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

Unit Summary

Inquiry Question: How do musicians think and speak about mood in music they perform and listen to?

Data from the Fall 2013 performance assessment revealed gaps in listening response, comparing pieces, and writing a review. In this course, students were challenged to use evidence to support their evaluation of mood in recorded masterworks. Students listened to recorded music, together as a class and individually, and listed adjectives that they associated with the mood of the piece. In addition to identifying the mood, students had to reference specific aspects of the musical performance that they could use as evidence of that mood. Once they made these connections, they received feedback from their peers about the clarity of their arguments before writing up their thoughts into a paragraph of text. These writings were also assessed by peers, using a student-created rubric for writing about mood, and revised into final form for feedback from the teacher.

use of Technology

Students used iPads to view musical performances in small groups, then used the Perfect Video app to create subtitles for the videos to describe the moods and musical changes happening in the videos.

Download: Instructions for Perfect Video app