Outcomes/StrategiesStudentswillhavetheopportunityto:

Skilloutcome:
1. PlayBlueSeveninalaidback,earthyswingstyleappropriatetoHardBop
2. ImproviseusingtheBbbluesinaHardBopstyle
Strategies:
Listeningto,andanalysingrecordingsofBluesevenaswellasothersimilarhardboppieces
willhelpstudentstodevelopanauralimageoftheHardBopStyle.Furthermore,listeningto
contrastingpieceswhichmaybemorefamiliartothestudent'searlikeDocSeverinsen'sBig
BandversionofBegintheBeguinewillhelpstudentstofocustheirperceptionofHardBop.
Studentsshoulddescribethedifferencesbetweenthetwostylesandandexplainthose
differences.Assessment:Listeningsheet#1

AhomeworkassignmentonaGoogleDocFindaperformanceofaHardBoptune(offofa
curatedlistcreatedbytheteacher)onlinewhichthestudentfindappealing.Thestudentwould
thenpresentthispieceinclassandeveryonewould(inaGoogleDoc)writewhytheylikethat
particularpiece,whattheinstrumentationis,andwhatthepieceisaboutorwhatthecomposer
intendedittobefor.Thiswouldrequiresomeinvestigation.Thedrummershouldfindasong
withadrumsolothattheylike,theteachersuggestionmightbesomethingwithMaxRoach
playingonit.Iwouldthenaskthemtoidentifytheinstrumentationthattheyhearduringthe
courseoftheprogressionsandanychangesthatoccur.Thisrequiresstudentstolistentoa
piecemultipletimeslisteningforveryspecificthings.Itisalsoagreatwaytointroducethe
genreandallofthecomponentsthatmakeupastandardtuneinthegenre.Onestudent
shouldpresentperclass.Assessment:ListeningAssignment(GoogleDoc)

SomedirectinstructionCallandresponseisaveryimportantfacettothecurriculum.The
teacherwillprovidetherhythmsectionwithmusicaltoolsneededtosustainaBbswinggroove,
thencallapatternusingtheBbbluesscaleasapalet.Thecallwouldbedoneinan
appropriateswingstyle.ThisisawaytogetstudentsplayingwithinthestyleofHardBop
immediately.WhilealsodevelopingtheBbbluesvocabulary.Whenstudentaremore
comfortableusingthevocabulary,theteacherwouldaskforstudentvolunteerstoleadthecall
andresponse.

ImprovisationCallandresponseexerciseswillevolveintoimprovisationexperimentation.
Studentswillhavetheopportunitytoexperimentwithimprovisationontheirinstrument.This
wouldbedoneasagroup,withinspecificguidelines,atthesametimetocreateasafe
environmentforstudents.Afterthisexerciseiscompletedafewtimesallstudentswillbegiven
theopportunitytotakea12barBbbluessolo.Thedrummerwouldhaveanopportunitytoplay
asolowhichisappropriatetothestyle(similartoMaxRoach).

Decoding/experimentation/practiceroutine:ToinitiallyteachthetheheadtoBluesSeven,
studentswillhaveanopportunitytosightreaditontheirownataslowtempo,tofigureoutthe
notesandrhythms.Afterstudentshadanopportunitytoacquaintthemselveswiththepiece,
theywouldbeaskedtobreakthepieceintodigestiblemusicchunksontheirownbyusinga

penciltomarkthosesmallersectionswithinthepiece.Thestudentswouldthenpracticethose
smallerchunksontheirown.Followingthisprocess,thebandwillplaythewholeheadata
reducedtempousingstraightrhythms(becausethiswillbemanystudentsfirstattemptat
swing.Followingtheinitial/straightrhythmreadthrough,theteacherwouldleadacalland
responseofasimilartunelikeBluesFive,usingthesyllablesvavuandvat.Thepurposeof
thisexerciseisnottodeveloparticulation,butrathertodevelopstudentsauralperceptionof
swingrhythm.Thenextstepistoseparatethepartsintofamilies(woodwinds/brass)andassign
themthesyllablesstartingwithaToraDrespectivelyasopposedtoaV.Itwouldalsobe
appropriatetoletthestudentdiscusswhichsyllablegoeswhereinthemelody,andthenmap
outtheirdecisionswhileinsertinginstructionalsuggestionsalongthewaywherenecessary
suchasemphasizingtheendsofphrases.Oncethisprocesshasbeencompleted,theclass
wouldthensingthesongusingthedecideduponsyllables,thenmakeclasscorrectionsif
necessary.

