.
- Students will learn more in depth about the style and culture of the Blues of the 1960s-1980s.
Procedure:
- (Critical listening) Play a blues song from Youtube with electric guitar and sad lyrics and ask the class who the possible musicians it
could be. Have them list off artists. (Assessment)
-
Review of sad lyrics.
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Review and discuss cadence more in detail.
(Critical Listening) Play a Bessie Smith song for them and have the student raise their hands and make educated guesses.
o Emphasize the use of sad lyrics.
Standard 6
- Students will fill out the hexatonic blues scale on a piece of paper. Have one student come up to the board and show everyone else
how to write it.
- Students will practice playing the hexatonic blues scale.
- Students will practice the 12-bar blues progression.
o Discuss “chord symbols” compared to scale degree.
 Explain to the class what “Blue” notes are.
o Discuss the difference between the progression and scale.
Standard 3
-
Improvising using 3 different scale degrees per 4-bar phrase.
o Using half notes, quarter notes, or 8th notes.
o Make them choose the scale degrees that surround the 1st chord of each 4-bar phrase. (review of previous knowledge and a
different view on how to think about scale degrees and chords)
o Incorporate using the microphone by having the more confident students play into a microphone when they improvise.
-Instruct students to play the hexatonic blues scale when the cadence happens.
Standard 9
-Play short clip of Eric Clapton and BB King. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5mL1UOsK74)
- Discuss the increase of integration involving the Blues.
Review/Assessment:
-
Have students participate in the historical timeline activity.
Standards:
Standard 2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
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Standard 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
Standard 9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
Standard 5. Reading and notating music.
Standard 3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments..
Lesson Plan 4/16/13 – LAMP Day 5
Objectives:
- Students will take their improvising playing test.
- Students will learn more details about the later history of the blues.
Pre lesson duties:
- Set up Youtube video of John Mayer and Jeff Beck.
- Set up Speakers
- Set up Mac Book.
Procedure:
-
Practice improvising and reviewing what we did in class yesterday, having the students picking 3 different scale degrees for each
4-bar phrase to improvise on. (In order to incorporate all 6 hexatonic scale degrees)
Take a moment and describe to them exactly what I want them to play and indiscreetly conduct the post-test without making a big
deal out of it so they don’t become nervous.
Review and learn new concepts:
- Show students Jeff Beck and John Mayer.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yGB6d_3n58
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv6J2aQo2rk
o Discuss the differences between Blues now, and older Blues. (review of previous knowledge).
 Students will come to the board and write out similarities and differences between these artists and other
artists we have discussed in previous lessons they heard while listening to these recordings.
 Race
 Equipment
 Lyrical content
Standards:
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Standard 2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
Standard 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
Standard 9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
Standard 5. Reading and notating music.
Standard 3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
Lesson Plan 4/17/13 – LAMP Day 6
Objectives
-
Review historical, cultural, and analytical material learned throughout the LAMP unit.
Students will take the post-test.
Procedure:
-
Use the timeline on the white board and pictures to help guide discussion with the classroom about what Blues is and how it has
changed throughout history.
Ask students about the key components that make up Blues music.
Post-Test
-
Have the students sit far away from each other so they cannot help each other out.
o Hand out the written post-test and explain the directions.
Standards:
Standard 9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
Standard 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
LAMP 4/18/13 – LAMP Day 7
-
Conduct a very short review session for one of the students who missed yesterday and conduct the test with the student in a
practice room.
Mr. Bowman will take charge of the rest of the class while I stay in the room with student taking the post-test.
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Technology
Technology is a very useful tool to use in the classroom and played a major role in my lessons. The technology I used helped provide
both, visual and aural opportunities for the students to learn. I used many different technological devises to help engage students in a variety
of ways. The first piece of technology used within the unit was my Macintosh laptop to show Youtube clips of various blues artists. I also
used an audio clip of a 12-bar blues progression in Bb that the students used to practice improvising on. I set up an amplifier up and speakers
up so that the students could hear the audio clips at appropriate levels. On most days, I would have blues playing as the students came into
class and would it helped set the mood and get the students thinking about the lesson right when they enter the classroom. Using Youtube and
the speakers helped the students learn and become engaged during the lessons. Along with the speakers and amplifier, I also used a
microphone to help the soloists be heard over the rest of the ensemble louder. The microphone mostly either encouraged the students to
improvise with more excitement or made some of the students more nervous to improvise. The microphone helped in some ways and didn’t
help in some ways, so I only used it one day. I think using the microphone may have been more appropriate for older students.
