I chose this lesson plan about saxophones because I find it
important for young students to understand and know which instruments are which
by their timbre, dynamic range, physical look, and to also know their basic
history and their use in different genres of music. Also, it is a really good
lesson plan to use in my future career as a teacher in a general-music setting.
A very important part that was missing/should have been
changed about this lesson plan was the grade-level. I believe that it should be
pushed down to about the 4th or 5th grade, because the
curriculum goals and NJ standardized goals were very out of touch with each
other.
I think this is a good lesson to demonstrate the use of
technology to show the movement of sound and the affects of physicality on the
sound. If an instrument, namely the saxophone and any other wind instrument,
has longer tubing, then it sounds lower. This lesson plan also emphasizes CD
players and the use of computers and preferably smart boards.
This
is where this lesson plan was lacking; I really feel that the use of a
smartboard and the program MAX-MSP would serve as a really good medium of
demonstration in this setting. The students would have been able to see a
physical manifestation of the dynamic ranges on the board as the music would
pass by, and they would be able to make comparisons between the different types
of saxophones. This would be easier than conceptualizing timbre and dynamic
range as an abstract idea. Without the specific technologies listed, we would
not be able to listen to the recordings that use the saxophone. This would
probably defeat the purpose of this lesson entirely, so the technology that is
used in this lesson is integral.
