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This unit develops pupils’ understanding of bass lines and chords as a harmonic foundation upon which a melody can be constructed upon and as a foundation for improvisation. Pupils begin by learning about the history, origin and development of the Blues and its characteristic 12-bar Blues structure exploring how a walking bass line is developed from a chord progression.  Pupils also explore the effect of adding a melodic improvisation using the Blues scale and the effect which “swung” rhythms have as used in jazz and blues music. Pupils are introduced to seventh chords and how these are formed and their characteristic sound used in jazz and blues music.  Pupils examine the lyrics of blues songs before composing their own set of lyrics for a performance of their blues song using different textural layers.  Finally, pupils explore Ragtime Music as a type of jazz examining how chords have been used differently in a “vamp” style. Element Focus - Pitch, Texture, Melody & Harmony, Structure & Form

Secondary/Key Stage 3 Unit - Jazz Improvisation

 Musical Contexts “IN ACTION” - The Entertainer Performances

Actual classroom recordings!! - Hear how a variety of ability ranges tackle the “The Entertainer” performance task from Musical Contexts.

Exploring Improvisation

and the Blues

The Swing Thing

(great documentary introducing Jazz, Swing and the Blues)

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