Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Elementary Improvisation: Part 6

Subject Area

Arts Education

Grade(s)

K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Overview

This article focuses on improvisation through question and answer.  Students will improvise both melodically and rhythmically.  The article includes guidelines on how to create questions and answers in music.  

    Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): KG - Music

    AE17.MU.K.2

    Generate musical ideas.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:AE17.MU.K.2

    Vocabulary

    Rhythm
    • Steady beat
    • Long/ Short
    • One and two sounds per beat
    • Silent beat
    Melody
    • High and low
    • Pitch set: So, Mi
    • Musical alphabet
    Harmony
    • Accompaniment/ no accompaniment
    Form
    • Like and unlike phrases
    • Echo
    Expression
    • Speak, sing, shout, whisper
    • Solo/ Group
    • Unpitched percussion
    • Flute, trumpet, violin, piano
    • Loud/ Soft
    • Fast/ Slow
    Other
    • Age-appropriate audience and performer etiquette

    Essential Questions

    EU: The creative ideas, concepts, and feelings that influence musicians' work emerge from a variety of sources.
    EQ: How do musicians generate creative ideas?

    Skills Examples

    Performing
    • Chant, move, play, and sing grade level skills.
    • Echo simple rhythmic patterns.
    • Echo a three-pitch melodic pattern using the correct syllables and hand signs.
    Creating
    • Perform an improvised rhythmic pattern within a framework of four beats.
    • Perform an improvised melodic pattern on a pitched percussion instrument set to the pentatonic scale within a framework of four beats.
    • Improvise short songs and instrumental pieces using a variety of sound sources, including traditional or classroom sounds, body percussion, and sounds produced by electronic means.
    • Explore musical sources freely using found sounds, electronic sounds, or sounds from voice or instruments found in classroom, remembering to use sound and silence.
    Reading/ Writing
    • Create a visual representation of sound.
    Responding/ Evaluating
    • Respond to a musical call or question with an age- appropriate musical answer.
    • Evaluate peer performance to determine steady beat/no steady beat.

    Anchor Standards

    Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
    Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 1 - Music

    AE17.MU.1.1

    Create musical ideas for a specific purpose.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:AE17.MU.1.1

    Vocabulary

    Rhythm
    • Quarter note, quarter rest, paired eighth notes
    • Strong/ weak beat
    • Steady beat/ rhythm
    • Allegro/ adagio
    Melody
    • Pitch set: Mi, So, La
    • Steps/ skips/ repeated notes
    • Melodic direction
    • Modified staff
    • Line notes and space notes
    Harmony/texture
    • Rhythmic ostinati
    • Simple bordun
    Form
    • AB, ABA
    Expression
    • Legato, staccato
    • Piano (p), forte (f)
    • Classroom instrument classifications
    • Clarinet, trombone, cello, drum
    • Orchestral music: ballet
    • Non-Western music celebrations
    Other
    • Proper singing posture
    • Age-appropriate pitch matching (C4 -C5)1
    • Mallet/ drumming technique — hands together

    Essential Questions

    EU: The creative ideas, concepts, and feelings that influence musicians' work emerge from a variety of sources.
    EQ: How do musicians generate creative ideas?

    Skills Examples

    Performing
    • Perform original rhythmic compositions containing quarter note, quarter rest, paired eighth notes.
    • Perform original melodic compositions containing quarter note, quarter rest, paired eighth notes and using the pitches mi/so/la.
    Creating
    • Improvise 4-beat melodic phrases containing mi/so/la, both vocally and on pitched percussion instruments.
    • Construct 4-beat rhythmic patterns using manipulatives, such as note cards, popsicle sticks, or blocks.
    Reading/ Writing
    • Read 4-beat melodic phrases on a modified staff on which mi is indicated.
    • Notate from dictation 4-beat rhythm phrases using manipulatives such as note cards, popsicle sticks, or blocks.
    • Identify melodic patterns on a modified staff when played on a pitched instrument.
    Responding/ Evaluating
    • Create rubric for evaluation of peer compositions.
    • With guidance, apply peer suggestions to personal compositions. Select an original composition for performance.