The next piece of technology I used was the overhead projector and projector screen. I used this piece of technology to help the
students see the hexatonic scale in comparison with their normal Bb concert major scale. The use of the projector also helped engage the
students because it is not a technology that is used often in the classroom.
Overall, technology plated a major role in this unit. It helped the lessons become more interesting for the students and helped me
present information in a variety of ways. The students seemed to enjoy the aspect of it and were more willing to participate with the more the
technology was used.
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Differentiation/Accommodation
Students were assessed on an individual basis one week prior to the unit. After thorough discussions with Mr. Bowman, I was able to
create a unit that best suited all students’ learning styles. I presented material in both verbal and non-verbal ways. Students were given the
choice to read along, take notes, look at and listen to Youtube clips, perform musical ideas on an instrument, and then take a written based
assessment prior and post the unit. By providing the students with multiple strategies and teaching styles, the students were given the
opportunity to succeed on many different levels. Overall, using multiple strategies helped provide excellent data in support of this teaching
tool. In future lessons I will incorporate different choice options like the ones listed above to help students succeed on many different levels.
Student Assessment Tools
-
Pre Test Rubric for Playing Exam
o Students were assessed on their 12-bar hexatonic blues scale improvisation while the rest of the ensemble played the 12-bar
blues progression to support the improviser. The same process was then repeated for the post examination. The teacher
then assessed the students using the following rubric.
-
Post Test for Playing Exam
o Students were assessed on their 12-bar hexatonic blues scale improvisation while the rest of the ensemble played the 12-bar
blues progression to support the improviser. The process was exactly the same for both pre-test and post-test. The teacher
then assessed the students using the following rubric.
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Pre-Test Rubric for Instrumental Improvisation in
7th
Grade (20pts)
20
th
Post-Test Rubric for Instrumental Improvisation in 7 Grade
21
Written Pre-Test (Student Version)
28pts.
22
23
Answer Key for Both Tests
24
25
Written Post-Test (Student Version) 28pts.
26
27
Assessment Graphs
Percentage Scores
Playing Test Pre vs Post
120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
Pre-Test
20%
Post-Test
0%
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
class
average
Students
*All students received a 0% on the Pre-Test.
Written Pre-Test vs. Post-Test Results
Score Percent
120.00%
100.00%
80.00%
60.00%
40.00%
Pre-Test Results
20.00%
Post Test Results
0.00%
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Students
8
9
10
11
12
Class
Average
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Standard 9 Written Pre-Test vs. Post-Test
120%
Score Percent
100%
80%
60%
Standard 9 Pre-Test
40%
Standard 9 Post-Test
20%
0%
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Class
Average
Students
Standard 6 Pre-Test vs. Post-Test
120.00%
Score Percent
100.00%
80.00%
60.00%
Standard 6 Pre-Test
40.00%
Standard 6 Post-Test
20.00%
0.00%
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Students
8
9
10
11
12
Class
Average
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Narrative: Interpretation of Results
Analysis of Pre-Test Performance
-
At the end of the pre-testing stage, I began to make the connection that these students were not a s familiar with this as I thought
that they would be. By looking at each graph individually we can make the following statements.
o The students had had scores that ranged between 0% and 18% on the written pre-test with a class average of 6.53%.
o The average score on standard 6 was 6.05%.
o The average score on standard 9 was 8%
o No student played anything correctly when taking the playing pre-test and all got 0%.
o According to the statistics shown on the written test (standards 6 and 9) students showed little to know prior knowledge of
the topics at hand.
o Of the two standards covered (Blues music analysis 9 and culture/history 6) students seemed to perform more accurately on
the Blues culture and history section.
Changes made after the pre-test.
Because students were not as familiar with the material as I had planned I began to add much more detail to the information that I had
created to begin with, ie; Youtube clips, and quizzes, like the listening quizzes. Thinking from a cognitive and affective domain area, I began
adding different elements such as clearer definitions, images, and activities to better get the information across. I also made more of an
attempt to plan to teach more on the analytical parts of the unit because the statistics showed that was the weakest portion of the written test.
Besides these changes, no other changes were made between the Pre-Test and starting of the actual unit.
