Summary
Mix and match activities to create a fun lesson about playing in a band. Integrate Solfeg.io in teaching about basics of playing together and learning chords and rhythm.
🎲 What's included in these activities:
- Recalling the materical learned in the previous lesson (See Basics of Playing in a Band II)
- Achieving a steady rhythm and pulse
- Combining the parts you have learned
- Identiying and focusing on the hardest parts of the song
- Reflecting
- Ideas for homework & further lessons (Beyond the lesson)
💻 Materials:
- Solfeg.io web app best used with Chrome browser
- Projector or computer and access to WIFI
- Instruments, such as acoustic or electric guitar, bass guitar, ukulele, piano, drums, percussions
How did the practice go?
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Reflect on homework
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
- You can use these questions as a starting point:
Did you practice your part before class?
How did it go?
Do you still remember your part?
Warm-Up
🕐 Time: 10 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Keep a steady rhythm while playing
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
- This can be challenging to achieve with every student in the 3rd week. An excellent idea is to use variations of the 2nd lesson plan to improve and hone these skills. Try these simple methods of improving pulse:
Identify the most common rhythm and chord patterns in the song.
Practice clapping basic and more complex rhythms using the metronome.
Have chord playing groups speak the chord names, while the rhythm group keeps a pulse.
Use group leaders or other students to keep steady rhythm with a drum while one group plays the chords.
Use group leaders or strong players to demonstrate good pulse, while also encouraging the ones who are struggling!
Practice
🕐 Time: 30 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Practice the song
- Identify and focus on the harder parts in the song
🎶 Recommended Songs:
🎲 Activity:
- Now it’s time to try and put everything together, AGAIN! The more repetition of the chords and rhythms the better they will be playing together. Remember you can always remove, add, lower or raise the volume of the individual tracks.
- Choose one chord progression from the song and have the students play it repeatedly.
- Try layering the instrumental parts. Start with the guitar, then add in the piano and ukuleles. Then it's time for the bass and the rhythm players to join! You can do this in any order, as it allows students to hear the way the different instruments contribute to the sound.
- Encourage one of your strong singers to start adding some lyrics while the class plays. Some might get confused but this trains their ears to listen to more than one instrument at a time.
- Full song playthroughs with singing and instruments. You can do this with the entire class, with smaller groups, or the students can start forming their own mini bands! Start getting them ready to perform the song for the class!
Reflection
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Reflect on the parts you have learned in this lesson
🎲 Activity:
How did your band practice go? What did you find…
- The most challenging?
- The easiest?
- The most fun?
- What would good practicing habits be?
Beyond the Lesson
🕐 Time: 5 min
🎯 Objectives:
- Solidify the material learned in this lesson
🎲 Activity:
Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by...
- Practicing their instruments and parts;
- Playing along the song. For a bigger challenge, they could try muting the track of their instrument.
- Learning their part by heart.
Summary
In this lesson, students will deepen their experience of playing in a band. They will work on achieving a steady pulse. Students will practice playing instruments in groups and try different combinations of singers and players.
The timing and pacing of the exercises in this lesson plan example are approximate and will differ depending on your students' skill level. If the pace of this lesson plan is too fast for you, divide it into several lessons. If the pace of this lesson plan is too slow for you, explore the 'Beyond the lesson' chapter at the end of this lesson plan for additional activities.
⏰ Time: 50 min
🎓 Grades: 5-12
🎯 Objective(s): As a result of this lesson, students will be able to...
- Understand the role of different instruments in a band;
- Play simple chords, bass lines and rhythm.
- Play together in different combinations of singers and players.
- Achieve a steady pulse;
- Prepare for the final performance.
💡 Required Prior Knowledge and Skills:
- Basic notation;
- Basic rhythm values.
💻 Materials:
- Solfeg.io web app best used with Chrome browser
- Projector or computer and access to WIFI
- Instruments, such as acoustic or electric guitar, bass guitar, ukulele, piano, drums, percussions
Song suggestions:
Inspire
🕐 5 min - How did the practice go?