    Anchor Standards

    Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
    Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 2 - Music

    AE17.MU.2.1

    Improvise rhythmic and melodic patterns and musical ideas for a specific purpose.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:AE17.MU.2.1

    Vocabulary

    Rhythm
    • Eighth note, eighth rest, half note, half rest, whole note, whole rest
    • Strong/ weak beat — 2/4; 3/4 meter
    • Accelerando/ ritardando
    Melody
    • Pitch Set: Do , Re, Mi, So, La
    • Five-line staff
    • Treble clef
    • Names of lines/ spaces (treble staff)
    Harmony
    • Melodic ostinati
    • Partner songs
    Form
    • AAB, AABA, Rondo
    • Verse/ Refrain
    Expression
    • Orchestral instrument families
    • Piano (p), forte (f)
    • Crescendo/ decrescendo
    • Orchestral Music: programmatic
    • Indigenous music: Native American
    • American music: slave songs, colonial folk songs
    Other
    • Age-appropriate pitch matching (B3-D5)1
    • Mallet/ drumming technique: alternating hands

    Essential Questions

    EU: The creative ideas, concepts, and feelings that influence musicians' work emerge from a variety of sources.
    EQ: How do musicians generate creative ideas?

    Skills Examples

    Performing
    • Perform original melodic patterns in do pentatonic as an introduction to a known song.
    • Perform original rhythmic patterns on body percussion or unpitched percussion, containing eighth note, eighth rest, half note, half rest, whole note, whole rest, as an introduction to a known chant.
    Creating
    • Create a melody on pitched instruments using speech rhythms from a selected poem.
    • Improvise with a partner in question/answer style, using pitched or unpitched percussion instruments.
    Reading/ Writing
    • Notate speech rhythms from a selected poem, using iconic or standard notation.
    • Using music composition software, create an original composition based on a personally selected topic.
    Responding/ Evaluating
    • Refine compositions based on self-evaluation of a recorded performance.
    • Indicate dynamic markings for original compositions.

    Anchor Standards

    Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
    Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 3 - Music

    AE17.MU.3.1

    Improvise rhythmic and melodic ideas and describe connection to specific purpose and context.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:AE17.MU.3.1

    Vocabulary

    Rhythm
    • Bar lines
    • Measures
    Melody
    • Pitch set: Low So, Low La, High Do
    • Treble clef reading (Mi, Re, Do)
    • Middle C to high G
    • Ledger lines
    Harmony
    • Partner songs
    • Rounds
    • Ostinati
    Form
    • Theme and variations
    • Coda
    • D.S. al coda
    • Repeat sign
    • Fermata
    Expression
    • Phrase/ phrasing
    • Pianissimo (pp), fortissimo (ff)
    Other
    • Age-appropriate audience and performer etiquette
    • Orchestral instruments: 4 families
    • Age-appropriate pitch matching (Bb3 - Eb5)

    Essential Questions

    EU: The creative ideas, concepts, and feelings that influence musicians' work emerge from a variety of sources.
    EQ: How do musicians generate creative ideas?

    Skills Examples

    Performing
    • Play a variety of classroom instruments with proper technique.
    • Use the head voice to produce a light, clear sound employing breath support and maintaining appropriate posture.
    Creating
    • Use pitch and rhythm to improvise vocal, instrumental, and/or movement ideas within a context (such as question and answer phrases or simple accompaniment/ostinato).
    Reading/ Writing
    • Use iconic or standard notation and/or recording technology to sequence and document personal musical ideas.
    Responding/ Evaluating
    • Demonstrate a final version of personal musical ideas using created vocal, instrumental, or movement pieces through performance.
    • Develop criteria to critique and refine selected musical examples.

