Prospectus:

CurriculumJazzimprovisation

BasicIdea:
IwanttodevelopacoursethatcanbeusedasafullyearcoursetofacilitatestudentlearninginthecontextofJazz
improvisation.Thiswouldbeanopportunityforstudentstolearntheskillsnecessarytosuccessfullyplay
improvisedaccuratejazzsolos

anddeveloppersonalvaluesforjazzmusic.Thiswillbeaccomplishedbyproviding
experiencesforstudentstoexperimentwithjazzimprovisation.Whichwillultimatelybenefitstudentscognitive
auralperception.Afterstudentsdevelopalloftheskillsneededtosuccessfullyimproviseinfrontoftheirpeers,they
willhavemostlikelydevelopedapersonalappreciationfortheexperience,andjazzasagenre.
Context:
Duetoschedulingrestraints,thiscoursewillmostlikelystartasaJazzimprovisationLabafterschoolacouple
daysacycle.Studentsinthisparticulardistrictareinvolvedwithmanydifferentextracurricularactivitiesandare
spreadverythinthroughouttheschoolweek.Inaddition,duetothecomplexityofmyschedulebeingaK12teacher
inthissmallruraldistrict,itwouldnearlyimpossibletofitajazzcourseintotheregularclassschedule.Although
thegeneralsocioeconomicstatusofstudentsinthisschooldistrictisfairlylow,itisessentiallyanonissuein
regardstoschoolresources.However,manystudentshaveIEPsand504s.Therefore,instructionmustbe
individualizedtofiteachindividualstudentsneeds.Thisclasswouldnotworkasastandardbigband(althoughthis
isapossibilitydependingonwhatthestudentswanttodo),itwouldinsteadworklikeajambandwithsomedirect
instruction.Consideringthetechnologythatisavailableyoutube,musicboxes,smartmusic,etc.,itwouldevenbe
possibletobreaktheclassdowntoindividualsorpairs.
Aim#1:
Askill
JazzImprovisation,andplayingwithinthecontextofajazzensemble,listening,singingandplayingwith
chordchanges,swingstylerhythmsAllofthesethingswillaidinthestudentsmusicliteracyaswellastheir
cognitiveperceptionofwhattheyareperforming.Studentunderstandingofchordchangesandthenotesthatwork
withthosechordswillalldependontheirauralperceptionofwhatishappeningaroundthemandwhattheyare
playing.Therefore,themainfocusofthiscoursewillbetodevelopthestudentsinnerearwhichisultimatelythe
maintoolwhenapproachingimprovisation.Oncethestudentsperceivethatpracticalconnectionbetweenwhatthey
hearandthetheoreticalanalysisofwhattheyarehearing,theywillhaveaneasiertimeformulatingideasinthe

momentwhentheyareimprovising.Furthermore,studentsimaginationwillbesparkedbythespontaneousprocess
ofimprovising.Itwillrequirestudentstoconstructcoherentandartisticallyaestheticauralimageswhichwill
happensimultaneouslyandautomaticallywhileintheactofperceivingsoundinthecontextofimprovising.
Aim#2:
Anappreciation/values
Studentswilldevelop

