Brianna

Tyler
MUS 243

MUS 243 Final Project Design

Intended Student Population: high school Music Appreciation class (9th-12th grade).

Project Purpose: The purpose of this project is to get students thinking about ways in
which popular music can be considered academic in the world of institutionalized music.
Students will be exercising their aural training skills, as well as critical thinking skills about
music. Specifically, students will come in contact National Core Arts Standards 1-3, 7, 9, and
11.

Project Goals: Throughout this project students will be able listen and critically think
about popular music and classical music. They should be able to come to a conclusion, even
if it isnt a solidified one, on how the two genres may be related. Finally the class will
accomplish creating a hip-hop beat using a classical music sample, to further accentuate the
principle that classical and popular music arent mutually exclusive. Students will complete
this composition by adding elements in small groups to the class singular composition.
Overall, students should leave understanding that classical music is not far removed from
popular music, that the two bare equal importance in the life of many professional
musicians, and that the two can both be utilized academically.

Resources needed: A single laptop with Garageband (or any software with a DAW on it), a
projector screen with an aux audio hook up to play music aloud in class, popular and
classical music examples to play for the class, and classical music samples to compose with.

Time Length: 50-60min

Assumed Prior Knowledge: This project is capable assuming the following:
Students are comfortable analyzing and describing music they listen to in their own
words
Students have aural skills training strong enough to audiate rhythms in their head.
The ability to memorize music (mostly for discussion, but also for the composition
process).
Knowledge of what different drums sound like (easily solvable if you play the
sounds aloud for students before they compose).

Project Procedure
1. Introduce the class to yourself using popular music and classical music. Start off by
playing a clip of one of your favorite classical music pieces (in my case, its the first
movement of Shostakovichs 7th symphony: Leningrad. I will play it from 10min
mark until the 15min mark).
2. Discuss! Without telling them that the piece is one of your favorites, ask them if they
liked it. Why or why not? (Let students know that theyre getting participation
points)
a. Guide the discussion with these questions:
 Brianna Tyler
MUS 243

i. For what reasons do you feel you didnt, or did, like this piece? Do you
like orchestral music in general or no?
ii. What do you think of when people say music class in schools? Do
you think of music history? Classical music? Dead composers and
powdered wigs?
3. Reveal to the class what the song is, and that its your favorite classical music piece.
Now play one of your favorite popular music songs (again, dont tell them its one of
your favorites. In my case, this song will be Weekend by SZA. I will play the entire
thing without the transition end piece).
4. Discuss! Without telling them that the piece is one of your favorites, ask them if they
liked it. Why or Why not?
a. Guide the discussion with these questions:
i. For what reasons do you feel you did, or didnt, like this piece? Do you
like R&B music, or vocalists in general?
ii. What do you think schools think of this type of music? Do you think
its accepted to use in classrooms for education? Do you think that you
can learn from this type of music personally?
5. Reveal to the class what the song is (if they dont already know it), and that its your
favorite popular music piece. Use the class discussion and the fact that the two songs
are both some of your favorite music to speak to the idea of genre diversity. Make
sure you hit these main points in your explanation
a. You like both classical and popular music, and thats okay! Both styles of
music are important to you equally. Just because you studied classical music
in college doesnt mean you dont care about popular music.
b. Popular music is a style of music that can be used in the classroom and is
worthy of being taught. Popular music is just as good at teaching ear training
as classical music.
c. Classical music and popular music influence each other. Popular music didnt
come out of thin airit eventually found a way to stem off from classical and
sacred music genres, and turned into what we know and love today.
6. Ask: So why does this matter? It matters because many times people believe you can
only love classical music or popular music, not both, and you certainly shouldnt
regard popular music as academic. But today, the class will explore fusing the two
genres together to prove that they arent mutually exclusive, and actually can be
appreciated at the same time.
7. Split the class into groups of 3-4 students (you should end up with 5 even groups, or
have as many groups as you do musical elements to assign them to). Each group
should have one element of popular music percussion assigned to them by letting
them pick from a pile of face down papers with one element written on each. The
elements are as follows:
a. Bass Drum
b. Snare Drum
c. High Hats/Cymbals
d. Vocalsor added melodic line on piano/syth
e. Snap/Claps
 Brianna Tyler
MUS 243

