Ensemble Novice DISPOSITIONS Collaboration Flexibility Goal Setting Inquisitiveness Openness and respect for the ideas and work of others Responsible risk-taking Self-Reflection Self-discipline and Perseverance CREATING Imagine Generate Musical ideas for various purposes and contexts. Standard: MU:Cr1.1.E.5a Compose and improvise melodic and rhythmic ideas or motives that reflect characteristic(s) of music or text(s) studied in rehearsal. The creative ideas, concepts, and feelings that influence musicians work emerge from a variety of sources Simple Time Signatures: 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4; students improvise & compose simple rhythm patterns to study how rhythm is organized by time signatures Half and whole steps; major and minor tetrachords; students improvise and compose simple tonal patterns to learn how pitches are organized Dynamics, articulation; students improvise and compose simple rhythm or tonal patterns with a variety of dynamics, articulations to study how the same thing can be performed with different phrasing and style Tone and timbre; students improvise and compose simple rhythm or tonal patterns using different contact points (placement of the bow between the bridge and fingerboard) to study how changes in bow weight, speed and contact point affect the tone and timbre. Students can study even basic elements of music at very high/rich levels of understanding when they learn these elements in the context of How do musicians generate creative ideas? When improvising on their instruments, students will: Use good left hand position and technique, with correct half and whole step placement when improvising simple tonal patterns Use good right hand technique, bow speed/weight/angle and contact point when improvising rhythm, dynamic, and tone/timber improvisations Students will improvise short, simple patterns with good tone, intonation, and rhythm to demonstrate creative ideas. Students will verbally describe what they will improvise or compose before they do each. Aural: Students will differentiate between whole and half steps, between half, quarter and 8 th notes, duple and triple meters, forte and piano, and discriminate between different kinds of timbre. Notation: Students will learn to write the basic musical symbols through discovery; what idea did you want to write? How do musicians write that? Knowledge and Skills Ensemble Novice page 1
improvisation and composition. The teacher can demonstrate how to improvise a rhythm pattern using quarters and 8 th notes, and then have students make up their own. They can do the same with tetrachords. The teacher can demonstrate forte vs. piano on their instrument, or warm tone vs. scratchy, etc. and then have students make up a dynamic or timbre improvisation. Teacher can ask students essential questions like: What meter was that? Was it major or minor or neither? How did the performer make that timbre? Which performance did you like most, and why? Did it sound random or musical? How and why? Teach demonstrates; students use the notation they learn to write down their creative ideas. Evaluating Students will use the correct terminology to evaluate their own improvisations/compositions and the creations of their peers. Students will use their instrument to show what they or their peers improvised well, and what could be done differently. Students will evaluate their own compositions, and those of their peers by discussing what is understandable or unclear, and whether the composition achieved the goal of the teacher s composition prompt. Quarter notes, half notes, 8 th notes and rests. Time signature, meter, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 Whole step, half step, major/minor second, tetrachords, key signature Dynamics, forte, mezzo, piano, crescendo, decrescendo, diminuendo Tone, timbre, contact point, bow weight, bow speed, bridge, fingerboard, Plan and Make Select and develop musical ideas for defined purposes and contexts. Standard: MU:Cr2.1.E.5a Select and develop draft melodic and rhythmic ideas or motives that demonstrate understanding of characteristic(s) of music or text(s) studied in rehearsal. Knowledge and Skills Ensemble Novice page 2
Musicians creative choices are influenced by their expertise, context, and expressive intent. quarters, 8ths, half-notes can be grouped in patterns that can be repeated and recognized throughout a musical example tonal patterns of steps and skips can be grouped in patterns that can be repeated and recognized throughout a musical example a motive is short tonal or rhythmic pattern that is used repeatedly to create a larger musical idea an ostinato is a rhythmic and/or tonal pattern that repeats continuously through a musical excerpt a sequence is a tonal pattern that is repeated on different steps of a scale Repeated rhythmic and tonal patterns can be highlighted with accents, dynamics. When studying a piece of music, the teacher can point out recurring rhythmic and tonal ideas in the music. Students can look closely at these motivic ideas, study how they are constructed, and learn how they are used repeatedly throughout a musical work. This is a good opportunity to review the tonal and rhythmic building blocks, and how they can be put together and repeated to create musical patterns. How do musicians make creative decisions? Students will perform motives in the same part of the bow, same articulation and style throughout the section, unless notated differently in the music Students will create a motive, and then use the motive to create a rhythmic or tonal ostinato or sequence Students will aurally and visually recognize rhythmic and tonal motives or ostinatos in the music they perform or hear Evaluating Students will learn to recognize and explain why certain patterns are motives, and others are not. Students will