Jazz

KS3 Scheme of Work – 6 lessons
Objectives
• To listen to different styles of jazz and its influences: Blues, Ragtime, New Orleans Jazz, Swing Era big bands, Bebop, latin jazz, and rock fusion
• To sing songs a spiritual and blues song in the jazz style, both in class and individually
• To develop improvising skills using a variety of scales and note patterns (rhythm only, pentatonic minor scale, five notes (C-G), blues scale, chord notes) on given tunes and chord sequences
Lesson outline
• Lesson 1 – Blues and Ragtime
• Lesson 2 – New Orleans Jazz
• Lesson 3 – The Swing Era
• Lesson 4 – Later Jazz Styles
• Lesson 5 – When the Saints go Marching In
• Lesson 6 – Improvising Assessment
Subject-specific vocabulary
• Instruments – piano, drum kit, double bass, trumpet, cornet, clarinet, trombone, saxophone, banjo
• Blues notes – where some notes have a slightly lower pitch
• Call-and-response – where the lead singer’s phrases are echoed by other singers or instruments
• Major scale – an ordinary seven-note scale in a major key
• Oom-pah accompaniment – a backing pattern where bass notes alternate with chords, all on the beat
• Syncopated – where the offbeat notes are accented
• Swing – where the beat is divided unequally into a long note and a short note
• Rhythm section keeps the beat and accompanies with bass line and chords
• Frontline instruments play the original melody (head) and improvise
• Improvise - make up the music as you go along
• Head – the original, composed melody of a particular song
• Scat singing
• Walking bass
• ‘Ten-to-ten’ rhythm – repeated crotchet and two swung quavers on ride cymbal

Assessments
• Performing: playing ‘In the Mood’ on the keyboard (Lesson 3)
• Listening: listening exercise on ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’ (Lesson 5)
• Composing: improvising on ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’ (Lesson 6)