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Lesson Plan: Mixing Board and Electronic Instruments

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 FOUR: Electronic Instruments & the Mixing Board

Day 1
Group 1: Memory card game reviewing sound waves, types of noise, different electronic instruments; basic keyboard ten minutes; musical movement twenty minutes
Group 2: Becoming familiar with the mixing board; introduction to equalization and frequency; using faders to control volume; basic keyboard ten minutes; musical movement twenty minutes
Group 3: Becoming familiar with the mixing board; introduction to equalization and frequency; using faders to control volume; use of panning in recording situations; patching; basic keyboard twenty minutes

Day 2
Group 1: Listen to a recording of the ocean; vocalizations using noise to imitate the ocean sounds; musical movement imitating sound waves to the recording; basic keyboard ten minutes; musical movement twenty minutes
Group 2: Experimentation with equalization, panning, fading with the board and voice; basic keyboard ten minutes; musical movement twenty minutes
Group 3: Patching in a microphone; experimentation with equalization, panning, fading with the board and voice; review of patching; basic keyboard twenty minutes

Day 3
Group 1: Sound game – students try to guess which instrument/noisemaker is making the sounds to win team points; basic keyboard ten minutes; musical movement twenty minutes
Group 2: Experimenting with the sound signal from instruments using panning, volume, and equalization; basic keyboard ten minutes; musical movement twenty minutes
Group 3: Hooking up instruments to the board; use of microphones and instruments with the board; experimenting with the sound signal using panning, volume, and equalization; basic keyboard twenty minutes

Day 4
Group 1: Improvising on MIDI instruments (drum machine and keyboard); Dance freeze using MIDI instruments; basic keyboard ten minutes; musical movement twenty minutes
Group 2: Improvising on MIDI instruments (drum machine and keyboard); basic keyboard ten minutes; musical movement twenty minutes
Group 3: Review of MIDI (Musical instrument digital interface); MIDI patching; experimentation with EQ and instruments; basic keyboard twenty minutes

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