Margaret Fagan

Unit Plan: Chamber Ensembles in the High School Band Room

 
Course and Unit Information

Course and Grade level:

High School Band
Grades 9-12

Unit Name:
Incorporating Chamber Music in the High School Band Room

Unit Goals:
● Students will collaborate in small group ensembles to put together one chamber piece of music in
the style of their choosing.
● Students will make collectively make choices regarding musical techniques and styles to create a
performance they are proud of.
● Students will each take on leadership roles in their ensemble to promote group cohesiveness and
ownership.
● Students will discuss musical concepts and techniques in a respectful manner. Students will focus
on communicating ideas and using discourse to respectfully critique and make decisions.
● Students will develop as more independent musicians through the preparation of one part and
through having less direct instruction from the teacher.

Essential Question:
How do musicians communicate and share ideas?
How can we use small instrumental ensembles to grow as independent musicians and share more
personal musical experience?

Enduring Understanding:
Musicians possess leadership and interpersonal skills to be a successful, competent contributor to
their communities.

Lesson Plan 1 Information

Lesson Objectives:
● Student will discuss nonverbal communication used by performers in chamber ensembles.
● Students will analyze new music for basic musical elements that are important for sight-reading.
● Students will identify and practice using different rehearsal strategies when working on individual
musical challenges.
● Students will organize into small chamber groups and discuss ideas of pieces they would like to
learn
.
Standards:
MU:Re7.2.E.Hs
Describe how understanding context and the way the elements of music are manipulated inform the
response to music.
MU:Re7.1.E.Hs
Identify reasons for selecting music based on characteristics found in the music, connection to interest, and
purpose or context.

Repertoire:
● Current band repertoire - Sedona by Steven Reineke
Margaret Fagan
Unit Plan: Chamber Ensembles in the High School Band Room

Materials:
● Smartboard or projector
● Instruments
● Stands and chairs
● Pencils

Procedure
On board​: Listening, warm-up, Sedona
Classroom routine - S. enter class, get instruments, and begin to set up in their seats. They have the first 7
minutes of class (out of 90 minute class).

T. passes out a graphic organizer to use as a guided listening. The graphic organizer asks the question
“What do you notice about how players communicate during their performance?”
- Students take notes on the graphic organizer; filling in the appropriate boxes ,
S. watch videos of small group performances of varying genres as an introduction to the possibilities of
working in small groups.
Guided listening/watching:​ Ask students to focus on the individual musicians’ abilities to communicate
and collaborate with each other.
- Jazz combo
- Chick Corea Combo - ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uYDBVoUjPo
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4rJksd1m9o
- Brass Quintet
- At the Movies - ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3QwiUDt2-E
- Bach Toccata and Fugue in D - ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPXJtFGO-iI
- Woodwinds:
- Fireflies - ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL8hgKkzXFA
- Four Bagatelles - ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru6IKwbJGv4
Communication and collaboration: What did you notice?
- Discuss what was noticed after watching the videos.
What is this chamber music project and what will it look like?
- We are going to work in groups and prepare a piece of music to play of your choosing in those
small groups. You will have rehearsal time and then on *date*, we’re going to perform our pieces
and have them recorded for your keeping.

Full band warm-up - per classroom routine

- Chromatic long tones
- Play through all major scales in our class scale pattern
- Tune

Last class, T. handed out Sedona by Reineke, ask students to take it out.
- Use this piece to ​model the process of how we approach our first piece of chamber music​.
- What are some things we’re going to look at when we get our music for the first time? What is
important to know before playing?
- Write answers on the board
- S. will scan parts for key signature, general technical skills needed, potential challenges,
etc.

Turn and talk:

- What else do you notice about the piece? What is the title? Who wrote it? Do you know anything
about it? What moods do you think the piece is depicting?
- Short class discussion/share what they talked about

Sight-read a chunk of the piece and model rehearsal strategies

Margaret Fagan
Unit Plan: Chamber Ensembles in the High School Band Room

- What was one challenge you encountered when we played through this?
- If you were in a small group, or chamber ensemble, what are some ways we can fix these issues?
- As a group, think of strategies to help us address these issues. What are some ways we normally
addresses these in rehearsal?
- Write on the board. This is going to be our starting “toolbox”. T. will take a picture of the list for
future reference for students.
- Choose a few rehearsal strategies to model in this chunk

Group arrangements:
- Students arrange into group of three or four. Groups chosen by students.
- Each group gets a chamber music interest survey that will act as form for their music choice. It
will ask about genres they are interested in as well as music they enjoy listening to.
- Students will turn it on their way out of class

Assessment

Informal assessments:
● Guided listenings - students are writing down what they noticed about the musician’s
communication and collaboration in the videos of small group performances. Followed by class
discussion.
● Turn and talk on what students notice about music before sight-reading

Lesson Plan 2 Information

Lesson Objectives:
● Students will choose musical repertoire based on their interests and ability levels.
● Students will use respectful rehearsal strategies when giving criticism to other members of their
group.
● Students will use “listen-play-discuss-decide” method to make musical decisions.
● Students will analyze the challenging aspects of their chosen pieces and use those musical aspects
to create group-specific warm-ups for the next rehearsal.

