Main Theme and Variations – When the
students are familiar with the melody and how to build chords, they are guided to the chord symbols in the lead sheets and how to play from chord to chord over the melody line. To further practice, the class can be divided into two sections: melody and chord back up. They play using skills learned from the earlier chord building preparation activity. Another activity is to have the student musicians play two-part and three-part harmonies with the chord tone concepts. As students get better with practice, they also discover what parts are more suited to their respective instruments. Exploring how different instrument color combinations can be used to add diversity to repeated verses is another arranging tool for students to experience. Rhythmic variety can be used to add interest to melodies. Playing eighth notes instead of quarters, half or whole notes can energize a slow melody. Students often come up with “out of the box” ideas that are fun to explore. Sounds are often a bit messy at this stage as the class figures out how to play together without the restrictions of written notes. Interludes – Discuss the purpose of an
interlude in a song, how long it should be along with some directions on how to create one. Using ideas already explored in creating introductions can be helpful in coming up with an effective interlude. Taking fragments of the melody or composing a completely different melody on the basic chord progression are ideas to explore. Students in my group came up with the idea of playing the melody and/or chord progression backwards. It turned out to be a great idea that worked well in their arrangement. Ending Tags – Not all songs end with a
tag, but a two to four measure recap of some of the ideas already presented can be just what is needed to complete an arrangement.
Student Group Arrangements After students have been prepared, they
can be grouped into ensembles to create an arrangement. I have tried a variety of ways to select groupings. One way is to select members based on ability levels. This can work by placing students of the same level together or by mixing levels. Sometimes combining levels inspires less proficient students to practice more. Another selection method is to group by instrument families – brass, woodwinds and strings. Still another way is to group in a choral, SATB type arrangement.
The most challenging way to group an
ensemble is to randomly select names. Although this can create some tricky situations, I have found this method to be a great teaching tool. Students have to be creative to make unusual instrument combinations work. They have to consider balance, range, technical, and proficiency obstacles. For example, how does a group with three strings and a trombone work? How about a clarinet, trumpet, trombone, and string bass? A horn, violin, viola, and cello group with the viola player being the most advanced? Or a percussionist on the piano with a string trio? These are some of the groupings in my class that resulted from the random selection method. The students had to brainstorm and experiment to find ways to make their arrangements work. I was amazed and pleased to hear the results. This also presented a forum to talk about how chamber music evolved from the “music of friends” who met in small rooms or homes to play. Composers wrote for the instruments at hand – the “garage bands” of their time. To help the student groups organize their
ideas, it is helpful to give them an arrangement template. Starting with the group members and their respective instruments, the template should include space to list ideas for the introduction, main theme and variations, interlude, and ending tag. Students can then collaborate and write down ideas in each area. Then they jam to find the “keepers” to include in the final arrangement. The “keeper” ideas are written down so they will not struggle to recreate them later or lose the magic altogether. At the end of every jam session, the group must report their progress. The ultimate goal is to create a complete arrangement and then perform it for each other. As students engage in the creative
process, they get excited about their ideas. Sometimes they have to work hard to make the idea on the paper sound like they envisioned it. As I check in on their progress, I hear students encouraging each other and stronger players interested in helping weaker players rise to meet their group goals. I see them getting excited about how the different instruments in their group sound together and how a “wrong note” turns into a cool tension and release moment in the harmony. I feel camaraderie as the group members try to find a unique idea that no other group can match. When the ensembles perform for each
other, the students are highly engaged in the listening process. They are often struck
by how different the same melody can sound. Students are interested in evaluating the differences and similarities, the strengths and weaknesses, what combination of timbres were pleasing and what obstacles were hardest to overcome. Students get excited about their ideas and have suggested that we combine ideas into an arrangement for the orchestra. Overall, I find this orchestra “garage
band” project an engaging and educational deviation from the normal orchestra rehearsal format. Sometimes it is hard to carve time out of rehearsals that are dedicated to preparing for the next concert or festival. However, I believe the benefits are worth the time spent. After completing this project, students come back to the traditional rehearsal with more awareness of balance, blend, and intonation. They have a new respect for the importance of building basic technical and tone production skills. Students listen to the repertoire with new interest, picking out the melodies, counter melodies, rhythmic energy and harmonic structure. This also prepares future musicians who cannot always find a perfect musical situation where they can play. They learn how to adapt and to make music of friends.
About the Author Lois Faber is the music director at EskDale High School located on the Utah/Nevada border near Great Basin National Park. She teaches orchestra, choir, beginning band and strings, guitar, AP music theory, theatre, as well as private lessons. All 28 students in grades 7-12 participate in choir and 26 are in the instrumental program. Mrs. Faber believes every student has the potential to rise to excellence. Students respond. EskDale’s groups have gained respect for excellent performances in region and state music events. Several students have received vocal and instrumental scholarships at universities throughout the state. Lois earned her Music Education Degree from the University of Utah. She has served on the Utah Arts Council, received the ASTA Secondary Teacher of the Year award in 2006, and conducted the 2011 Utah Honors Choir.
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