Music Lesson Plan

Name: Alexander Merideth

Grade/Level: 9-12 Duration: 40-50 minutes Topic: Regional Percussion Auditions

Materials Needed:
Regional Etudes (extra copies in case students do not have them)
Pencils
Snare Drum Sticks, Timpani Mallets, Xylophone Mallets
Tripod
Camera
Extra sheets of loose leaf paper

Lesson Objectives:
Students will make important markings in their music, including important stickings they
will use for the 2016 Arizona Regional etudes
Students will perform at least one of the regional etudes for their classmates
Students will exhibit their understanding of the sight-reading process
Students will evaluate theirs and other students performance of the etudes
Students will formulate a plan for preparing their audition music

AZ State Standards Addressed:

Strand 1, Concept 1, PO 302: singing their own instrumental parts in tune with
appropriate articulation, phrasing and dynamics.
Strand 1, Concept 2, PO 304: identifying and playing individually and with others the
following note and rest values while maintaining a steady beat: whole, half, quarter,
eighth, dotted half, dotted quarter and sixteenth as well as other note and rest values
encountered in the repertoire.
Strand 1, Concept 2, PO 305: playing scale structures appropriate to the repertoire
encountered for full practical range.
Strand 1, Concept 2, PO 306: identifying and playing articulations and symbols as they
occur in the repertoire.
Strand 1, Concept 2, PO 308: playing expressively, on pitch, in rhythm, with appropriate
articulation, dynamics, phrasing, and tempo.
Strand 1, Concept 2, PO 312: sight-reading repertoire accurately and expressively at one
level below performance level.
Strand 1, Concept 2, PO 319: additionally for percussionists: applying percussion
rudiments appropriate to the repertoire encountered.
Strand 1, Concept 5, PO 302: explaining various asymmetrical meters.
Strand 1, Concept 5, PO 303: explaining and applying the terms encountered in the
repertoire.
Strand 1, Concept 5, PO 304: playing expressively, on pitch and in rhythm, dynamics,
phrasing, tempo markings encountered in the repertoire.

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 Strand 1, Concept 5, PO 305: using appropriate terminology to describe and explain
music encountered in the repertoire.
Strand 1, Concept 5, PO 306: identifying intervals encountered in the repertoire.
Strand 1, Concept 5, PO 307: recognizing and playing key signatures and accidentals in
the repertoire.
Strand 2, Concept 1, PO 304: analyzing and applying the relationship between rhythm
and mathematics as it occurs in the repertoire.
Strand 2, Concept 2, PO 304: applying appropriate audience behavior in the context and
style of music being performed.
Strand 3, Concept 1, PO 306: Using appropriate terminology to describe and explain
music.
Strand 3, Concept 1, PO 307: identifying and explaining the elements of music in the
repertoire.
Strand 3, Concept 1, PO 310: determining whether the instrument/voice is sharp, flat, or
in tune by listening to a pitch reference/ensemble.
Strand 3, Concept 3, PO 302: using student specified criteria to evaluate a musical
performance.
Strand 3, Concept 3, PO 303: showing respect for personal work and the work of others
through appropriate critique.
Strand 3, Concept 3, PO 305: analyzing the experience(s) of their performance and the
performance of others.

National Music Standard(s) Achieved:

#1 Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
#2 Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
#5 Reading and notating music
#6 Listening to, analyzing, and describing music
#7 Evaluating music and music performances

Musical Focus:
X Rhythm Melody Harmony
X Singing X Listening X Playing Instruments
Form History X Theory
Moving Conducting X Intonation
X Tone Color X Vocabulary Creating
X Expression Balance/Blend Other:

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Introduction/Anticipatory Set:
Open discussion with students about previous formal music auditions. Their experiences,
fears, successes, failures will be some of the guided features of the discussion.

Activities:
Students will go over the music silently and circle any important pre-existing markings.
We will then discuss how we can plan-ahead for our audition music before even playing a
note.
o Plan for 100% engagement: Extra copies will be available for students who may
have forgotten the music.
o Modifications/Accommodations: N/A
o Formative Assessment: Wandering around the classroom to see what students are
circling.
o Instructional Strategy: A few examples of potential things to circle will be walked
through with the students. Students will then be given time to circle what they feel
are important features of the music. Students will be able to discuss what they
circled and ask any questions they have on the music.
Each student will get the chance to play for the whole class. Some students have been
practicing these etudes and some may have not looked at them. The students who have
prepared an etude will go first. The students who have not looked at any of the etudes
will be used to Segway into the Sight Reading portion of this lesson.
o Plan for 100% engagement: All students will perform. Students who are not
regularly providing feedback may be called upon to offer input for another
student.
o Modifications/Accommodations: Students who have not prepared anything will
be able to use the sight-reading techniques to approach the music later in the
lesson.
o Formative Assessment: Students will assess one another and verbal, constructive
criticism will be used. Their assessment of one another will also be used as a
means of assessment by the instructor.
o Instructional Strategy: Students performances will be used as catalysts into
discussions about the features of the music that clearly are not being understood
by the students. Instructor may step in and demonstrate certain performance
elements. Students will also evaluate one another and offer both positive and
negative feedback for one another.
Sight Reading. Students will begin by discussing and formulating a list of what they think
are important elements to consider when sight reading. Some students may be asked to
come up and go through the process with the class being available as a guide.
The following will be used to help guide students:
Checklist: Before you begin to play a piece at sight, always remember to consider the
following:
Look at the time-signature, and decide how you will count the piece.
Look at the key-signature, and find the notes which need raising or lowering.
Adjust Music Stand so that it is comfortable on all instruments
Notice any accidentals that may occur.
Notice scale or arpeggio patterns.
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 Work out leger-line notes if necessary.
Notice dynamic levels and other markings.
Look at the tempo mark and decide what speed to play.
Count one bar before you begin, to establish the speed.

When performing your sight-reading piece, always remember to:

Continue to count throughout the piece.
Keep going at a steady and even tempo.
Ignore mistakes.
Keep ahead- at least to the next note.
Keep your hands in position on the keyboard/drum during rests.
Play Musically

Formalize Audition Plan

o Plan for 100% engagement: All students will be making their own personal
audition plan.
o Modifications/Accommodations: N/A
o Formative Assessment: Each student will need to show their plan for learning the
etudes by the end of the class.
o Instructional Strategy: Students will discuss strategies that have been successful in
previous experiences which can be drawn from in order to successfully navigate
their regional audition preparation. The group will create a timeline and plan and
then each student will also develop their own strategy. Students will then share
some of the things they put.

Concluding Activity/Success Experience:

Students will have a sheet of the three regional etudes with markings and stickings and a
formalized plan of engagement with the audition process listed on the back.

Extensions:
Students will eventually be performing full mock auditions in front of the class and
students will continue to assess one another.

Summative Assessments (if performance objectives are not formally assessed during this
lesson, how would it be in the future?):

Mock Auditions will be Summative Assessments

Notes for next time:

Provide more instruments so that multiple people can perform the etudes together.

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