The Life and Music of Stevie Wonder (Stevland Hardaway Judkins Morris)
Lessons 031 - 032
DATES Apr. 16. – Apr. 27, 2012 (2 classes)
Math Derby / ARMT testing will affect some of the classes first week.
Lessons © www.musictechteacher.com / Ms. Karen L. Garrett
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.
April is Jazz Appreciation Month – We will continue to look at the lives and music of famous jazz musicians along with completing
our other assignments.
Essential Questions / Ideas:
* How was Stevie Wonder able to compose and perform music so well even though he was blind?
* What impact has he had on the city of Birmingham, especially at UAB?
* What are ‘royalties’ in music?
* What are some of your favorite Stevie Wonder songs?
Objectives:
* Students will study the life of a famous pop/R&B/jazz musician (Stevie Wonder).
* Selected students may begin working on the melody of ‘You Are the Sunshine of My Life.’
* Students will create and / or complete a quiz about Stevie Wonder on our local computers or on our website.
* Selected students will practice I’ll Be There / We Shall Overcome / Tuxedo Junction on the keyboard for All City practice.
* Students will complete pages in the Alfred Basic Piano Library Level 1A (based on student level) or work on their Noteflight accounts in music composition.
Materials:
* Alfred 1A Piano Books, keyboards and related equipment
* Computers with our website posted
* Recording of a composition and / or video by Stevie Wonder viewed from the teacher’s laptop and a projector (video
saved from YouTube with a performance by Stevie Wonder.)
* I’ll Be There / We Shall Overcome / Tuxedo Junction (arrangements for keyboard by Ms. Garrett, from MusicNotes.com)
* You Are the Sunshine of My Life music by Stevie Wonder (melody only – from MusicNotes.com)
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 Stevie Wonder from the Internet (Wikipedia and A&E Biography). The teacher will play a selection of music from Stevie Wonder (You Are the Sunshine of My Life - iTunes) and students will watch a brief video of Stevie Wonder. (younger and older years - videos from YouTube saved to the teacher’s computer. All YouTube advertising removed from the video.)
2) The students will create and / or complete a quiz about Stevie Wonder on our local computers or on our website. Record the grade for each student or have the student print the score if a printer is available. (Stevie Wonder Quiz)
3) - Younger and selected students may begin working on the melody of ‘You Are the Sunshine of My Life’ by Stevie Wonder or they may work on easier selections based on their prior knowledge.
- Older students can begin working on ‘You Are the Sunshine of My Life’ by Stevie Wonder. They may also continue to work on the song, I’ll Be There for programs next year. This will be one of the songs for our All City Evaluation (5th Grade – May, 2012).
Older students - continue practicing Tuxedo Junction / We Shall Overcome for the All City Band Evaluation in early May. This is the equivalent of our A.R.M.T. exam for music for the year. Approximately 12 students will perform for our evaluation, held in the music lab. Focus on phrasing in We Shall Overcome and accidental notes in Tuxedo Junction and correct notes/rhythms/repeats in I’ll Be There.
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 using the projector for review and feedback. They also may choose to play songs from our website (Flash piano practice pages) or songs in their Noteflight accounts on the Internet.
Essential Questions / Ideas
* How was Stevie Wonder able to compose and perform music so well even though he was blind?
* What impact has he had on the city of Birmingham, especially at UAB?
* What are ‘royalties’ in music?
* What are some of your favorite Stevie Wonder songs?
Stevland Hardaway Judkins Morris was born on May 13, 1950 in Michigan. He was blind since he was born. ‘Stevie Wonder’ became a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He made his recording debut at age 12. His recorded his first hit single in 1963. Stevie showed an early gift for music and played many instruments, including the harmonica, piano, and drums, all of which he taught himself before the age of ten. In 1962, he released his debut album through Motown Records and Berry Gordy, Jr. Wonder studied classical piano and music composition. He worked hard to improve his musicianship and songwriting capabilities and kept producing hit songs. He was very talented and committed to his music and managed to keep his music relevant as he was growing up. In 1971, Wonder negotiated a contract with Motown that gave him almost total control over his records and greatly increased his royalty rate (money he received from sales and performances of his music).
Some of his famous compositions were Living in the City, Isn't She Lovely. I Just Called to Say I Love You, Superstition, You are the Sunshine of My Life, For Once in My Life, and many more. He received the most Grammy Awards ever given to a male artist.
Dr. Henry Panion, a music professor at UAB (and Ms. Garrett’s former teacher), helped direct and arrange music for Stevie Wonder’s orchestra. Wonder has long been recognized as a pioneer to the evolving industry of music technology. Recognizing UAB's Music Technology Program as among the finest in the country, combining excellence in traditional musical training with the latest in computer technology and innovation, he has given of his time and talents to create scholarships in his name and to The Stevie Wonder Center for Computing in the Arts at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.
Even though he was blind, he was very talented at music and was able to teach himself music through LISTENING and practicing his music every day. If you know where the black and white keys are on the keyboard and how they are spaced, you can feel where the notes are on the keyboard. See if you can play the notes without looking at the keys!
Evaluation
* Younger students will complete one to two pages from the Alfred Basic Library Book on the keyboard.
* Students will be able to play one line or more of You Are the Sunshine of My Life, by Stevie Wonder.
* Students will create and / or play a quiz on Stevie Wonder from our local computers or website.
* Older Students will be able to play all of the main sections of I’ll Be There.
* Older students will be able to play the All City Music selections with accuracy, showing better use of phrasing and introduced harmony and chords in We Shall Overcome and improving accidental notes in Tuxedo Junction and correcting notes/rhythms/repeats in I’ll Be There. (I’ll Be There / We Shall Overcome / Tuxedo Junction - Video – 5th grade students.)