8. Now that each group has an element assigned to them, explain what you all will be
doing as a class. Create or download a sample from a classical music piece before
hand and play it for the class out loud. The sample shouldnt be very long and will
work best if its around 4 bars. (In my case, I will use a sample I created from
Scriabins 2nd symphony). Explain to the class that each group will add their element
to the existing sample. This will result in the class making a popular music/hip-hop
beat, with influence from classical music.
a. Create this project on your own using a different sample. Play this example
out loud so the class has an idea of what their end goal should look like.
9. Put the sample youre using in a DAW (I use Garageband) and connect it to the
projector in class so the students may see the workstation. Pre-select what each
element will sound like in garageband and have those specific sounds already
selected as tracks in the workstation. So when a student comes up, they have the
correct effect on, all they have to do is press a specific button to create the sound.
Students will add their elements using the keyboard piano in Garageband. (so if
youre using the effect Trapdoor in Garageband, and group 1 gets bass drums, make
sure you find which key the bass drum is before class, and tell them that that specific
key is the key that theyll be using to add their element in.)
10. Play the sample that the students will use out loud again. You may need to do this 3-
4 times on a loop. After youve played it a few times, give the groups some time to
figure out how their element can contribute to the beat. They may ask you to play
the beat again while theyre discussing, so they can hear how their part would fit in.
11. Once each group has come up with what they want to add to the sample, have a
student from each group come up to the front of the class and add their beat into the
computer. You might need to give them a few chances to record their part so that its
in time and to their liking.
a. Have the groups come up in a way that makes sense to you. This might be
different for every teacher, but in my case, I will have student groups come
up in the following order:
i. Bass Dum, Snare Drum, Claps/Snaps, High Hats/Cymbals
Vocals/Melodic line.
b. Try to do this over one class period, so manage your time wisely. This is to
avoid waiting a full day before revisiting the composition and potentially
having students forget what they want to add, or change what theyve added
in.
12. Once the composition is finished, take a few minutes to allow your students to
debrief on what they did as a class. Guide the discussion with some of these
questions:
a. Did they like it? Why or why not? Do they have a better appreciation for
classical music and genre mixing? Do they see how classical and popular
music can influence each other? In what ways other than what they did in
class?
13. In addition to an informal debriefing, have students write a reflection (approx. 400
words) on their experience with this project, and how/if their opinions of classical
and pop music have changed.
 Brianna Tyler
MUS 243


 Brianna Tyler
MUS 243

Assessment Tool:

Project 4: Exceeds 3: Satisfies all 2: Meets some 1: Needs

Portion Requirements Requirements Requirements Improvement

Discussion Student added 4 Student Student Student did

Participation or more added 2-3 added 1 not participate
(Individually comments to the comments to comment to in the
assessed) discussion the the discussion
Discussion points discussion discussion
added furthered Discussion Discussion
the progression points were points were
of discussion solid and on sometimes on
Responded to the topic the topic, but not
questions or entire time always.
comments or
other
students/myself
Element Students worked Students Students Students did
Contribution respectfully as a worked came up not work
(Assessed as a team to come up respectfully with a together to
group) with a successful as a team to contribution, complete an
contribution come up with however it element to
The contribution a successful was contribute to
was appropriate contribution disjointed o r the
to the instrument incomplete composition
The contribution in someway
fit within the The
overall style of contribution
the sample did not lock
in with the
other
existing
parts of the
composition
well
 Brianna Tyler
MUS 243

Written Student was Student was Student was Student failed
Response within the word under the under the to turn in a
(Individually limit (approx. word limit word limit reflection of
assessed) 400) (approx. 400) (approx. 400) the project.
Student reflected Student Student
on the reflected on reflected on
composition the either the
project, as well as composition composition
their opinion of project, as project, or
the relationship well as their their opinion
between classical opinion of the of the
and popular relationship relationship
music. between between
Student clearly classical and classical and
expressed their popular popular
thoughts in their music music, not
own words and both.
presented an Ideas were
original point of present but
view. fragmented,
or unclear in
some way
Total: /48