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Jazz Improvisation Unit Plan

This document outlines a week-long jazz improvisation unit with daily activities and assignments: Day 1 includes a pre-assessment, discussing the unit's essential questions, and a lecture on chord and mode pairings. Day 2 focuses on playing and improvising over a example melody together as a group. Day 3 involves listening to and analyzing recorded solos, then students will record their own improvised solos over rhythm section accompaniment. Day 4 has students analyzing phrasing in a recording, then playing and improvising over another example together. Day 5 is a final assessment where students will improvise solos over a jazz chart that will be evaluated using a rubric.

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189 views2 pages

Jazz Improvisation Unit Plan

This document outlines a week-long jazz improvisation unit with daily activities and assignments: Day 1 includes a pre-assessment, discussing the unit's essential questions, and a lecture on chord and mode pairings. Day 2 focuses on playing and improvising over a example melody together as a group. Day 3 involves listening to and analyzing recorded solos, then students will record their own improvised solos over rhythm section accompaniment. Day 4 has students analyzing phrasing in a recording, then playing and improvising over another example together. Day 5 is a final assessment where students will improvise solos over a jazz chart that will be evaluated using a rubric.

Uploaded by

jddietz
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

UNIT: Jazz Improvisation

Week Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5


As a wrap-up to previous unit, administer preassessment having students identify basic jazz chords and modes Evaluate over the weekend Assignment: Autumn Leaves Chord Changes Opening hook: I will play improvised melody over a recording to demonstrate to students that improvisation is possible! Discuss units Essential Questions and Understandings From where did jazz improvisation come? How does improvisation help jazz get its character? Lecture on mode and chord pairings Assignment: Autumn Leaves Improvisation Writing Distribute Example Melody 1. Sing then play given melody together/clap the melody rhythm together Introduction to improvisation: As a group, each student will play a variation on the given melody changing the rhythm and adding notes according to the chord/mode pairings covered in the previous day Cooperative Learning Activity: each instrument section plays for each other their own variation of the melody. Students will evaluate fellow players. Opening: Play In the Mood as students walk in point out call-andresponse technique Warm-up: Call-andresponse continuation from the previous day Warm-up: students sing and play back what I play Students play Example Melody 1 arrangement as a band twice through. Rhythm section continues playing and students now take turns improvising 12bar phrases. This will be recorded. Assignment: Selfevaluation of todays recording recording will be emailed to all students Opening exercise: Students listen to Cantaloupe Island for phrasing and style Distribute Cantaloupe Island by Herbie Hancock Students sing Cantaloupe Island with jazz syllables Students play Cantaloupe Island while students take turns playing Example Improvisation Review jazz syllables using Example Melody 1 Opening Demonstration: I will transcribe a solo as students walk in Hand out manuscript paper. Students will transcribe solos from recordings as well as my improvised solos Review transcriptions for correct notes and style Assignment: Record improvised solo over given recording of rhythm section

PreAssessmen t

Warm-up: students sing and play back what I play Concept Formation

Warm-up: play call-andresponse similar to the previous two days

Putting it all together: Improvisation Day! As a final summative

Activity: we will listen to each students improvised solo recorded over the weekend. The students will transcribe the solos and determine if these solos are examples or nonexamples of correct improvisation. Closing: To set up for the next days lesson, students will play a response to what I play.

Activity: I will instruct students to clap a response to the rhythm I clap. Tie this into play call-andresponse popular in the swing era of the 1920s. Students will play a response to my call then switch and the students will take turns making a call while the other students respond

Explanation to students that licks are the calls of the call-and-response Students will take turns singing a lick over the rhythm section swing pattern, then they will play a lick over the rhythm section Improvisation Practice: Students will improvise 16-bar solos incorporating licks into their solos

Explanation to students that comping is the response of the call-andresponse Students will take turns singing a comping response over the rhythm section swing pattern while I play a lick, then they repeat this exercise but playing Improvisation Practice: Students will improvise 16-bar solos while the rest of the band incorporates comping into their playing

assessment and wrap-up to the unit, the jazz chart Swing, Swing, Swing will be distributed. Students will solo during the solo section. This will be recorded and their performances will be evaluated by me using Improvisation End-of-Unit Assessment form.

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