Teaching Improvisation 

Name: Wesley Crow

Lesson Objective (what do you want the students to learn and be able to demonstrate?)

I want students to be able to learn that improvisation can be really cool without playing a bunch of notes.
Students will attempt to create short (4 beats) examples of improvisation on B-flat blues. Improvisation will
then be extended with the same concept of keeping it simple in mind.

Prior Knowledge & Skills Expectations (what the students must already know and are able to do) :

Students know how to play their B-flat blues scale. Students know how to play G and F-sharp (for the bass
line), off/up-beat

Musical Concepts Addressed in the Lesson:

Funk articulation/style is addressed in the lesson. Improvisation is addressed in the lesson. Musical gaps
(where improvisation can go) are discussed in the lesson. Singing/hearing (audiating) your improvisation is
addressed in the lesson, off/up-beat.

Must Include: Detailed procedures of Instructional Strategy and Assessment for successful achievement of
goal

Opening:

Warm-up: Students will B-flat blues scale as a warm-up. The scale will be played with a funk pattern. 1 (long), 2
(short), & (short), & (short), (next note) 1, 2, &, &. Use this opportunity to teach style as well. Eighth notes short,
and straight, not swung. Either on the beat or on the &. Part of the funk style comes from coming on that off-
beat/up-beat

Materials of Instruction:

- We Are Family by Sister Sledge Remastered, and modulated up a half-step, in GarageBand, to B-flat.
- Bluetooth speaker

Sequence:

1. After warming up with the B-flat blues scale and learning stylistic characteristics of funk and experimenting with
those in the scale warm-up, students will learn the bass line.
2. Bass line, taught one note at a time:
a. First, B-flat
b. Next, A-flat
c. Next, G
d. Next, F-sharp
i. Note G and F-sharp are not in the B-flat blues scale
3. B-flat on the downbeat, all the other notes on the & of 4 (sustain each pitch to the next with a catch breath in
between).
a. Taught by rote
 b. Once students got it, have them play with the recording

4. Melody is taught by rote as well

a. Start on B-flat, 1 (B-flat, short), 2 (A-flat, short), 3 (A-flat, long), 4 (A-flat, long), & (B-flat, short)
i. Have students try to figure those two notes, and the rhythm
b. Teach the second part, 1 (A-flat, long), & (A-flat, long), 2 (A-flat, long), & (A-flat, long), 3 (A-flat, long),
& (A-flat, long), 4 (A-flat, long), & (B-flat, short)
i. Again, have students try to figure those two notes, and the rhythm
c. Combine the two parts, you’ve learned the melody.
i. Play the melody with the recording.
5. Have students listen for what instruments they hear in the gaps. Define the gaps. The gaps are the spots in
between the two parts of the melody. So students most know/be able to identify listening, what/where the
melody is, in order to understand when/where the gaps are.
a. What instruments do you hear in the gap?
i. Piano, guitar, etc.
6. Keying on the piano improvisational fill, ask the students: How many different notes are they (that instrument)
playing?
a. Answer: One!
7. Playing in the gap like the piano did is a form of improvisation. It doesn’t have to have a lot of notes to sound
good/cool.
8. Let’s all try playing in the gap like the piano did!
- First time around sing your improvised solo in the gap
- Then, have students play their improvised solo in the gap
a. You can play any rhythm and any note in the B-flat blues scale
b. Try to end your little solo with B-flat.
c. Students that aren’t soloing play the bass line we learned.
9. Repeat step 8-multiple times.
10. Consider having students solo longer over the intro to the song (16 measures) or divide that in half to start.

Assessment:

- What made your solo sound good?

- Did it help to sing your solo? If so, why?

Closing:

Good work improvising today class! We’ll keep practicing this in different ways in the future!