explain why they like some motives better than others, and what motives work better than others. Students can bring in a popular song with a catchy ostinato and explain how it is constructed and why they like it. Teachers can ask questions like: Describe this motive; what intervals or rhythms does the composer use in the motive? Find all of the motives in this piece; how many are there? Do you see parts of motives, or combinations of motives? Motive, sequence, ostinato, pattern, Standard: MU:Cr2.1.E.5b Preserve draft compositions and improvisations through standard notation and audio recording. Musicians creative choices are influenced by their expertise, context, and expressive intent. How do musicians make creative decisions? Rhythmic structures: students will need to know how time signatures divide time within a measure, and how the notes and rhythm patterns can be organized in the measure. The teacher will need to determine what rhythm parameters are appropriate for their level of students; start with quarter notes and rests, and gradually increase the student s rhythm pallet. Tonal structure: students will need to know the names of the notes they want to write down; begin without key signatures, just adding accidentals where needed; later, when they begin to see patterns of which accidentals regularly recur, students can be shown how key signatures save time and Students can learn the creative process 1. Come up with (create) an idea 2. Record it in written notation or with audio equipment 3. Review the idea, and make decisions about what is good and what is not; this is an opportunity for rich discussion, but also frustration for the creator; good judgment and sense of balance should be exercised by the teacher and student here. 4. Perform and record the revised idea. 5. Repeat the review process until Knowledge and Skills Ensemble Novice page 3
make notes easier to read. The teacher will need to determine what tonal parameters are appropriate for their level of students; start with the notes in the D tetrachord, then the D scale, and gradually increase the student s tonal pallet. Teaching notation through composition gives students the opportunity to learn notation the way it was created: When composers have musical ideas, they have to figure out how to preserve these ideas in writing so the ideas are understood by the performers. Beginning string students are encouraged to make up a short piece on their instrument and then write it down; students will remember the answer to How do I write this? much longer than they will remember lectures on quarter notes and key signatures. To record improvisations, students can use their phones or computers and then share them with their teachers or friends. The teacher can use evaluation and questions to help students learn and understand notation: How loud did you want the performer to play this? How fast? What kind of mood? What kind of tone? OK, this is how we write that dynamic, tempo, mood, etc 6. the idea is finished satisfactorily. Students should have opportunities and assignments to improvise or compose freely, and also to improvise and compose within parameters. When improvising or creating rhythms, they should learn to see and hear when their rhythmic ideas agree with an established meter, and when they do not. They should be able to determine when notes are held for a recognizable duration (quarters, 8ths) or when they are performed randomly or outside of a meter or rhythmic framework. When improvising or creating tonal patters, they should learn to see and hear when their tonal ideas agree with an established key, and when they do not. They should be able to determine when notes are in tune and agree with the key, or when pitches are out of tune, or fall outside of a key. Evaluating The teacher can use evaluation questions to help students discriminate about their musical choices: Why did you write this? Were their musical ideas that you decided not to include because they weren t good enough? Explain why these were better? When students listen to the creations of their peers, they should be encouraged say what they liked and why. Or ask questions about what didn t make sense, and why. Evaluate and Refine Evaluate and refine selected musical ideas to create musical work that meets appropriate criteria. Standard: MU:Cr3.1E..5a Evaluate and refine draft compositions and improvisations based on knowledge, skill, and teacherprovided criteria. Musicians evaluate, and refine their work through openness to new ideas, persistence, and the application of appropriate criteria. How do musicians improve the quality of their creative work? Knowledge and Skills Ensemble Novice page 4
Having another student perform a composition helps the composer determine if they used notation that correctly conveys their original musical ideas. Evaluating When the composition was performed, did it sound the same as it did in the composer s head? What was the same, and what was different? Present Share creative musical work that conveys intent, demonstrates craftsmanship, and exhibits originality. Standard: MU:Cr3.2.5b Share personally-developed melodic and rhythmic ideas or motives individually or as an ensemble that demonstrate understanding of characteristics of music or texts studied in rehearsal. Musicians presentation of creative work is the culmination of a process of creation and communication When is creative work ready to share? Students should use good, healthy, relaxed hand and instrument positions to help them better perform and convey their musical ideas and improvisations. Poor technique should not be a barrier to creativity, and young string students should be encouraged to create, compose and improvise even when their technique is limited. Good performing technique should be encouraged throughout this process; the teacher can explain that good performing technique allows musicians to express a wider range of creative ideas with better skill and clarity. When improvising or performing their compositions, students should perform by default with a good, characteristic string tone; when students create a piece with an airy or scratchy tone, they should be doing so by choice, and not because they are limited by poor technique. When improvising or performing their compositions, students should make clear choices about which notes are sharp, flat and natural and then perform these patterns in tune with good left hand technique. When students create a piece with blue notes or other alternative pitches, they should be doing so by choice, and not because they are limited by poor technique. Evaluating Knowledge and Skills Ensemble Novice page 5
