LESSON 4 – AURAL TASK – RELATING MUSIC TO THEMES

LESSON 4 – AURAL TASK – RELATING MUSIC TO THEMES

1.Explained the choreography unit to the dance students and told them what’s expected of them with regards to completing the unit successfully and also mentioning the techniques that they’ll be learning. I then explained first task as well as giving them some handouts.

The first task I gave them was a fun one which got them using their imaginations straight away and working in small groups to then all come together to share their ideas.

2.I feel this lesson was successful, I could see at the beginning the students didn’t really see were I was going with the task it wasn’t until they all came together again that they realised what an impact music has on a dance piece and its theme. Both groups had similar ideas about what music would suit a particular theme. This was my aim to get them to realise this, so it worked.

I felt we ran out of time and we could’ve spent longer on this but the students got the idea of what the lesson was about.

3.It’s a good imaginative lesson. Having different types of music, working in small groups and then coming together to give ideas collectively made the class fun, energetic and fast paced (they only got to hear 1 minute of each track and had to make a decision on a theme). It was a good introduction to the unit.

4.I could cut the music clips down to 30 seconds, which would give the class more time to discuss their ideas. Or use less clips of music. This would help greatly with the time factor. We only have an hour for each class which is really difficult for a unit which greatly depends on creative development of ideas.

5.To be able to do the above I would have to make sure I chose relevant music clips which have enough development in the short clip for the students to be able to grasp a theme for the music. Or If I’m going to reduce the amount of clips that I use that would be really straight forward. I think I would go with the first option which is to keep the same amount of clips but cut them to 30 seconds. It would make the class flow better I think it would keep the students’ attention.

6.The reaction of the students while completing the task today made me see that they were enjoying it and having fun as well as developing their listening skills and team work. I think this says I’ve had a successful lesson with the group.