Analysis of Post-Test Performance
At the end of the 6-day unit, students were asked to perform the exact same playing exam using the exact same rubric. The same
written test was given to the students as well. By looking at this graph below, the following statements can be made.
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Each student had considerable improvement on each post-test, written and playing.
o The students had a class average of 91%
o Their scores ranged from 64%-107%.
o The majority of students performed better on standard 9 with a class average of 99% compared to standard 6 where the
class average was 86%.
 The reason for this difference in success was type of thinking and learning skills. Standard 6 (Analyzing music)
involves a higher level of thinking skills, connecting memory and logic together, whereas standard 9 was more of a
memorizing of facts type of learning.
 There were a couple of students with very low scores. There are a couple reasons I believe this to be true.
 One of those students missed a day and did not receive as much attention as one should have.
 Two of the students who had low scores also tend to receive poor grades in other classes and may have a
number of their own reasons that inhibit them to learn effectively like: social issues, mental issues,
motivational issues, or home issues.
 The student who received a 71% took the test a day later than the rest of the class and the day before the
student’s mother gave birth, so with the combined circumstances I believe that was the cause for the
student’s low score.
-
The written pre-test information shows that the students had very little knowledge of the content at hand at the start of this unit.
The post-test results show and average of an 84.4% increase of knowledge the students gained throughout this unit.
The students had an average of a score of 98% on the playing test, which is a 98% increase from the pre-test.
o I was very pleased with how my students performed on their playing tests. They all made great attempts to improvise
using all of the hexatonic degrees. Although, many students did not use very creative ideas involving rhythm and
dynamics. I feel I could have put creativity with rhythm and dynamics into the rubric to make the test a bit more
challenging. If the class average score was 98%, then that tells me the playing test was probably not quite challenging
enough. Although, I am very proud of my students and me for the success we achieved, I believe that it would have
benefited the students to be assessed on rhythmic and dynamic creativity.
o Playing tests and written assessments are very important in the learning process of teaching music and some sort of written
and playing test should be taken at least every1-2 weeks.
o Overall, I am very pleased with how this portion of the unit turned out.
-
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Test Percentage Growth
Tests
Written
Pre-Test
Written
Post-Test
Class
Average
6.53%
91%
Written
Percentage
Growth
84.4%
Tests
Playing
Pre-Test
Playing
Post-Test
Class
Average
0%
98%
Playing
Percentage
Growth
98%
Assessment Narrative
Students were assessed with a written and playing test 1 week and 1 day prior to the beginning of the unit for reasons of special
accommodation for planning purposes. It was determined that no student would require special accommodation and the unit was presented to
all of the students in the exact same manner. If a student needed special accommodation then I would have planned to accommodate that
student appropriately. By having an instructor read each question aloud to the student, and personally helping the students during both the
playing and written portions of the assessment, all students would be given the opportunity to succeed.
For this unit there were three types of assessment used. There were two types of formal assessment, a written and playing exam at the
beginning and end of the unit. Rubrics were designed for the playing exam based around 4 major areas: recognition of the 12 bar Blues form
while playing the vamp, identification and recognition of the Blues scale, improvisation on the 12 bar Blues, and entrances and exits. The
recognition of the 12 bar Blues form while playing the vamp dealt with being able to play the 12-bar blues chord progression appropriately to
provide harmonic support for the student improvising and dealt with the student recognizing those patterns during their improvisation. The
identification and recognition of the Blues scale dealt with incorporating the hexatonic Blues scale into their improvisations. The
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improvisation on the 12 bar Blues dealt with the amount of measures the students were able to improvise for. The entrance and exits dealt
with students entering and exiting in and out of their improvisations appropriately. The students were also informally assessed on a daily
basis with review activities and learning activities such as critical listening exercises, placing pictures onto a timeline that was written out on
the white board, and questions asked by the instructor throughout the unit.
Instructional Narrative and Analysis
Presentation of Directions:
Before any activity or learning was presented to the students, the instructor explained to the students in detail what was going to be
happening for the next week. This included all pre and post-tests, and rubrics. I used aural and visual ways to reach the learning needs of each
student. My directions were mostly oral, but I often times would write out or have the students write out answers to my questions of activities
that were involved throughout he unit. For the assessment tests I spoke out the directions for the students after I had handed out all of the
tests and made sure that if anyone had a question about the test that they could raise their hand and ask me a question. None of the students
had any learning disabilities that I was aware of. Although, there were two students who have had several discipline and grade issues in their
other classes, so I made sure to try to keep them as engaged as possible, by calling on them often and making them participate just as much as
everyone else in the classroom, if not even more.