PERFORMING Select Select varied musical works to present based on interest, knowledge, technical skill, and context. Standard: MU:Pr4.1.E.5a Select varied repertoire to study based on interest, music reading skills (where appropriate), an understanding of the structure of the music, context, and the technical skill of the individual or ensemble. Performers interest in and knowledge of musical works, understanding of their own technical skill, and the context for a performance influence the selection of repertoire. How do performers select repertoire? Analyze Analyze the structure and context of varied musical works and their implications for performance. Standard: MU:Pr4.2.E.5a Demonstrate, using music reading skills where appropriate, how knowledge of formal aspects in musical works inform prepared or improvised performances. Analyzing creators context and how they manipulate elements of music provides insight into their intent and informs performance. How does understanding the structure and context of musical works inform performance? Knowledge and Skills Ensemble Novice page 6
Interpret Develop personal interpretations that consider creators intent. Standard: MU:Pr4.3.E.5a Identify expressive qualities in a varied repertoire of music that can be demonstrated through prepared and improvised performances. Performers make interpretive decisions based on their understanding of context and expressive intent. How do performers interpret musical works? Rehearse, Evaluate, Refine Evaluate and refine personal and ensemble performances, individually or in collaboration with others. Standard: MU:Pr5.3.E.5a Use self-reflection and peer feedback to refine individual and ensemble performances of a varied repertoire of music. To express their musical ideas, musicians analyze, evaluate, and refine their performance over time through openness to new ideas, persistence, and the application of appropriate criteria. How do musicians improve the quality of their performance?. Knowledge and Skills Ensemble Novice page 7
Present Perform expressively, with appropriate interpretation and technical accuracy, and in a manner appropriate to the audience and context. Standard: MU:Pr6.1.E.5a. Demonstrate attention to technical accuracy and expressive qualities in prepared and improvised performances of a varied repertoire of music. Musicians judge performance based on criteria that vary across time, place, and cultures. The context and how a work is presented influence the audience response. When is a performance judged ready to present? How do context and the manner in which musical work is presented influence audience response? Standard: MU:Pr6.1.E.5b Demonstrate an awareness of the context of the music through prepared and improvised performances. Musicians judge performance based on criteria that vary across time, place, and cultures. The context and how a work is presented influence the audience response. When is a performance judged ready to present? How do context and the manner in which musical work is presented influence audience response? Knowledge and Skills Ensemble Novice page 8
RESPONDING Select Choose music appropriate for a specific purpose or context. Standard: MU:Re7.1.E.5a Identify reasons for selecting music based on characteristics found in the music, connection to interest, and purpose or context. Individuals' selection of musical works is influenced by their interests, experiences, understandings, and purposes. How do individuals choose music to experience? Analyze Analyze how the structure and context of varied musical works inform the response. Standard: MU:Re7.2.E.5a Identify how knowledge of context and the use of repetition, similarities, and contrasts inform the response to music. Response to music is informed by analyzing context (social, cultural, and historical) and how creators and performers manipulate the elements of music. How does understanding the structure and context of music inform a response? Knowledge and Skills Ensemble Novice page 9
Interpret Support an interpretation of a musical work tht reflects the creators /performers expressive intent. Standard: MU:Re8.1.E.5a Identify interpretations of the expressive intent and meaning of musical works, referring to the elements of music, contexts, and (when appropriate) the setting of the text. Through their use of elements and structures of music, creators and performers provide clues to their expressive intent. How do we discern the musical creators and performers expressive intent? Evaluate Support personal evaluation of musical works and performance(s) based on analysis, interpretation, and established criteria. Standard: MU:Re9.1.E.5a Identify and describe the effect of interest, experience, analysis, and context on the evaluation of music. The personal evaluation of musical work(s) and performance(s) is informed by analysis, interpretation, and established criteria. How do we judge the quality of musical work(s) and performance(s)? Knowledge and Skills Ensemble Novice page 10