Homework:Composewithvuvavat:Eachstudentwillchooseashortheadoutofthecurated
listeninglisttonotatewith(probablyoutoftherealeasybook).Inaddition,studentswillneed
tohighlightandexplainatleastonespotwheretheyhadtomakeadecisionregarding
placementofparticularvowels.Whentheyhavecompletedtheirtranscriptionstheywillbe
sharedwithotherstudentsintheclass.Itmaybeinterestingtothenhaveotherstudentstryto
singorspeaktherhythmsoftheirneighborstranscriptions,andthenmarksuggestionsintothe
transcription.

Thisprocesswouldberepeatedforsubsequentparts(2&3).

Afterthedecodingprocess,thenwewouldplaythemelodyasaJazzcombo.

Cognitiveoutcome:
1. Identifyanddescribeandexplainchordstructures/progressionsanddemonstrate
perceptionofchordprogressionsduringimprovisation
Strategies:
Goal:Forstudentstobeactivelylisteningduringthecourseofamelodyorimprovisation.
Basic
Backgroundknowledgeneeded:basictertiarychordstructures(ChordsI,IV,&V)andtheir
functionswithinaKey,(scales).

Teacherwillprovideasimplechordprogressioninrootpositionforexample(IVIVIV,IIVVI,
IVIVVI,then12barblues),forstudentstoanalyze.Studentswillneedtoidentifythetheroot
ofthechordandthecorrespondingScale.Studentsaregoingtodrawintherootsina12bar
blues.Assessment:Chordprogressionsheet

Alongwithabackingtrackeveryotherstudentwilleitherplayorsingtherootofthechords,then
theywillswitch.Following,basedontheavailableinstrumentation,studentswillbeassigneda
portionofachordtoplayi.e.thetonic,thethird,orthefifthofthechordtoplay.

Studentwouldthenlistentosimplechordprogressionsandmarkonapapereverytimethey
hearachordchange.OverthecourseoftheclassasstudentearsmatureIwouldaskthemto
firststartbymarkingwhenchordchangesoccurthenIwouldhavethemlistentoitagainand
markthechords(I,IV,V).Iwouldthenaskthemtoidentifytheinstrumentationthattheyhear
duringthecourseoftheprogressionsandanychangesthatoccur.Finally,Iwouldaskthemto
markdifferentsectionsofthepiece(i.e.head,solos,shout,coda,etc.)Thegoalofthisactivityis
togetstudentstolistenmoreperceptivelyinadditiontothefocusofidentifyingchordchanges.
Assessment:listeningsheet#2

Studentsthendescribewhichnotesarechordtones.Theywillthenexplainwhatnoteswill
soundgoodonthosechordswhenimprovising(surprise!Thechordtonesarenotesthatare
simplisticandthereforewillsoundmostnatural).Oncethestudentscandescribethisconcept,
alongwithexplainhowtherootschange,theywillbegiventheopportunitytoagainexperiment
withtheseconceptsbyputtingthemintopractice(usingthebasicadvancedchord
progressions).

Advanced
Studentbooksallhavethebasslinewrittenintherespectivekeyandregister,inadditionthe
bookshavethechordstructuresnotatedinrootposition.

Rootplaying/singingactivity:Previousknowledgenecessaryincludestheconceptofchordroots
andTonic.Studentswillneedtoidentifywhichrootgoeswhereinthe12barblues.Afterwhich
thestudentscanplay/singtherootsofthechordswithinthecontextofacombo.Followingthis
initialreadthrough,everyotherstudentwillsingtherootswhiletherestplaytheroot,andthen
theywillswitch.

Expansionofchordstudy:studentscanpickwhichnoteofthechordintheBasicthreenote
voicing,thentheycandoitwiththerootlessvoicings.Allofwhichisnotedintheirrespective
keys.

