improvisation
Repertoire - Anticipation - Emotive Communication - Feedback - Flow
Little Kids Rock curriculum provides students with the scaffolding structures required for musical improvisation. As part of the Modern Band program, students build on their prior knowledge using songs they know and love (repertoire) for musical anticipation, communication, feedback and flow. The Modern Band curriculum provides students with videos and lessons to practice songs and musical rhythms. Students then use those rhythms, open chord progressions and other music foundations for improvisation and song creation.
Biasutti and Frezza (2009) consider the processes involved during musical improvisation and propose a model that includes the following five dimensions: anticipation, use of repertoire, emotive communication, feedback, and flow (see Figure below).
The anticipation factor refers to the ability to anticipate features and characteristics at the rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic levels that correspond to musical events that must be performed. The use of repertoire factor concerns patterns such as licks, or clichés, that musicians commonly use during improvisation. The emotive communication factor is related to the skill of communicating emotions through improvisation. The feedback factor involves the monitoring processes by which changes and adjustments to improve a performance are made in accordance with the relevant information collected about the performance. The flow factor refers to a state of mind that includes cognitive, affective, and physiological aspects that are linked to flow or an optimal experience.
The following Little Kids Rock lessons utilize musical improvisation.
compose & improvise
FROM ACCESS TO PARTICIPATION
Modern Band programs teach students how to compose and improvise while performing the musical genres they know and love such as rock, reggae, pop, hip hop, EDM and others as they emerge. Modern Band also utilizes the musical instruments that are common to these genres: guitar, bass, drums, piano, voice and technology.
Modern Band is a useful tool for engaging students who would not elect to participate in existing school music programs, leading to increased student participation in music education. Modern Band programs ‘widen the door’ to school music participation by incorporating popular musical instruments, contemporary repertoires, and student composition and improvisation into the classroom.
Check out the Educator Resources tab and the curriculum guide below for composition and improvisational lessons using guitar, bass, drums, piano, voice and technology. Little Kids Rock lessons are tailored for all learners; despite their musical background. If they love music, there are lessons to build upon this love of music and into a instrument playing or rap creating musician in no time.