Standards:
MU:Re7.1.E.Hs
Identify reasons for selecting music based on characteristics found in the music, connection to interest, and
purpose or context.
MU:Cn11.0.E.HSI
Demonstrate understanding of relationships between music and the other arts, other disciplines, varied
contexts, and daily life.

Repertoire:
● Chamber music used - tailored to each individual group based on interests and ability levels.
○ Examples: easy jazz quartets/combos (Take Five, Fly Me to the Moon, Freddie
Freeloader), movie scores arranged for chamber groups (trombone choir, brass quintet
movie music), etc.
Materials:
● Music
● Whiteboard or SmartBoard
Margaret Fagan
Unit Plan: Chamber Ensembles in the High School Band Room

● Instruments
● Chairs and stands

Procedure
On board​: Listening, choose pieces in groups, Project information
Classroom routine - S. enter class, get instruments, and begin to set up in their seats. They have the first 7
minutes of class (out of 90 minute class).
T. will ask that students sit with their groups

Based on answers given through their musical interest surveys, T. will pull up videos of more chamber
ensembles during setup time.

S. task: students will have 15 minutes in groups to choose their pieces.​ Teacher hands out lists of music to
use as rep. Each rep list was created for their own individual groups based on skill levels and musical
interests.
- T. will walk around to each group and discuss their choices and why they decided on their piece.
Print out and hand out parts.

Class comes back together for group roles designation:

- Each member of the group will have a role in their group outside of their rehearsals. These roles
will help each member establish ownership within the group.
- T. asks students for ideas of what roles to have in the ensemble
- Ex. score keeper, timekeeper, rehearsal space setup, pencil keeper, notekeeper, scribe for
paperwork
- Each group gets 5-7 minutes to choose and designate their roles

Full-band warm-up

Focus on positive discussions

- What are some ways that we can give positive instruction when we are rehearsing our pieces?
- Ask for students to model - using part of the warm-up we did in class
- Example: "You were out of tune! You always play that passage out of tune!" vs.
- "We need to practice the first section. We weren't in tune. Why don’t we play it slowly,
making sure our unison pitches match?"
- Focus on suggestions and solutions, identify problems and discuss how we are going to
fix them.
Introduce the concept “listen-play-discuss-decide”
- Model for how to make musical fixes in respectful, positive ways
- Call on students to think of examples
- Disagreements are inevitable, some decisions may come at a later date

Break into Group Rehearsal Time

- Hand out music
- T. floats around the room, listening for students giving respectful feedback and helping students
rehearse their parts.

Assignment for next class: choose two musical skills to focus on (from a list) and create a warm-up for the
next class that addresses these skills

Assessment
Margaret Fagan
Unit Plan: Chamber Ensembles in the High School Band Room

Informal assessments:
● T. will discuss with students why they chose their specific repertoire.
● T. will discuss challenges that may be associated with their repertoire.
● T. will float around the classroom during rehearsal time and watch their interactions/guide them to
use the models of respectful critique discussed.

Lesson Plan 3 Information

Lesson Objectives
● Students will discuss balance and blend in their chamber ensemble groups and analyze their own
groups performances using these concepts.
● Students will identify musical concepts they will listen for in their own rehearsals.
● Students will develop individualized goals for their chamber groups and create warm-ups that
address challenges they are facing in their rehearsals.

Standards:
MU:Cn10.0.E.HSII
Demonstrate how interests, knowledge, and skills relate to personal choices and intent when creating,
performing, and responding to music.
MU:Pr4.2.E.HSI
a. Demonstrate, using music reading skills where appropriate, how compositional devices employed and
theoretical and structural aspects of musical works impact and inform prepared or improvised
performances.

Repertoire:
● Chosen repertoire for each individual group

Procedure
On board​: Sit with your groups and warm-up, Goals, rehearsal time
Classroom routine - S. enter class, get instruments, and begin to set up in their seats. They have the first 7
minutes of class (out of 90 minute class).
T. will ask that students sit with their groups

T. Talk through the calendar/time left for rehearsals.

Musical concept to discuss: Balance and blend
- Importance of independent roles when we have individual parts, every part of the ensemble plays a
crucial role in the performance.
- Student group examples - one group will plan an excerpt of their piece
- T. asks leading questions such as: What is the function of the *instrument* in this
specific part?
- What instrument has the melody? Is there an instrument that you want to hear more or
less of?
- T. asks one student of group to play too loud
- What is happening to the balance? Do we hear each individual contributing? Why is it so
important that we contribute equally?
- How can we continue to be respectful in the rehearsal when addressing balance and
blend?
Margaret Fagan
Unit Plan: Chamber Ensembles in the High School Band Room

- What are some other musical elements or concepts we could be addressing in our rehearsal? What
can we do with these musical elements to make our performance unique? Is it okay to add our own
elements? Why or why not?
- Write answers on the board
- Examples:
- Articulation, dynamics

Have students create 2 goals to address during this rehearsal time. Write goals on the board.

