a music genre that emerged from African-American communities in New Orleans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, characterised by improvisation

a term for the main melody or theme in jazz music

creative, in-the-moment musical composition

a musical thought, like a sentence in a story

a measure of musical time with a set number of beats (e.g. 4 beats in 4-time)

Practise the head - moderate tempo

British English CC

D minor pentatonic scale ascending and descending - video

Practise the head - fast tempo

Head + improvisation example

D minor pentatonic scale descending - video

D minor pentatonic scale ascending - video

Five Notes in a Pentatonic

Task B feedback - improvisation example

Improvisation example - repeating ideas

Improvisation example - moving stepwise through the scale

Task B - backing track

Improvisation example - head plus improv

Improvisation example - rests and breathing space

Telephone Song - audio

Telephone Song circle game - video

Who Stole The Cookie From The Cookie Jar - example video

Improvising a phrase using the D minor pentatonic scale

Music

Improvisation and the minor pentatonic scale

Playing the D minor pentatonic scale

Playing a minor pentatonic jazz melody

Improvising longer phrases using the D minor pentatonic scale

Creating and performing an improvised jazz piece

In this unit, pupils listen to improvisation in jazz ensembles. Using the minor pentatonic scale on pitched percussion, they learn a minor pentatonic melody and practise tools to guide successful improvisation including repetition and sequencing.

Compose and rehearse: improvising with the minor pentatonic scale

A piece in 4-time will have {{}} beats in a bar.

True or false? The head is improvised in a jazz piece.

improvisation in music is completely made up with no forward thinking

improvisation should consider some forthought around melodic shape and direction

improvisation should be inspired by the head

Which statements about improvisation are true?

only start at the beginning and play through to the end without stopping

focus on the trickiest parts and practise these over and over

practise at different tempi, sometimes fast and sometimes slow

always play really slowly to get every note right

the pattern of sounds and silences that we play and sing

the regular, steady heartbeat of the music

Match the musical element to its definition.

D minor pentatonic scale revolves around the note ...

When we combine notes to make a memorable tune, we have created a {{}}.

an indication of the number of beats in a bar

the combination of different layers of sounds

Starter Quiz

Match the musical element to its definition.