Running head: MUSIC IMPROVISATION TEACHING PLAN 1

THE PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICE OF MUSIC IMPROVISATION METHODOLOGY,

TEACHINGS & STRATEGY

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Institution

Course

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MUSIC IMPROVISATION TEACHING PLAN 2

Overview

Music is an important genre in the social aspects of every human being. The art of

producing music for various reasons have developed over time and today music is part of the

people’s lives. Music production advanced from the initial purpose of entertainment and passing

of information to the commercial purposes. Additionally, the artists have advanced the styles of

music production and hence it is important to improvise the pedagogical practices in the music

classes. According to 21st Century Competencies that the Ministry of Education Singapore has

identified “Critical and Inventive Thinking” as one of the key competencies that would help our

students to have a holistic education to prepare them for the future. Improvisation in the private

piano lessons would definitely help include imagination, invention, interpretation and

personalized imitation. In this paper, will shall study the advantages of improvisation and the

benefits it has in the music classroom.

Objectives

 Learn the music history and the development up to date

 The students should learn to study the market needs and analyze them

 Learn various ways of music improvisation applicable in the industry

 Acknowledge the need of customer satisfaction in the music industry

 Acquire experience on various improvisation means

Materials

Bill Dobbins, (Jan., 1980), Improvisation: An Essential Element of Musical Proficiency. Music

Educators Journal, Vol. 66, No. 5 pp. 36-41

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Lisa M. Gruenhagen1 and Rachel Whitcomb, (2014), Improvisational Practices in Elementary

General Music Classrooms, Journal of Research in Music Education, Vol 61(4) 379–395

MAUD HICKEY, (2009) Can improvisation be ‘taught’?: A call for free improvisation in our

schools, Northwestern University, USA.

Patricia Shehan Campbell, (Dec., 1991), Unveiling the Mysteries of Musical Spontaneity, Music

Educators Journal, Vol. 78, No. 4 pp. 21-24

Directions

Step 1: In this step assess and determine what the students already know about music

improvisation skills. Interact with all the students and learn what they think about music and its

development. Additionally, ask the students to predict what will happen in the music industry in

future.

Step 2: Learn the contextualization and overview of the improvisation process. Under this stage,

the students should learn and understand what is meant by music improvisation and the

importance it has on the music producers as well as the consumers. The lesson materials should

be used thoroughly.

Step 3: Introduction to music improvisation history and its development up to the present date.

The history of music will be taught under this step to ensure that every student understands how

music began and the achievements made up to the present and what is expected in the future

using the materials provided.

Step 4: Learn some key elements of improvisations such as formal training, context, and life

experiences. The students should learn of the steps followed for one to get to the desired

improvisation level in the music industry. The needs for formal training will be discussed in

details and ensure the students understand its value in music industry. Additionally, the learners
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will appreciate the need of having a researched context based on the music market. The process

will equip them with first-hand information for them to produce the appropriate music when they

get to the field for experience.

Step 5: Improvising for the 16 Bars. The skill would be vital for the students and will enhance

their knowledge about the music. The best way to ensure that the students understand the

improvisation of the 16 bar is to ensure that the students first learn the importance of the practice

and later help the students to learn the practice fully. Additionally, after learning the practice for

one time, it would be necessary for one to examine the understanding of the practice and hence

teach the areas that seems less understood by a majority of the students.

Step 6: Critique/ review of the practice. In this step, the students and the teacher will hold

discussions and analyze the practice learnt of improvisation of music. The students will first give

their views on the merits and demerits of improvisation of music. The practice is aimed at

checking how much the students understood about the practice as well as the ability to think

critically and analyze what they learnt in the previous steps.

Step 7: Learn the implications of the improvisation practice. Under this stage, the main objective

will be to analyze the implications of the improvisation process of music. For instance, the

introduction of piano learning has some influence on the learning process as well as in the quality

of music produced in the industry. Additionally, the consumers’ taste of the music will be

affected by the improvisation methods adapted in the course. The step will enhance the student’s

understanding and on what to expect after the practices are incorporated in the system.

Step 8: Describe the importance of the improvisation methods selected for the improvement of

the music produced in the industry. The students must understand benefits accrued from the

implementation of the stated methods so that they can implement it fully for the progression of
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the music industry and the fulfillment of the consumers’ desire. The students should understand

issues such as market survey and the realization of the things to do to meet their tastes for the

betterment of the industry.

Step 9: In the last step, we shall review what was learnt in the other steps to ensure that every

student has adequate information about the improvisation of the music to make the industry

better. The practice will allow the students to ask for clarification in any area that they did not

understand well during the entire steps. Therefore, at the end of the learning exercise, everyone

will have enough information concerning the improvisation of music through the learning

process. The act will sustain the quality of music produced in the industry.