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Lesson Plan: Graphic Notation

Sound, Noise, and Electronic Music

Group 1: Ages 5-7
Group 2: Ages 8-10
Group 3: Ages 10-13

Objectives

Group 1&2: Recognition of various sound waves, ability to construct simple compositions using sound waves, training the voice to imitate sound waves, using the body to imitate sound waves in musical movement, learning concepts of timbre and noise as music, encouraging improvisation with instruments, continuation of Primer Level in Keyboard playing.

Group 3: Recognition of various sound waves and noise types, ability to construct compositions using graphic notation, understanding the music history behind electronic music (John Cage, Futurists, noise, early electronic instruments, etc.), learning concepts of timbre and noise as music, encouraging improvisation and experimentation with instruments and various sound producers, using the voice for sonic imitation of sound waves, creating vocal compositions with graphic notation (vocalizations), continuation of Primer Level and Level 1 Keyboard playing.

WEEK THREE: Graphic Notation

Day 1
Group 1&2: Experimenting with different sound producers collected; each sound producer is represented by a graphic; students play back sound producers according to notation given; basic keyboard ten minutes; musical movement and dance freeze with noise producers
Group 3: Experimenting with different sound producers collected; each student discovers ten different sounds made with each sound producer and notates it on paper; students share their findings with the class; students improvise solos on their sound producer; basic keyboard twenty minutes

Day 2
Group 1&2: Noise game – students play the sound producers and have other students guess what object made the noise; experiment with voice based on notation symbols; basic keyboard ten minutes; musical movement twenty minutes
Group 3: Vocalizations using standardized graphic notation symbols; listening to recordings using the voice as a non-pitched instrument; review of musical expressions, dynamics, etc (legato, forte, etc.); basic keyboard and music composition twenty minutes

Day 3
Group 1&2: Students experiment with voice using puppets as visual aide; review of high pitch and low pitch; basic keyboard ten minutes; musical movement twenty minutes
Group 3: Composition Fridaze Creating compositions using graphic notation; incorporating concepts of sound waves, vocalizations, noise, etc, in compositions; performing scores

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