Units of Study / ARTS ACHIEVE MUSIC UNIT: HIGH SCHOOL

How Do Musicians Think and Speak About Mood in Music They Perform and Listen to?

UNIT SUMMARY | STANDARDS | OUTCOMES | RESOURCES

LESSONS 1-6 | LESSONS 7-15 | LESSONS 16-21

Lessons 1-6

Day 1

Write a review: Is this a quality performance?

1. Prewritting Assignment: Answer the following questions. Use as much personal evidence as possible to support your opinion.

Why is musical analysis important to advancing one's musicianship?
Why is it important to analyze music that we did not create?

2. Students will listen to a short selection of music, and describe the mood, using as much detail as possible.

Days 2-6

In small groups, students brainstorm and list moods to create a classroom chart – “Mood Words.” Additionally, students create a word wall of “Musician’s Words” containing musical vocabulary. Students will listen to short selections of music and determine the mood, using as many adjectives from the charts as possible.

Students listen to a selection of music and will be presented with a variety of correct and incorrect musical descriptions developed by the teacher. The descriptions will use adjectives and adverbs that describe the musical terminology, and the students will select the correct descriptions and write them in their journals.