Joseph Carey

Abstract

Jazz improvisation can be a daunting subject for any student or teacher unfamiliar with the topic.
It is a style of music making that is not often addressed with young students and can be very
intimidating for students who spend the entire time they are in school only playing written music.
The goal of this project was to create and implement a unit of study for middle school students
(grades 6-8) that introduces the basics of jazz style and improvisation and gives them the skills
necessary to create their own jazz solos. The unit lasted 10 weeks, with the class meeting once a
week after school. Topics covered included chords and chord symbols, major scales, the Dorian
scale, the Mixolydian scale, and the blues scale. Rhythm was a primary focus, the intent being
that students who knew idiomatic rhythms and how to implement them would be able to craft a
more authentic sounding solo. The hope was that by making jazz accessible and easy to
understand at a young age, students would be more comfortable with the topic of improvisation
as they grew and would begin to participate in jazz bands in high school and beyond.… (más)