| 
Creating
a Patriotic Medley
High School Chorus
Objective
•
Students
create medley arrangements around a theme
National
Standard
4B:
Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines: Students
arrange pieces for voices or instruments other than those for
which the pieces were written in ways that preserve or enhance
the expressive effect of the music.
Materials
•
Choral
arrangement that combines several songs
•
Books
of patriotic songs, folk songs, show tunes, and pop songs
•
Chalkboard
Prior
Knowledge and Experiences
•
Students
have been rehearsing the selected choral arrangement.
Procedures
1.
Using the medley or arrangement that students have been rehearsing,
help them discover characteristics of medley arrangements—the
ebb and flow in moods, transitional material that links contrasting
melodies, key relationships, contrasts in texture, unifying devices.
List these general principles on the chalkboard as students identify
them.
2.
Have students peruse the collections of patriotic songs, folk
songs, show tunes, and pop songs to look for common themes that
interest them or could be used for a patriotic medley (such as
love for one’s homeland and freedom.)
3.
Ask each student, or group of students, to sketch out a medley
of three to six songs for the selected theme. Depending on their
ability, the sketch could vary from a simple prose outline describing
the sound of the arrangement to a full arrangement in notation.
4.
Discuss with students the unique features of medleys.
Indicators
of Success
•
Students
identify and describe the characteristics of medleys and how they
can preserve or enhance the expressive effect of the music.
•
Students
plan arrangements that are constructed logically and expressively
and that make good use of the selected songs.
Follow-up
•
In
subsequent classes, have students work on their arrangements.
When they have completed them, give students the opportunity to
compare their arrangements, discussing the effectiveness of student
choices in arranging.
From
Strategies for Teaching High School Chorus. Compiled and
edited by Randal Swiggum. Copyright 1998. MENC, Reston, VA.
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