The essence of composition can be said to begin with improvisation, either at an instrument or in one’s head, after which developed musical thoughts are achieved by editing the original im-provisations. Improvisation skills are often associated with jazz. However, experience and prac-tice with improvisation enhances comfort with the language of music in every genre. Encour-aging improvisation early makes it just another musical skill and nothing to be feared by the teacher or the student. Begin with rhythm; then add notes to create melodic improvisations.
Improvisation can be thought of as a language. The more vocabulary you have available to you, the easier it is to speak freely. Developing vocabulary in any language begins with imita-tion. One way to practice imitation is by using instant dictations. In this kind of exercise, the teacher plays a few beats or measures of either melodic or rhythmic material, and students im-mediately repeat it. No recording is required, although it is possible. This practice feeds stu-dents a vocabulary of material or reinforces previously learned material. Instant rhythmic dicta-tions can be used to begin a class as a warm-up to the lesson or as an introduction to giving the assignments for rhythmic improvisation. Instant dictations can be accomplished with students in drum circle fashion, as a class, with students clapping, “playing” on their thighs like a drum, or using any number of percussion instruments, bought or made. If you have the capability for the entire class to hear everyone’s audio at the same time (Korg GEC/Group Education Con-troller or Yamaha LC3 Music Lab ConCon-troller), students can play directly at their stations.
Group work can also be a great way for students to begin the process of improvisation. As part of the warm-up, try trading two- to four-bar phrases between the class/ensemble and a soloist. The class plays a constant and repeated groove that can have one or multiple overlap-ping rhythms (for advanced musicians, these can be authentic contemporary or various Latin grooves) and then, going around the room, each student can have a chance to improvise a solo, either over the grove or against a steady single drum beat—called the heartbeat in drum cir-cles. This can be effective to stimulate short segments of improvisational material. Students will learn from listening to the improvisations of others and will try out material of their own.
Live performance in real time with an audience is a much different experience from recording with headphones. Having students play improvised solos in front of the class is a double-edged sword. Be thoughtful of your students’ needs and capabilities when asking for any form of solo in class. If students are experienced musicians or music majors, you have more leeway when having them solo in front of the class. It may be problematic to put non–music majors or beginning students on the spot, especially for younger students or those with developmen-tal or emotional issues.
Discover and learn some of your students’ favorite genres. Provide recorded accompani-ments or prerecorded loops in those styles for students to improvise over. Contemporary popular genres such as hip-hop, techno, rock, and dub step all have their own distinct rhyth-mic patterns in their accompaniments. Do not forget to include some of the vast variety of L E S S O N
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Latin music. Choose Latin styles from the countries represented in your own community. An Internet search will provide Western notation of these rhythmic patterns, either directly or from available books.
Given that this lesson should be tailored to students’ individual needs and levels and should be repeated throughout the course with different rhythms and challenges, teachers will need to customize their own assignments. Make sure students record in one pass without stopping and without editing or quantizing. There are no wrong answers!
Below are five possible scenarios for students to record rhythmic improvisations:
1. Provide a file with three measures of rhythmic groove in any genre. MIDI, audio files, or prerecorded loops can be used for these three measures. Leave a fourth measure with just a pulse for students to record their own one-measure improvisation in. Repeat this pattern of three measures of groove and one measure for improvisation four times in the same track.
Students will record three different improvisations in each of the one-measure spaces.
2. Produce a similar file, leaving two measures for students to improvise in. Repeat the grove several times in the track, so students can record several possible improvisations without stopping.
3. On a separate track, change the groove or genre.
4. Provide a file with a drum set groove in any genre. Leave one measure with just a pulse on the beats for students to record a one-measure drum fill. Repeat this pattern of three measures of groove and one measure empty for a drum fill several times on one track, so students can record improvisations in one pass.
5. Produce several files, so students can repeat this challenge with a three-beat, two-beat, and one-beat fill.
6. Create small ensembles, using the computers, laptops, or handheld devices such as iPads, in which students compose music and have opportunities to solo in their pieces.
Musicians spend a lifetime developing improvisation skills. There are entire methods for teaching improvisation, and a thorough exploration of it is outside the scope of this book. The following lessons are meant as a place to begin. Keep in mind that there are many ways to ap-proach this topic and this is just one way. Explore the vast material available to teach improvi-sation and continue to add new teaching ideas to your lessons.
Skills Required:
Ability to record into the software.
National Standards:
• Standard 2, Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
• Standard 3, Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
• Standard 4, Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
Objectives:
Students will develop a comfort with and increase their vocabulary of rhythmic improvisation by recording rhythmic solos over a given accompaniment.
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Materials:
Audio, MIDI, or preproduced software files of rhythmic patterns or grooves for students to improvise in.
Procedure:
1. Begin the class with a session of instant rhythm dictations to build vocabulary. Use simple rhythms and add more complex ones.
2. As an option, have the class create a beat or multiple overlapping rhythms (groove) in any genre and go around the room giving students an opportunity to improvise a two- or four-bar solo.
3. Distribute any MIDI or audio files that students are to improvise over.
4. Listen to the MIDI or audio files and demonstrate some improvisations using rhythms that students know or rhythms recently learned that need to be reinforced.
Extensions:
1. Have students record their own accompaniments and then improvise rhythmic solos on top of them.
2. Have students record the drum patterns in unit 3 or other drum patterns and create various one- to four-beat-length drum fills every fourth measure.
Modification:
Provide written rhythmic patterns for students to choose and read from as they record. Re-view the patterns in advance if needed.
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Dictation 13
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Melodic Dictations
Dictations are something that should be done often and regularly during the school year. I do two kinds of dictation: formal and instant. In formal dictations, students listen to files of pre-recorded examples of melodic material and record or notate the prepre-recorded material. For instant dictations, the teacher plays a few beats or bars of either melodic or rhythmic material and the students repeat it, instantly. When doing melodic instant dictations, use two to three notes and sing the notes using solfeggio syllables while playing them on the keyboard. Repeat as the students play along. Start each day with easy material and add more notes or more mate-rial (longer examples).
Several instant dictations are provided in this unit to give an idea of how they progress over time. Although they are written in C, they can be transposed to any key. If you are going to have students sing back the solfeggio syllables, you may need to transpose, depending on the age of your students. Formal dictation files that get gradually more difficult and challeng-ing to help train the ear are also included. Use a routine that students can easily follow and adapt to, so dictations can be a regular part of the class routine. This lesson plan can be used to introduce formal dictations.
Tip
I have found that using a flute or violin sound for melodic dictations is preferable to using a piano sound. When using a flute or violin, students need to conscientiously hold the keys down to sustain sound for the proper rhythmic duration. They can’t rely on the natural ring or sustain of a piano.
Keyboard skills Required:
Basic understanding of the piano keyboard.
Basic understanding of how to record in the sequencer.
Basic notation skills (optional).
national standards:
• Standard 2, Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
• Standard 5, Reading and notating music.
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objectives:
Students will demonstrate their understanding of melodic notation by accurately completing the Melodic Dictations exercises.
Materials:
Melodic Dictations student assignment sheet.
Melodic Dictations audio file.
Procedure:
1. Distribute the Melodic Dictations file.
2. Explain to the students that they will hear melodic material and they are to re-create that material by recording it in the sequencer. (Optional: Have students write down, i.e. notate, what they hear.)
3. Play an example from the Melodic Dictations audio track/file and demonstrate how to re-cord in the sequencer or how to write the notation.
extension:
Have students compose their own dictation for the class.
Modification:
Play the formal dictation or part of it for the students at the keyboard, so they can see what notes are being played. Record a video of yourself playing and distribute the video file for students to view.