Jazz

Band Technology Project

Objectives:
Students will improve comfort in improvisation through “scatting” over the changes in Blue Bossa. They
will accomplish this through the utilization of an online backing track, reference recording, and instructor
guidance.

Standards Addressed:

1. HIAR.9 The student will improvise a melody to a 12-bar blues chord progression.
2. HIAR.10 The student will arrange accompanying harmonies and/or counter melodies to a given
melody.
3. HIAR.17 The student will perform accompanying harmonies and/or counter melodies to a given
melody.

Procedure:

- Students will go over in class improvisation techniques by playing over a 12-bar blues in the key
of concert B-flat
- The instructor will play for the students a recording of Blue Bossa on YouTube that is in a jazz
combo form as opposed to the big band arrangement they are playing.
- Students will be asked to reflect on the improvisation techniques they hear by writing their
thoughts as they listen.
- Students will then be asked to scat over the changes of Blue Bossa on the YouTube backing track
- Students will go around the class one by one and initially only need to scat for two bars each, going
immediately down the line and around the room
- After a couple of minutes of students easing into scatting two bars each, the instructor will change
it to four bars
- Finally, students will be asked to scat eight bars each, during the activity the instructor will not be
providing feedback to students’ scatting, simply pointing at the next person to continue the
improvising
- Students will then reflect on their experience at the end of the activity, and the instructor will
provide constructive feedback when necessary


Assessment:

- Students will be informally assessed by the instructor on the improvement in students’ demeanor
and style of “scatting”
- Students will assess themselves by discussing their experience with the activity and if they felt like
they were able to come up with ideas more fluidly after the improvising activity and listening
critically to the recording