Warm Ups for Instrumental Lessons

Joseph Krammer
krammer7@hotmail.com
Philadelphia School District

TI:ME Technology Areas Addressed:

Electronic Musical Instruments
Notation
Sequencing

Level:

High School

Class:

Instrumental

Equipment:

I Mac Computer LAB
Sibelius 3
Keyboard with appropriate MIDI Equipment (interface, MIDI cables)

Duration:

30 Minutes

Prior Knowledge and Skills:

1. Knowledge of their own Instrument they play in the band.
2. Students must know the C major Scale
3. Need to have some knowledge of the piano keyboard.
4. knowledge of basic notes and rhythms, and how to read them
0n the music staff.

NAfME standard of 1994 Addressed:

NAfME standard of 1994: Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.

NAfME 2014: Performing 

NAfME standard of 1994: Improvising melodies, harmonies, and accompaniments.
NAfME standard of 1994: Composing and Arranging Music within specified guidelines.
NAfME standard of 1994: Reading and notating music.

NAfME 2014: Creating

Materials:

Objectives:

The students who play various Band Instruments will use the notation software to create a warm up for their individual instrument type.

Procedures:

The students will be given instructions to create an warm up for their own instrument that must be in C major, consist of only half notes and whole notes, be no longer that 16 measures long, and the range must be limited middle C to E a tenth higher ( no sharps or flats).

The students will then create an a warm up using the notation program and the midi keyboard. Students may incorporate slurs, breath marks, and phrase markings.

Students will playback their warm ups for the teacher, and other students of their same instrument.

Evaluation:

When the students playback the recording for teacher he/she can offer advice to better the warm up if there is too much large interval leaps, etc.
Students of the same instrument will perform each warm up at their next lesson with the rest of the warm ups that the other students created.
After all of the warm ups are performed, the students and teacher can give feedback on which warm up they preferred and maybe even pick one or two to use for a month, until they may want to create another warm up.

Follow Up:

Students can create longer, maybe more complex warm ups with more rhythmic diversity and melodic range.