Allie Charney

Dr. Talbot
MUS149
7 November 2018
Microteach: Creative Musicianship
Musical Concept: Polyrhythm
Context: I am teaching the concept of polyrhythm to a seventh-grade general music class using
common objects as instruments. They have had lots of experience clapping and counting
rhythms in simple and compound meter, and they just started notating rhythms using Western
notating at the beginning of this year.
Essential Question: How does polyrhythm affect the way we listen to and understand music?
National Standards:
i. Creating:
a. MU:Cr3.2.7a Present the final version of their documented personal composition,
song, or arrangement, using craftsmanship and originality to demonstrate unity
and variety, and convey expressive intent.
ii. Performing:
a. MU:Pr6.1.7a Perform the music with technical accuracy and stylistic expression
to convey the creator’s intent.
iii. Connecting:
a. MU:Cr3.2.7a Present the final version of their documented personal composition,
song, or arrangement, using craftsmanship and originality to demonstrate unity
and variety, and convey expressive intent.
iv. Responding:
a. MU:Re7.2.7a Classify and explain how the elements of music and expressive
qualities relate to the structure of contrasting pieces.
Learning Outcomes:
i. Students will perform and improvise polyrhythms on objects used as instruments.
ii. Students will arrange a polyrhythmic pattern in small groups.
iii. Students will discuss and define polyrhythm.
iv. Students will notate a polyrhythm.
Materials:
i. Chalkboard
ii. Chalk
iii. Common objects found in the room (e.g. pen, notebook, water bottle, etc.)
Glossary of Terms:
 i. Polyrhythm: Simultaneously playing two or more different rhythms.
Procedure:
i. The teacher will ask for a student’s pencil and will play a steady rhythm on the
student’s desk with the pencil.
ii. The teacher will ask for a student’s spiral notebook and, using the pencil, will play a
steady beat on the rings, imitating a guiro.
iii. The teacher will ask for a student’s water bottle and shake it to a steady beat.
iv. The teacher will invite the students to choose an object and stand up in a circle in the
center of the room.
v. The teacher will knock on the chalkboard, performing a simple rhythm.
a. The students will repeat this rhythm on their objects.
b. The teacher will ask for a student to notate this rhythm on the chalkboard.

i.
vi. The teacher will play another rhythm on the chalkboard, and the students will repeat
it.
a. The teacher will ask another student to notate this on the chalkboard.

i.
vii. The teacher will instruct one half of the room to play the first rhythm and the other
half to perform the other rhythm.
viii. The teacher will count them in and they will play the different rhythms together.
ix. The teacher will write one more rhythm on the board:

a.
x. The teacher will instruct a third of the class to perform the first rhythm, a third to
perform the second rhythms, and a third to perform the last rhythm. The teacher will
count them in, and they will all perform the different rhythms together on their own
objects.
xi. The teacher will visually and aurally assess whether or not the students maintain their
independent rhythm.
xii. The teacher will instruct the students to think of a different rhythm than what is
written on the board, then the teacher will count them in and they will all improvise
their own rhythm.
xiii. The teacher will tell the students to work with their group, who played the same
rhythms earlier (should be about 3 people) to create three (or four, depending on
number of students in group) new rhythms to be performed together.
xiv. Each group will perform their polyrhythmic patterns to the class.
 xv. The teacher will write “Polyrhythm” on the board, and ask the students what “poly”
means.
xvi. After discussing that “poly” means “more than one,” the teacher and students will
discuss the full meaning of polyrhythm (playing two or more different rhythms at the
same time).
xvii. The teacher will write this one the board:

a.
xviii. The teacher will instruct the students to copy this onto a piece of paper and to notate
two different 6/8 rhythms that can be played together.
xix. The teacher will collect the papers on their way out of class.

Assessment:
i. The teacher will visually and aurally assess whether or not the students
improvise a rhythm that is not written on the board and that makes sense
within the 4/4 meter.
ii. The teacher will visually and aurally assess whether or not the students
maintain three separate rhythms when performing polyrhythm in small
groups.
Students maintain three different
rhythms.
Two or more of the rhythms are the
same.

iii. The teacher will assess the students’ definition of polyrhythm using the
following rubric.
Students say that polyrhythm involves
two or more rhythms, involves
different rhythms, and involves
rhythms played at the same time.
Students say that polyrhythm involves
two or more rhythms, but fail to
mention that they are different
 and are played at the same time.
Students fail to differentiate between a
single-line rhythm and a
polyrhythm.
iv. The teacher will visually assess the students’ notated polyrhythms using
the following rubric:
The student notates two different 6/8
rhythms that make sense within
the meter.
The student notates the same rhythm
twice, or notates a rhythm that
does not make sense within the
6/8 meter.

Further Learning:
i. In the next class, the students can perform the 6/8 polyrhythms that they wrote.
ii. For a homework assignment, students can find examples of polyrhythms in the music
that they listen to.
Honor Code:
i. I affirm that I have upheld the highest principles of honesty and integrity in my
academic work and have not witnessed a violation of the Honor Code.
Alexandra Charney