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Lesson Plan Four

In lesson four, we develop the students' understanding of pitch, note length and timing using Keyboard Lesson One and the Analyser software. Answers to Tasks One and Two of the Extensions Activity Workbook are discussed. The lesson plan includes personalised time for the students to develop their skills on their chosen instrument as well as play live with another Live Performance Vamp.

Requirements

Peripherals

  • IWB Projector or large monitor
  • Instruments — Electric Guitar/Bass Guitar/Drum kit/Keyboard
  • Computer(s)
  • Midi instruments with Midi interfaces if you want to use the Gigajam Analyser

Software and Lesson Resources

  • Gigajam Essential Skills Course for Guitar, Bass, Keyboards and Drums Level 1
  • Gigajam TV Shows Level 1
  • Gigajam Songbook Level 1
  • Instrument Diagrams

Introduction

  • Go through some of the answers to Tasks One and Two from the Extension Activity Workbooks.
  • Set the students Task Three as their homework.
  • Go through Lesson One from the keyboard course and record a performance. Work with the students checking their understanding of pitch, timing and note length from the analyser window.

Teachers' Resources

Extension Activity Workbooks.

Guitar
Bass
Keyboard
Drums

Using the interactive whiteboard (IWB)

  • Use the IWB to demonstrate how to interpret analysis and reaffirm the student's understanding of the learning model: Knowledge - Understanding - Application - Analysis.

Key Musical Concept

  • Encourage the students to absorb the knowledge learned and use the Extension Activity Workbooks to revise.
  • Develop students ability to interpret their progress using Analyser.

Personalised Learning

Give the students time to work at their workstations working through their lessons and developing their instrumental skills on their first instrument. The students will be working on the skills contained in lessons one-four of their courses.

Guitar

Introduce palm muting and understanding its use in rhythm guitar playing.

Integrate the palm muting technique into rhythm playing.

Integrate palm muting on eighth notes with other non-muted note values.

Continue to develop control of timekeeping and changing chords.

Bass

Develop rhythmic understanding by mixing quarter notes and eighth notes.

Develop control of string crossing by playing quarter notes and eighth notes.

Develop reading simple notation using sub-divisions.

Develop left hand fingering technique.

Keyboard

Introduce two hand coordination, using the left hand to play triads and the right hand to play scales.

Develop the use of the bass clef.

Further develop transferability.

Increase control and understanding of rhythm by introducing eighth notes.

Develop greater fluency by changing chords.

Drums

Develop rhythmic understanding by mixing quarter notes, eighth notes and sixteenth notes.

Develop control of time, by playing quarter notes, eighth notes and sixteenth notes as fills.

Develop reading simple notation using the subdivisions of quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes.

Live Performance Workshop (LPW)

Live Band Session

  • Create bands from the class and get the students to play Vamps One to Four from the LPW Book at the front of the class.

Suggestions

  • You may wish to use the Xtractor to support the students and rotate students to come and join the band.
  • You may wish to ask a student to operate the Xtractor software so that they run the session.
  • Feel free to creatively adjust the parts, such as:
    1. Ask the drummer to play eighth note or sixteenth note fills.
    2. See if a second keyboardist may play scales through the changes.
    3. Encourage a second guitarist to play power chords using whole notes through the changes.
Vamp Four score
Xtractor file of Vamp Four
MIDI file of Vamp Four