This project focused around two main parts; the kinesthetic and cognitive portion of improvising and the cognitive portion that
included information about the history, culture, and analytical elements of Blues music. The standards chose for this unit revolved around the
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skills and knowledge that are important to Blues music. Students were given several opportunities to gather information from the instructor
due to many different teaching techniques, either through in-class experience, listening and watching key Youtube clips, lecture, timeline
activities, or critical listening activities. For mastery of the criteria, students had to complete 2 exams, one written and one playing. Students
were assessed through the testing as well as informal assessment that was done on a daily basis. Students were assigned grades based on premade rubrics that were used for the playing exam and how well they were able to answer questions pertaining to the information on the
written exam.
The critical listening exercise I had the students participate in was a very successful instructional strategy. I would play an audio clip
of a blues artist and the students would listen to it and write down certain musical characteristics they heard in the recording. This exercise
connects students to real-life experiences because it involves the use of a lot of cognition like connecting several pieces of information to
formulate an answer. I would then stop the recording and ask them what they wrote and had a several students come up to the white board
and write their guesses of who they thought it might be and/or what time ear they thought the song was from. This activity was easy for me to
ask individuals questions and lead them down the right path to find the answers by themselves as individuals or as a group. This activity was
very engaging for the students, and they seemed to enjoy it.
The instructor incorporated having a pizza party as an incentive to become more willing to participate in the instructional activities.
There were different phases each day that tied into the activities we were doing, which helped the students overcome the fear of improvising
in front of their peers. Although, based on body language and behavior from the students, I feel that the pizza party did not really have a
major role to play in encouraging the students to learn. After a discussion with Mr. Bowman, I learned that the last band director may have
committed to several extrinsic incentives offered to his students but would often not follow through with his word. For this reason, I think the
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students thought that the pizza party would likely not happen. Although, the pizza party incentive did initially help jump-start the learning
process of improvising I feel that my own encouragement and classroom environment played a much more important role in getting the
students to become engaged and participate in the process.
Strengths and Weaknesses
One of my weaknesses was not spending enough time explaining the differences between chord symbols and scale degrees. There
were several mistakes made on the question pertaining to the common chords used in Blues and I feel many of the students were not thinking
about the chord or scale degree they used to play the progressions, but instead just memorized their notes. There seemed to be some
disconnect between scale degree, chord symbols, note names, and accidentals used. I feel I may have spent too much time making sure the
students understood how to improvise. I may have lacked some instructional time used to further explain how scale degrees, chord symbols,
and note names work together. Based on the mixture of different looking answers on the post-test of chord symbols with scale degrees seen
when writing out their hexatonic scale degrees, incorrect chord’s circled, and which two scale degrees are not used in the hexatonic scale there
seemed to be a disconnect with it all. I feel there may have been a lack of discussion, but rather more time was spent just writing down the
hexatonic scale degrees and notes. One thing that I could have done but would have taken more time would have been to apply the hexatonic
scale to a different major scale that they already knew.
One of my strengths is my ability to create a comfortable and safe environment for the students. By looking at the post-test
result, the students performed very well on the playing test and I have to say that it was very successful due to my ability to encourage
students and create a safe learning environment. I was able to encourage them enough to play out their own ideas with a minimum amount of
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nervousness, and even got them all improvising the first time I asked. Getting the students to overcome the fear of playing alone was a very
tough bridge to cross, but I was able to do it in 4 days and am proud of my accomplishment as a teacher. Some things that I do as a teacher
that help me create safe environments is that I have an easy-going personality that allows me to connect with the students on a more personal
level. I feel that in most of my classes my students trust me and what I have to say based upon my personality and musical abilities that the
students have seen from me.