- You can use these questions as a starting point:
Did you practice your part before class?
How did it go?
Do you still remember your part?
Warm-Up
🕐 10 min - Achieving a steady pulse
- This can be challenging to achieve with every student in the 3rd week. An excellent idea is to use variations of the 2nd lesson plan to improve and hone these skills. Try these simple methods of improving pulse:
Identify the most common rhythm and chord patterns in the song.
Practice clapping basic and more complex rhythms using the metronome.
Have chord playing groups speak the chord names, while the rhythm group keeps a pulse.
Use group leaders or other students to keep steady rhythm with a drum while one group plays the chords.
Use group leaders or strong players to demonstrate good pulse, while also encouraging the ones who are struggling!
Practice
🕐 30 min - Band practice
- Now it’s time to try and put everything together, AGAIN! The more repetition of the chords and rhythms the better they will be playing together. Remember you can always remove, add, lower or raise the volume of the individual tracks.
- Choose one chord progression from the song and have the students play it repeatedly.
- Try layering the instrumental parts. Start with the guitar, then add in the piano and ukuleles. Then it's time for the bass and the rhythm players to join! You can do this in any order, as it allows students to hear the way the different instruments contribute to the sound.
- Encourage one of your strong singers to start adding some lyrics while the class plays. Some might get confused but this trains their ears to listen to more than one instrument at a time.
- Full song playthroughs with singing and instruments. You can do this with the entire class, with smaller groups, or the students can start forming their own mini bands! Start getting them ready to perform the song for the class!
Reflection
🕐 5 min - Discuss
How did your band practice go? What did you find…
- The most challenging?
- The easiest?
- The most fun?
- What would good practicing habits be?
Beyond the Lesson
Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by...
- Practicing their instruments and parts;
- Playing along the song. For a bigger challenge, they could try muting the track of their instrument.
- Learning their part by heart.
Visual presentation
Summary
In this lesson, students will deepen their experience of playing in a band. They will work on achieving a steady pulse. Students will practice playing instruments in groups and try different combinations of singers and players.
The timing and pacing of the exercises in this lesson plan example are approximate and will differ depending on your students' skill level. If the pace of this lesson plan is too fast for you, divide it into several lessons. If the pace of this lesson plan is too slow for you, explore the 'Beyond the lesson' chapter at the end of this lesson plan for additional activities.
⏰ Time: 50 min
🎓 Grades: 5-12
🎯 Objective(s): As a result of this lesson, students will be able to...
- Understand the role of different instruments in a band;
- Play simple chords, bass lines and rhythm.
- Play together in different combinations of singers and players.
- Achieve a steady pulse;
- Prepare for the final performance.
💡 Required Prior Knowledge and Skills:
- Basic notation;
- Basic rhythm values.
💻 Materials:
- Solfeg.io web app best used with Chrome browser
- Projector or computer and access to WIFI
- Instruments, such as acoustic or electric guitar, bass guitar, ukulele, piano, drums, percussions
Song suggestions:
Inspire
🕐 5 min - How did the practice go?
- You can use these questions as a starting point:
Did you practice your part before class?
How did it go?
Do you still remember your part?
Warm-Up
🕐 10 min - Achieving a steady pulse
- This can be challenging to achieve with every student in the 3rd week. An excellent idea is to use variations of the 2nd lesson plan to improve and hone these skills. Try these simple methods of improving pulse:
Identify the most common rhythm and chord patterns in the song.
Practice clapping basic and more complex rhythms using the metronome.
Have chord playing groups speak the chord names, while the rhythm group keeps a pulse.
Use group leaders or other students to keep steady rhythm with a drum while one group plays the chords.
Use group leaders or strong players to demonstrate good pulse, while also encouraging the ones who are struggling!
Practice
🕐 30 min - Band practice
- Now it’s time to try and put everything together, AGAIN! The more repetition of the chords and rhythms the better they will be playing together. Remember you can always remove, add, lower or raise the volume of the individual tracks.
