Lesson Plan for High School Choir

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OBJECTIVES

1 Students will be able to state/demonstrate the correct patterns of half and whole steps
in all seven diatonic modes.
2 Students will be able to auditorily recognize the correct patterns of half and whole
steps in all seven diatonic modes.
3 Students will be able to use Beatwave to build all seven diatonic modes on any given
tonic.
PROCEDURE

1 Teacher will review the names of the seven diatonic modes discussed in class
(Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian).

2 Teacher will use the smartboard to demonstrate on a virtual keyboard the starting pitches
and resulting interval patterns for each of the seven diatonic modes using only white
keys (C = Ionian, D = Dorian, E = Phrygian, F = Lydian, G = Mixolydian, A = Aeolian, B =
Locrian).

3 Teacher will use solfege syllables (C = do) to demonstrate the different interval patterns
for each of the seven diatonic modes.

4 Activity 1: Students will sing in unison all seven diatonic modes, starting on the
appropriate solfege syllable for each mode (eg: Mixolydian = sol, la, ti, do, re, mi, fa, sol, fa,
mi, re, do, ti, la, sol).

5 Teacher will instruct students to open the Beatwave application on their computers.
6 Teacher will teach the students the basics of how to use Beatwave:
1 how to start and stop playback
2 how to slow the tempo of playback
3 how to change the instrument sound in Beatwave to give a clearer pitch
4 how to read the grid in the melodic composition panels
5 how to insert different notes along the vertical axis, and how to space them out
rhythmically along the horizontal axis
6 how to delete individual notes and how to clear the entire grid
7 how to change the tonic of the scale of the melodic composition panel
8 how to change the scale in the melodic composition panels (Major, minor,
Lydian, Phrygian, Pentatonic, Chromatic, etc).

1 Teacher will demonstrate how each square moving vertically is going to be a

specific interval apart from the square before it depending on the scale chosen.

2 Activity 2: Students will be given three minutes to experiment with the various modal
scale settings and to play back the different modal scales they select. Students will also be
asked to change the tonic and experiment with building the same mode on different tonics.

3 Teacher will instruct students to set the scale to chromatic with a tonic of C at a tempo
of 60 bpm.

4 Teacher will demonstrate how to build a C major scale (2 notes per measure) in the
chromatic setting of Beatwave, pointing out how notes that are a whole step apart have
an empty square between them vertically, while notes that are a half step apart are right
next to one another vertically.

5 Students will follow along and replicate the teachers actions on their own computers.
6 Teacher will use playback function to allow the students to hear the scale they
have created.

7 Teacher will demonstrate how to build a C dorian scale (2 notes per measure) in the
chromatic setting of Beatwave, pointing out how the pattern of whole and half steps
has visibly changed in Beatwave.

8 Students will follow along and replicate the teachers actions in their own computers.
9 Teacher will use playback function to allow the students to hear the scale they
have created.

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Activity 3: Students will get into groups of 3 and create the modal scales the teacher
has listed on the board, and write down the solfege of their scale. Group 1: F dorian
Group 2: G mixolydian Group 3: D phrygian Group 4: E locrian Group 5: C aeolian
Group 6: B lydian Group 7: A ionian. Students will be given four minutes to complete the
task. Each group will then take turns playing back for the class the modal scales they were
assigned. Their computer screens will be projected on the smartboard so the class can
visually see what they have created in Beatwave. The class will be asked to provide
feedback as to whether this is right or wrong.

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Teacher will demonstrate how to export the audio of the Beatwave creation to the
desktop.

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Students will enter random notes into Beatwave and then practice exporting the audio

file to the desktop. Students will test the audio file by playing it back in iTunes to make sure
it has exported correctly.

ASSESSMENT
Students will log into Canvas for a quiz. The quiz is 5 questions long. Each question will contain
the name of a different modal scale. All scales will start on C. Students will be given 15 minutes
to create the assigned scales in Beatwave (2 notes per measure). After creating each scale, the
student should screenshot their scale in Beatwave and upload the JPEG file to the answer
section for the corresponding quiz question in Canvas. The grid will need to be wiped clean
after every question. The students may use headphones to play back the scales they have
created in order to do an aural check of their answers. Quizzes will be graded by Monday.
ASSIGNMENT
Students will receive a homework assignment to be completed on their own home
computers/iPads, or the school computers/iPads. Information on how to download the
Beatwave app will be included at the top of the worksheet. All school computers/iPads already
have Beatwave installed.
Assignment will consist of 14 questions.
Questions 17: Please open Beatwave and set the scale to the mode listed for each
question. Then set the tonic to the pitch listed for each question. Create the modal
scale listed for each question, 2 beats per measure as we did in class. For each question,
screenshot your Beatwave creation and export the audio file to your desktop. You will
upload both of these files to Canvas for every question.
Questions 814: Please open Beatwave and set the scale to chromatic. Then set the
tonic to C. Create the modal scale listed for each question, 2 beats per measure as we did
in class. Remember, the different intervals for each mode will be visible by the different
spacing along the vertical axis of the grid. You will not have any duplicates. If you do, you
will need to go back and reevaluate the interval patterns for each of your modes. For each
question, screenshot your Beatwave creation and export the audio file to your desktop. You
will upload both of these files to Canvas for every question.
Tip: Use the playback function to check your work! The audio files that you submit
should sound like the modal scale you are trying to create. If it sounds wrong, go back
and visually check what you have created in Beatwave to make sure your intervals are
correct. If your audio files are inaccurate when I check them, I will know you are not
correctly audiating the different modes.
Assignment will be due in one week. If the students have any questions, they may come and
see the teacher after school. If the students cannot remember how to edit or use one of the
functions in Beatwave, they may check Canvas for brief video tutorials reviewing everything
they did in class. Students may help one another with the different functions of Beatwave but
they MAY NOT help one another with the answers to the homework.

Rubric:
The student has uploaded all 28 required files in the correct format

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The student has entered 2 notes per measure as demonstrated in class

The student has adjusted Beatwave settings to yield the appropriate

tonic for each question

The student has adjusted Beatwave settings to yield the appropriate

scale for each question

Qs 17: Beatwave screenshot is visually correct

Qs 17: Beatwave audio file is auditorily correct

Qs 814: Beatwave screenshot is visually correct

Qs 814: Beatwave audio file is auditorily correct