The Life and Music of Duke Ellington
Lessons 023 - 024
DATES Feb. 6 – Feb. 17, 2012 (2 classes – students out of school on Feb. 17th)
Lessons © www.musictechteacher.com
Each Music Technology student in the 2nd - 5th grades will receive one 30-45 minute lesson per week. The class structure is ‘work-at-your-own-pace’ because students are not required to have any materials or music equipment to participate.
Essential Questions: Who was Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington? How many compositions did he create? Did he compose music only for jazz ensembles? Who collaborated with Ellington to create many songs for his band?
Objectives:
* Students will study the life of a famous jazz musician – Duke Ellington
* Selected students will start working on ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing.’
* Students will complete a quiz about Duke Ellington on our website.
* Students will complete one or two pages in the Alfred Basic Piano Library Level 1A (varies based on student level) or older students will continue to work on practicing songs for the Black History Program performance.
Materials:
Alfred 1A Piano Books, keyboards and related equipment, computers with our website posted, recording of a composition and / or video by Duke Ellington viewed from the teacher’s laptop and a projector, copies of ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing’ music, either a handout copy of the Duke Ellington quiz or the interactive quiz posted on our website.
Standards:
National MENC Standards:
(2) Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
(6) Listening to, analyzing and describing music.
(9) Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
TI:ME Technology Strategies:
(4) Technology-Assisted Learning
(5) Multimedia and Digitized media
Procedures:
1) The teacher will introduce information about Duke Ellington (Alfred’s Meet the Great Jazz Legends Unit 3). Other sources may include information from the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and various websites about Duke Ellington. The teacher will play a selection of music from Duke Ellington (‘It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing’ or ‘Satin Doll’ - MP3 - iTunes). Show a brief video clip of Duke Ellington from YouTube (advertising cut).
2) The students will complete the ‘Quiz on Duke Ellington’ on our website. Record the grade for each student or have the student print the score if a printer is available. Students that receive a high score may get a reward (music pencil, stickers, buttons). Students could take the same quiz in the printed handout version, also.
3) Selected students who are interested in playing more difficult music may start working on ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing’ on the keyboard. This could be one of our selections to play for the All City Band Evaluation in April / May if students can play it well or we could prepare for some of the students to play it in the Black History Program on Feb. 28th. Music handouts are available and the music is also posted in students’ Noteflight accounts. Demonstrate the various sections / themes / rhythms to the students.
(Continue practicing Tuxedo Junction, Lean On Me and We Shall Overcome for the Black History Program.)
4) Younger students will complete various pages in the Alfred Basic Piano Library Book 1 based on individual student progress. Video (digital camera) some of the students and post it immediately using the projector for review and feedback. They also may choose to play songs from our website (Piano practice pages).
5) If time allows, students may play some of the other quizzes on our website related to other jazz musicians. A Jazz Musician Help Page is available on the site to read about other jazz musicians and listen to clips of music by each musician. Students may also work on Sibelius or Noteflight music notation projects.
Evaluation…
- Students will answer questions successfully demonstrating knowledge about the life of Duke Ellington.
- Students will complete the Duke Ellington quiz with a score of 80 or higher.
- Selected students will show an understanding of how to perform the first two lines of ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing’ on the keyboard.
- Younger students will complete the assigned pages in the Alfred Basic Piano Book with understanding of concepts and performance of the songs for the teacher.
Essential Questions: Who was Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington? How many compositions did he create? Did he compose music only for jazz ensembles? Who collaborated with Ellington to create many songs for his band?
Edward Kennedy ‘ Duke’ Ellington (1899-1974) is considered to be one of the greatest bandleaders, composers and
pianists of all time. He was a great jazz musician in the ‘swing’ era of music. The piano was his primary instrument,
but he created songs for his jazz orchestra with their music skills and playing abilities in mind.
He wrote over 2000 compositions! He wrote music for jazz, dance music, musical reviews, radio, television, movies or
motion pictures, sacred music and music commissions. He created music for all occasions and concert settings like the
ballroom, theatre, concert halls, cathedrals and more.
He collaborated with Billy Strayhorn for 30 years in writing songs. The Duke Ellington Orchestra’s theme song was
“Take the ’A’ Train.” The band had many popular songs through the years. One of the songs that we will work on in
music this year is “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills.
Extension:
- Use your Noteflight account to practice ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing’ along with the keyboard.
- Make your own Duke Ellington quiz using Hot Potatoes software and the handout worksheets.
- Research additional information about Duke Ellington on the Internet. (http://www.dukeellington.com/ Alabama Music Hall of Fame / AllAboutJazz.com)