    Anchor Standards

    Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
    Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 4 - Music

    AE17.MU.4.1

    Improvise rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic ideas, and explain connection to specific social and cultural purposes and contexts.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:AE17.MU.4.1

    Vocabulary

    Rhythm
    • Conducting patterns in
    • Syncopation
    Melody
    • Pitch set: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, Ti
    • Treble clef reading (La, So, Mi, Re, Do)
    • Middle C through High B
    • Create melodic sequences
    • Half-step
    • Whole step
    Harmony
    • Canons
    • Chord components
    • Chord progression (I, V)
    • Crossover bordun
    Form
    • Phrasing: antecedent and consequent
    • D.C. al coda
    • Fine
    Expression
    • pp through ff
    Other
    • Age-appropriate audience and performer etiquette
    • Orchestra instruments within the 4 families
    • Age-appropriate pitch matching (A3-E5)

    Essential Questions

    EU: The creative ideas, concepts, and feelings that influence musicians' work emerge from a variety of sources.
    EQ: How do musicians generate creative ideas?

    Skills Examples

    Performing
    • With limited guidance, perform simple chord progressions on pitched instruments.
    • Play a variety of classroom instruments with proper technique.
    • Use the head voice to produce a light, clear sound employing breath support and maintaining appropriate posture.
    Creating
    • With limited guidance, improvise or compose a 2-4 measure musical idea, a pentatonic melody, or a rhythm pattern using age-appropriate note values.
    • Create vocal harmony using rounds, ostinati, canons and partner songs.
    Reading/ Writing
    • Use notation and/or recording technology to document personal musical ideas.
    Responding/ Evaluating
    • Describe the way sound is produced by various instruments and the human voice.
    • Listen, identify and respond to music of different composers and world cultures.

    Anchor Standards

    Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
    Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 5 - Music

    AE17.MU.5.1

    Improvise rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic ideas, and explain connection to specific social, cultural, and historical purposes and contexts.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:AE17.MU.5.1

    Vocabulary

    Rhythm
    Melody
    • Pitch set: Do-centered diatonic
    • Treble clef reading (choral octavos)
    • Grand staff
    • Bass clef
    • Accidentals
    • Major scale
    Harmony
    • Part singing/ playing
    • Chord progression (I, IV, V)
    • Arpeggio
    • Descant
    • Level bordun
    Form
    • Rondo form
    • 12-Bar blues
    Expression
    • Vibrato
    • Tremolo
    • Reggae
    • Blues
    • Timbre: soprano, alto, tenor, bass
    Other
    • Age-appropriate audience and performer etiquette
    • Age-appropriate pitch matching (Ab3-F5)

    Essential Questions

    EU: The creative ideas, concepts, and feelings that influence musicians' work emerge from a variety of sources.
    EQ: How do musicians generate creative ideas?

    Skills Examples

    Performing
    • Improvise over standard folk songs using the pitch set: La, So, Mi, Re, and Do.
    • Improvise melodies in a major diatonic scale by singing or using a pitched instrument.
    • Compose melodies and accompaniments to songs, poems, stories, and dramatizations, using AB, ABA, and rondo forms.
    • Perform pre-written musical ideas.
    • Perform harmonic accompaniments using Orff instruments, Boomwhackers, electronic sources, or by any other appropriate harmonic instrument.
    • Notate simple rhythms and melodies within a specified meter and tonality.
    Creating
    • Create a 12-bar blues song using appropriate chordal structure and lyrics.
    • Explore and identify musical instruments from different historical periods and world cultures.
    Reading/ Writing
    • Write an original blues song.
    • Identify elements of music including tonality, dynamics, tempo and meter.
    • Identify patterns of whole and half steps in a major scale.
    • Compose 4 or 8 measure pieces using appropriate notation.
    Responding/ Evaluating
    • Review and refine a composition.
    • Evaluate a performance, using appropriate vocabulary to describe strengths and weaknesses of the performance.
    • Listen to, identify, and respond to music of different composers, historical periods, and world cultures.
    • Identify terms related to form.
    • Recognize and identify longer music forms such as 12-bar blues, sonata form and theme and variations.
    • Identify vocal timbre as soprano, alto, tenor, or bass.
    • Write short self-reflections about his/her composition and the creative process.

    Anchor Standards

    Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
    Link to Resource

    CR Resource Type

    Informational Material

    Resource Provider

    Music ConstructED
    Accessibility

    Accessibility

    Text Resources: Content is organized under headings and subheadings
    License

    License Type

    Custom
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