Small group warm-ups

Rehearsal time
- T. floats around class and aids in students’ rehearsal strategies
- Questions when floating:
- How do you want the articulation to sound? Does the group match articulation?
- Do you feel like your dynamic levels match?
- How is the balance?
- What are hearing with your intonation?
- Is there anything that you want to add to the music or make different? If so, what would
would add here…?
- What dynamics can you add here…?
Exit slip: What were your group’s goals and did you achieve them? Why or why not?

Assessment

Informal assessments:
● Students should be creating their own musical ideas that the group respectfully agrees with.
● Students will be having conversations in their groups on their performance practices.
● Students will make musical decisions that they will need to validate and defend for the t. and
group.
● Students will discuss the example that was given to model how to talk about balance and blend.
Students will then answer questions prompted by teacher and hold a discussion on how to address
rehearsal strategies and techniques.

Lesson Plan 4 Information

Lesson Objectives:
● Students will reorganize their seating arrangements for their chamber performance to best
demonstrate collaboration and communication.
● Students will analyze the group’s progress toward achieving their individual goals and decide
what steps need to be taken next in their rehearsal.

Standards:
MU:Re9.1.E.HSII
Evaluate works and performances based on research as well as personally- and collaboratively-developed
criteria, including analysis and interpretation of the structure and context.

Repertoire:
● Chosen repertoire for each individual group
Margaret Fagan
Unit Plan: Chamber Ensembles in the High School Band Room

Procedure
On board​: Sit with your groups and warm-up, Goals, rehearsal time
Classroom routine - S. enter class, get instruments, and begin to set up in their seats. They have the first 7
minutes of class (out of 90 minute class)
T. will ask students to sit with their groups

Discussion on seating arrangement in the chamber setting.

- How do we need to arrange our seating so that we are best able to communicate?
- What were some of the seating arrangements we saw in the videos we watched? What did you
notice about how you have been sitting in your past few rehearsals?
- What went well in your rehearsal? What doesn’t work well?

Small group warm-ups

Rehearsal time

Last 5 minutes of rehearsal: group discussion: did you achieve your goals?
What is one thing you need to work on tomorrow be ready for performance?

Lesson Plan 5 Information

Lesson Objectives:
● Students will perform their chamber piece for the rest of the class.
● Students will reflect and evaluate their learning from working and performing music in small
groups.

Standards:
MU:Pr6.1.E.Hs intermediate
a. Demonstrate attention to technical accuracy and expressive qualities in prepared and improvised
performances of a varied repertoire of music representing diverse cultures and styles.
b. Demonstrate an understanding of the context of the music through prepared and improvised
performances.
MU:Cn11.0.E.HSI
Demonstrate understanding of relationships between music and the other arts, other disciplines, varied
contexts, and daily life.
MU:Pr4.1.E.HSII
a. Develop and apply criteria to select a varied repertoire to study and perform based on an understanding
of theoretical and structural characteristics and expressive challenges in the music, the technical skill of the
individual or ensemble, and the purpose and context of the performance.

Materials:
● Chairs and stands
● Rehearsal spaces for each group
● Recording device and computer than can burn a CD

Procedure

Final Rehearsal (20 minutes)

Margaret Fagan
Unit Plan: Chamber Ensembles in the High School Band Room

Performance of pieces for the class

Student introduce themselves and piece
- Audience fills out evaluation
- Student performers evaluate themselves and their partners(s).

End of class discussion:

- Do you feel like you grew as a performer during this week?
- What aspects of small group music making were different than what we normally do?
- Did you feel like you had more freedom?
- How did you make group decisions?
- Were your decisions easy to make?
- Did the rehearsals get easier as time went on?

Exit Slip:
Self-critique and group evaluation.
- How well well were you able to work as a group? Explain
- Did you feel comfortable offering your own unique ideas and making the music better?
- Did you enjoy having the freedom to choose the music to play and personalizing it to suit your
musical ideas?
- If you were going to give advice to another class who is going to do this project, what advice
would you give?

Assessment
Formal assessments:
- Student self evaluations
- Final performance - graded on rubric that will address students’ ability to perform together
musically, student collaboration throughout the unit, and students’ creativity and individually in
their