- Choose one chord progression from the song and have the students play it repeatedly.
- Try layering the instrumental parts. Start with the guitar, then add in the piano and ukuleles. Then it's time for the bass and the rhythm players to join! You can do this in any order, as it allows students to hear the way the different instruments contribute to the sound.
- Encourage one of your strong singers to start adding some lyrics while the class plays. Some might get confused but this trains their ears to listen to more than one instrument at a time.
- Full song playthroughs with singing and instruments. You can do this with the entire class, with smaller groups, or the students can start forming their own mini bands! Start getting them ready to perform the song for the class!
Reflection
🕐 5 min - Discuss
How did your band practice go? What did you find…
- The most challenging?
- The easiest?
- The most fun?
- What would good practicing habits be?
Beyond the Lesson
Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by...
- Practicing their instruments and parts;
- Playing along the song. For a bigger challenge, they could try muting the track of their instrument.
- Learning their part by heart.
Visual presentation
Summary
In this lesson, students will deepen their experience of playing in a band. They will work on achieving a steady pulse. Students will practice playing instruments in groups and try different combinations of singers and players.
The timing and pacing of the exercises in this lesson plan example are approximate and will differ depending on your students' skill level. If the pace of this lesson plan is too fast for you, divide it into several lessons. If the pace of this lesson plan is too slow for you, explore the 'Beyond the lesson' chapter at the end of this lesson plan for additional activities.
⏰ Time: 50 min
🎓 Grades: 5-12
🎯 Objective(s): As a result of this lesson, students will be able to...
- Understand the role of different instruments in a band;
- Play simple chords, bass lines and rhythm.
- Play together in different combinations of singers and players.
- Achieve a steady pulse;
- Prepare for the final performance.
💡 Required Prior Knowledge and Skills:
- Basic notation;
- Basic rhythm values.
💻 Materials:
- Solfeg.io web app best used with Chrome browser
- Projector or computer and access to WIFI
- Instruments, such as acoustic or electric guitar, bass guitar, ukulele, piano, drums, percussions
Song suggestions:
Inspire
🕐 5 min - How did the practice go?
- You can use these questions as a starting point:
Did you practice your part before class?
How did it go?
Do you still remember your part?
Warm-Up
🕐 10 min - Achieving a steady pulse
- This can be challenging to achieve with every student in the 3rd week. An excellent idea is to use variations of the 2nd lesson plan to improve and hone these skills. Try these simple methods of improving pulse:
Identify the most common rhythm and chord patterns in the song.
Practice clapping basic and more complex rhythms using the metronome.
Have chord playing groups speak the chord names, while the rhythm group keeps a pulse.
Use group leaders or other students to keep steady rhythm with a drum while one group plays the chords.
Use group leaders or strong players to demonstrate good pulse, while also encouraging the ones who are struggling!
Practice
🕐 30 min - Band practice
- Now it’s time to try and put everything together, AGAIN! The more repetition of the chords and rhythms the better they will be playing together. Remember you can always remove, add, lower or raise the volume of the individual tracks.
- Choose one chord progression from the song and have the students play it repeatedly.
- Try layering the instrumental parts. Start with the guitar, then add in the piano and ukuleles. Then it's time for the bass and the rhythm players to join! You can do this in any order, as it allows students to hear the way the different instruments contribute to the sound.
- Encourage one of your strong singers to start adding some lyrics while the class plays. Some might get confused but this trains their ears to listen to more than one instrument at a time.
- Full song playthroughs with singing and instruments. You can do this with the entire class, with smaller groups, or the students can start forming their own mini bands! Start getting them ready to perform the song for the class!
Reflection
🕐 5 min - Discuss
How did your band practice go? What did you find…
- The most challenging?
- The easiest?
- The most fun?
- What would good practicing habits be?
Beyond the Lesson
Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by...
- Practicing their instruments and parts;
- Playing along the song. For a bigger challenge, they could try muting the track of their instrument.
- Learning their part by heart.