ExpandedVocabulary:Studentswillhavethechancetoplaythebasslineandpracticethe
tonesthatcanworkwithinthechordsstructures.

Developingasimplemotifthroughimprovisation:Studentwillbeaskedtocomposeasimple
motifandthenplayitandmanipulateitontheBbBlues.Thiscanbedoneusingasimpleswing
rhythmusingoneortwopitcheswhichwouldthenbetransposedtofittheIVandVchords.This
activitywillprovidestudentswithpracticeintheBluesaswellashelpperpetuatethetheHard
Bopstyleofdevelopedthemes.Studentsshouldexplaintheirmusicalchoicesastheyrelateto
theirmotifandthestyleofthegenre,aswellashowtheyrelatetothechordprogression.

TheHardBopfacetofdevelopingrhythmic/melodicideaswithinthecontextofanimprovised
solowasperpetuatedbySonnyRollins.Inordertofurtherperpetuatethisconcept,thestudents
willneedtimetoexperimentwiththemelody.UsingthefirstthreemeasuresofBlueSeven
(shownabove),thestudentswillbeaskedtonotateasmanysimplevariationsastheycan
usingelementsofmusicsuchasdynamics,articulation,pitchandrhythm.Thegoalofthis
activityistoprovidestudentswiththesamepracticeinmotif/themedevelopmentaswellas
connectitwiththeliterature.
Affectiveoutcome:
1. Makeconnectionswithintheirimprovisations.
Strategies:

Inclassexercise:Classimprovisation:Whilethebandisdoingmassimprovisation,theteacher
willcalloutemotions/descriptorslikeplayfully,gently,peacefully,muddy,etc.Studentswill
beabletorespondbyplayingwhattheyperceiveasplayfully,gently,etc.Thiswillprovide
studentsagainwithmoreopportunitytoexperimentwiththeirimaginativeprocess,butperhaps
moreimportantlygetthemconnectingpersonallytotheirimprovisations.Afterstudentshave
hadachancetoexperimentwiththesetermsintheirplaying,theywillhaveachancetoreflect
onsomeofthedecisionsthattheymadeduringtheexercise.Theycanpickoneofthe
emotions/descriptorsthatwascalledandexplainsomeofthechoicestheymadeintheirplaying
asitrelatedtothatparticularemotion/descriptor.

Homework:Listeningimprovisation:UsingtherecordingoftheBlueSeven,thestudentswill
describewhatkindofemotion/descriptorstheyarehearing,thenexplainwhytheythinkthey
heardthatparticularemotion.Usingpreviouslyconstructedknowledge(i.e.stylecharacteristics
andBbbluesscale)studentswilldevelopashortthemetodevelopinasolo.Thesesoloswould
berecordedandthenpresentedfortherestoftheclasstocritiqueanddescribeusingtermsof
emotion/descriptors.Studentperformerswilldescribewhatemotion/descriptortheywere
workingtowards,andexplaintheiruseofelementsofmusicandhowtheyrelatetotheir
themes.Assessment:Listeningsheet#1

Thisprocesswillprovideaplatformforactiveimprovisationratherthanjustploppingnotes
intoachordprogression.

Interdisciplinaryproject.(PaintingWassilyKandinsky,improvisation28)Studentscandiscussif
theycanfindconnectionsbetweenjazzimprovisationandthepainting.Thestudentscanuse
thepaintingasasourceofideasastheyattempttocreateimprovisatoryideastoplayintheir

solos.Afocusontheaccentsofcolors,andbrushstrokes,andseeminglyrandomnessofideas
inthepaintingserveacontinuityinstyle,andanoveralltheme.Furthermore,manyofthecolors
representedinthepaintingareearthywhichcanrelatetotheunderlyingearthyconceptsof
HardBop.Eachideainthepaintingcanrepresentanotherimprovisationalideaormusical
color.Thecolorsmayrepresenttonequality,velocity,rhythmicmotifs,volume,etc.Once
studentshaveexperienceddevelopingimprovisatoryideasastheyrelatetothepainting,they
woulddescribesomeofthedecisionsthattheymadeandexplainwhytheymadethose
decisionsduringinclasspresentations.Assessment:Journalform