Jake Fields

Conducting
Mr. Speck
4/25/2016
Suite Provencale: Lesson Plan
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to perform their part to Suite Provencale accurately with regard to
rhythm
2. Students will be able to perform their part to Suite Provencale accurately with regard to
pitch
3. Students will be able to perform their part to Suite Provencale with an appropriate
musical style
4. Students will be able to interpret and execute all musical markings (articulations,
dynamics, etc) on the page in an accurate way
Materials needed:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Students
Instruments
Music (score and parts)
Chairs, stands, podium
Rehearsal space

Activities and procedures:

Third movement:

Starting at the beginning of the third movement I will have the students play. My initial
plan will be read through the entire movement, as it is very short.
If anything comes up that could/should be fixed immediately, we will stop and address it.
This could be anything from the group not taking my tempo, to the group falling apart, to
an integral player missing an important entrance.
While playing through the piece, I will make mental note of any specific spots in the
music that stick out to my ear as incorrect. I will also listen for things that could be
improved on. These could be balance issues, rhythmic issues, note issues, or stylistic
interpretation issues.
Once weve played through the movement once and gotten to the end, we will return to
any trouble spots that may have come up, and address them

Some anticipated trouble spots in the third movement include:

Trumpets lining up with flutes and oboes 4 before B (spatial issue)

Capturing the character change at letter B (softer, and more legato) and the other
character change 8 before C (louder, more separated)
I want there to be a slight rise and fall to the melody at A and in all parallel spots, this
may not be achieved through conducting alone, although I will try
Rit. in the last 4 bars with busy 16th notes
+ of 1 into 2 in the last measure from timpani

Fourth movement:

Similarly to movement 3, we will start at the beginning

We will progress and read through the movement, stopping only when absolutely
necessary
I will make mental note of which spots sound incorrect, and we will revisit them. I will
also be listening for issues when it comes to things such as balance, note correctness,
rhythmic correctness, or correctness of stylistic interpretation
Once weve made it through the fourth movement, we will go back and revisit any
trouble spots that may have come up

Some anticipated trouble spots in the fourth movement include:

Percussion being overbalanced at A (too loud in an otherwise soft texture)

Places like 12 before B with 16th notes (142 is pretty fast for reading these notes)
Low instruments maintaining a solid, consistent accent while decrescendo-ing to
make room for the horns at letter B
Flutes coming in on the + of 1 consistently while others are playing a syncopation
(worried flutes will slow down) if they do, isolate flute, bassoon, tuba together and
have them play and listen to each other
At D all brass has a melodic line for 8 bars, followed by very similar material in the
woodwinds for 8 bars after that. While one is playing the other isnt. This presents an
opportunity for the sections to match style exactly. This may prove to be difficult
5-let in woodwinds 16 from the end
Dynamic contrast in the brass parts (subito p) 14 from the end
7-let in the woodwinds in the penultimate bar (more for effect) but could still be
practiced

Assessment:
All assessment in todays lesson will be informal observational. Students will not receive
a grade (from me) for today. I will assess their ability to play the part musically through
aural observation.