anappreciationforfree,creativityasitrelatestojazzimprovisation.
BecausestudentswilldevelopanauralperceptionofsoundinthecontextofaJazzensembletheywillbeableto
developimprovisationskillsthroughexperience.OncetheyhaveexperiencedJazzanddeveloped
improvisation/cognitiveskillswithinthatcontexttheywillhavealsodevelopedapersonalvalueoffreedomand
creativitybecausetheywillunderstandthemeaningsoftheskillstheyhavelearned.
Representativeofthecommunitycontextandtheprofession?
Inadditiontothecognitivebenefitsthiscurriculumprovidesthestudents,itwillalsohelptodiversifythemusicthat
iscurrentlybeingtaughtinmymusicprogram.Sincestudentswillbedevelopingtheircognitivemusicianshipby
increasingtheirauralperception,thecommunitywithintheclassroomwillbecomemoremusicalandresponsive
whichwillcausetheoverallmusicalexperiencesprovidedinthemusicroommoremeaningfultothelearners.
Furthermore,thedevelopmentofthesevaluesandskillswillfurthertheprofession.Thisisbecausestudentswho
developthesecognitiveskillswillhaveagreaterchanceofenteringsocietyandusingthosecognitive/perceptive
skillstocreatetheirownexperiences,oraid/facilitateintheprocessofcreativity,whetherthatisfromaneducation
contextorfromabusinessperspective.
Clear?
Theseaimsarespecifictowhatthegoalsareintheclass.Thosegoalsbeingtodevelopindependent,literate,
perceptivemusicians.Asmentionedbeforetheaimistogivestudentstheopportunitytodeveloptheircognitiveand
imaginativelisteningskillsasitspecificallyrelatestoJazzimprovisation,andJazzeducationingeneral.Inaddition,
becausestudentswillbedevelopingtheseskillsandgrowinganunderstandingofthecreative/historicalvaluesin
Jazz,theywilldeveloptheirownpersonalappreciation/valuesasitrelatestoJazzimprovisation.
Defensible?
Thiscurriculumanditsaimswilldrawonaconstructivistmodel(learningthroughpersonalexperience),howevera
knowledgebasewillhavetobeestablishedthroughsomedirectinstruction.Theseaimsarerepresentativeofthe

historicaltraditionofJazz.Furthermore,thecreativityandfreedomwhichstudentswillexperiencewillhelpto
developtheirperceptive/cognitiveskillasproductive/freecitizenwithinsociety.
Socialization
Thiscurriculumwillprovidelearnerswiththeopportunitytogrowconfidenceintheirplayingover
time.Itallowsstudentstoexperimentinacontrolled,safeenvironmentwhereineveryoneincludingtheteacherisa
leaner.Studentswillalsohavetheopportunitytodeveloptheirowncreativityinthecontextofalargergroup.In
addition,todevelopingtheirownauralperceptionofJazz,theywillalsobelistening,andworkingwithotherpeople
tocreateauthenticperformancesofJazzrepertoire.Therefore,theywilldevelopproblemsolvingskills,creativity
skills,andmusicalperceptionskills.
Personalgrowth
Studentswillgrowmusically,andcognitivelyasindividuals.Becauseoftheimprovisatory
natureofjazz,studentswillbeexperimentingwithsimplechordchangeswhichwillallowthemtousetheir
knowledgebaseandimaginationtoconstructnewknowledgeinjazz.Specifically:riffs,blues,andrhythm,and
creativity.DoingsowillfacilitategrowthinauralperceptioninthecontextofJazzimprovisation.
Feasible?
Theseaimscaneasilybeapproachedinaschoolsetting.TheyaresimpleyetveryspecifictowhatIwouldliketo
accomplishwithmystudents.Ifeelthatthesimplicitygivesthemclarityandaspecificdirectionformystudents
withoutbeingsonarrowastosuffocateanylearningopportunities.Inaddition,Iwilldrawonqualitymaterialsto
helpfacilitatelearning.TheRealEasyBookisanoptionthatprovidesallthematerialnecessarytosuccessfully
developstudentauralperceptionasitrelatestojazzimprovisation.Furthermore,studentswillgainpractical
experienceplayinginlargergroupsaswellassmallergroupsandindividuallytodevelopandexperimentwithideas.
Muchtimewillbespentfocusingonexperimentationdoingjazzimprovisationwithinthecontextofa
safe
learningenvironment.

NationalArtsStandardsthatwillbeaddressedinthiscourse:

Thiswillbeanintroductory/beginningcoursefor6th12thgradestudentswhowanttolearnthebasicsforJazz
improvisation.Therefore,ThestandardsthatIamtargetingaregenerallyplacedinthelevelsof
NoviceIntermediate.However,dependingonhowwelltheclassgoes,andhowfarthestudentswanttobepushed,
itispossiblethatthetargetstandardswillbecomemoreadvanced.Inaddition,thisclasswillbecomprisedof
middlehighschoolstudentswhoareallatvariedlevelsintheirpersonalmusicianship.Thiswillalsohaveaneffect
onwhatiscoveredduringtheclass.Furthermore,theamountofmaterialthatiscoveredwillalsobeaffectedbythe
limitedamountoftimethattheclasswillmeet.