Overall Statement
Looking at the project from afar, it can be said that it was a success. For the first time ever teaching a full unit to students, the
evidence gathered form the data presented an overall 84.4% increase on the written exam and a 98% increase on the playing exam. Looking
at this success I can begin to make a couple of observations. This lesson is not only restricted to the 7th grade level, but to nearly any other
level of education, although, the complexity of the information will have to very if applied to a different grade level. If I want, I can add the
process of improvising to nearly any facet of music I want to. Whether it be practicing scale, warming-up, or even adding an improvising
section to a piece of music the class is partaking in, which is actually what the plan is to do in the next few weeks after this unit. Students
gained a wealth of knowledge that they may be able to apply to other classes or facets of life. For example, the inspiration of improvising
does not only apply to music, but applies to cooking, communicating, and many other aspects of life. Creation is something beautiful and
unique that is a very important role in being a well-rounded human being and I am very pleased that I had the ability to introduce them to a
new way of improvising. As an effective teacher, I can begin to incorporate different teaching styles, activities, and lessons that focus around
different functions of the mind.
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If I was going to re-do this unit I would make a few changes. I would try to take more time during class to discuss the hexatonic scale
on a deeper level and apply it to other scales. I would also give out homework to the students to fill out to ensure that they are engaged
outside of class. Through using different instructional strategies, more emphasis on reviewing for final exams, and more formal assessments I
can begin to further challenge my students to create intrinsic motivation to want to learn the material.
I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to be a part of the Ball State University Music Education Program. I feel that it is
among the best in the nation and that it has prepared me to be successful in the professional world of teaching music. The classes and student
teaching were all very challenging, but I appreciate that because I know I have learned a lot and feel like a mature musician at this point, but
at the same time I know I still have a lot to learn about the professional world of teaching. This unit has been a learning experience not only
for myself, but for all those involved as well and am glad to have taken a part in it.
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Rubric For Self-Perceived Growth
Category
Instructional
Effectiveness
Quality of
Assessment Tools
Planning
Preparation
Other Aspects
1 Unsatisfactory
Teaching Lessons,
describing in detail
information
pertaining to lesson,
individual
instruction.
Assessments, rubrics,
student is
understanding clear,
multiple assessment
tools.
Lessons are nonexistent with little to
no planning. Details
are not established.
2 Poor
Teaching Lessons,
describing in detail
information
pertaining to lesson,
individual
instruction.
Assessments, rubrics,
student is
understanding clear,
multiple assessment
tools.
Lessons are vague
and unclear. Lesson
planning does not
seem apparent.
Details are not
established.
3 Basic
Teaching Lessons,
describing in detail
information
pertaining to lesson,
individual
instruction.
Assessments, rubrics,
student is
understanding clear,
multiple assessment
tools.
Lessons are
somewhat unclear
and unplanned.
Lesson planning is
vague and unclear.
Details are being
established only
before each lesson.
Teacher is well
Teacher is for the
Teacher is somewhat
prepared for all
most part prepared
prepared for all
activities.
for all activities.
activities.
All aspects have been Most aspects of the
Some aspects of the
completed in a timely project have been
project have been
manner.
completed in a timely completed in a timely
manner.
manner.
4 Proficient
Teaching Lessons,
describing in detail
information
pertaining to lesson,
individual
instruction.
Assessments, rubrics,
student is
understanding clear,
multiple assessment
tools.
Lessons are planned
somewhat in
advanced. Lesson
planning is somewhat
used. Details are
mostly worked out
prior to unit.
5 Distinguished
Teaching Lessons,
describing in detail
information
pertaining to lesson,
individual
instruction.
Assessments, rubrics,
student is
understanding clear,
multiple assessment
tools.
Lessons are planned
far in advance.
Lesson planning is
used. All detail are
worked out prior to
unit.
Teacher is somewhat
prepared for
activities.
Only a few aspects of
the project have been
completed in a timely
manner.
Teacher is
unprepared for
activities.
None of the aspects
of the project have
been completed in a
timely manner.
Above is my completed LAMP rubric for the entire unit.
-
For instructional effectiveness I would give myself a 4.5 out of 5. I was very satisfied with my results on the tests, but for the
students who missed a day, I do not think that I handled their missed day appropriately. I should have given them each a
homework assignment of some sort.
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-
For quality of assessment tools I would give myself a 4.5 out of 5. I was able to use many different forms of assessment tools.
-
For the planning section I would give myself a 5 out of 5. All activities were planned well in advance with little adjustments
having to be made.
I would give myself a 5 out of 5 because I felt I was always fully prepared when teaching.
-
For other aspects of the project I would give myself a 4 out of 5. Overall elements were all there and by providing different
instructional strategies and activities students may have been able to succeed a little more than the data shows.