Lesson Plan #3

Name: Daniel Yaretz

Grade/Subject: Recording Arts 8
Unit: Live Sound
Topic: Signal Flow & Mixers
Date: Apr 5, 2016
Length of Lesson: 50min
GLOs (P.O.S.)
Students will develop insights into music through meaningful musical activities.
(TLO) Classroom Management - Questioning Technique, Flow, & Body Movement
Learning
1. Through listening and active engagement, students will be introduced to signal flow. Signal flow includes
Objectives
passive and active speaker systems as well as the connection from inst./mic to those speaker systems with
everything in between (includes mixing board, gain, EQ, channel fader, master fader).
2. Through a worksheet, activity, and context, students will retain the information presented and hopefully
gain a greater understanding about what signal flow is.
3. Through demonstration and lecturing, the teacher will offer the students a lesson about signal flow, which is
a component of live sound.
Assessment
Students will be formatively assessed by being asked questions that will make them recall and describe what
an active or passive speaker system is. Students will be tasked to write down what they learn on a worksheet
as a way to formatively assess knowledge and help retain information for later use. If students can verbally
describe the correct process or give the right answer to a question then they have formatively provided me
with what they know. Finally, they will also demonstrate their knowledge by practically connecting these
items together and making them work. This process will formatively and summatively ensure that the
theoretical learning is understood if they are able to practically make it work. Students can also be assessed
when something goes wrong and they fix it either on their own or with help from peers. Troubleshooting is
a necessary skill that enables students to solve problems, while at the same time allowing the teacher to
formatively assess through observation if they know how to fix their mistakes.
Materials
Computer
Speakers
Mixing board
Worksheet
Projector
Guitar, Mic
Mini mixing console
DI box and guitar effects pedal
Introduction
Attendance
Recappreviouslesson
Tellmeonethingyoulearnedyesterday?Orsomethingyoufoundinterestingorliked?
Diditgiveyouanyideasforyourproject?WhowoulduseReasonfortheirproject?
Todayslessonisaboutbreakingdownthesignalflowofthingsorinotherwordshowstuffisconnected.
*Whoherehastakingrecordingarts7?Thismaybeareviewforyou,butforthosewhoarenewthiswillbe
awholenewconcept.Eitherwayitisveryimportantthatthistopicisengravedintoyourbrainbecauseif
thingsarentconnectedproperlythingsgoboom.*Whorememberssomebadthingsthatcouldhappen?
Goalsforclass:
Completethesignalflowworksheetthatoutlinestheinformationpertainingtotopic.
Studentswillbeabletointerpretanddemonstratehowsignalflowoperatesboththeoreticallyand
practically.
1.Objective(s):Reviewand/orintroducestudentstolivesoundsignalflow.
DayOne
2. Process:
(Theoretical/
a) Project diagrams on board and walk through each question with the class. Try only showing the first
Practical)
three diagrams then letting the students figure out the others. If they struggle write on the whiteboard the flow to guide them.
b) Ensure to check for understanding consistently.
c) Apply relative examples that can help students make accurate conclusions.
d) Use the guitar amp and a guitar to give a physical example and explanation to signal flow when on
question four.
e) Show an example of a mixer on the projector as well as a physical one in the classroom. Also use the
small mixer that can easily be shown to the class by holding it.
f) Point at the different parts of the mixer that coincide with the signal flow diagrams.
3. Assessment (informal or formal/ formative or summative):
a) *Who can tell me what EQ is? What happens if we turn up the gain all the way?
Worksheet:
1. CD Player-Home Stereo
*Who here has a cd player at home or knows what a cd player is? Were going to do the first one
together then will see how much you remember.
Whenever you see the word Amplifier you should think power or A/C (alternating current).

DayTwo
(Mixers)

2. Passive Systems (Show physical example in class)

We use this in the foyer of GS Lakie and other uses for these speakers are if we want them stationary.
3. Active Systems (Show physical example in class)
We can bypass the mixer sometimes and just go direct into active speakers like a microphone or
iPod.
4. Guitar and Amp
This is a mixer, amplifier, and speaker all in one.
*What is EQ or who can describe to me what EQ does?
EQ or equalization is the adjustment of certain frequencies like highs, mids, and lows.
Hook up the guitar amp with a guitar and go through the signal flow playing the guitar.
Point out the flow and demonstrate with the instrument by messing with the gain, EQ, and volume.
5. Keyboard Amp
Same as the guitar amp but has more than one channel and is also built for broader frequencies.
You shouldnt plug a bas into a guitar amp because that will damage the amp due to it not being built
for those low frequencies.
6. Mixer with Guitar (No effects)
Use small 6-channel mixer for demonstration.
Point at the different knobs that correlate with the signal flow. Going from point A to B or Input to
Ouput.
7. Mixer with FX (effects) same as six but with an added process.
8. Mixer with 2 FX same as seven but with two effects added.
9. Mixer with Auxiliary (Bus?)
Same as six but with a different output added in.
Auxiliary is a signal-routing output that can either go to another set of speakers, a bus-group, or even
effects like reverb and be sent back to the mix.
10. Overview question that includes all content covered. It is used as a formative and summative assessment
to gauge students comprehension of topic. Pulls together all knowledge learned into one question.
Guided Small Groups
In small groups show them signal flow using the mixing board and microphone.
Recap
*Who can tell me how this speaker system works? What makes an active system different from a
passive one? Etc.
1.Objective(s):Haveabasicunderstandingandknowledgeoftypesofmixersandhowtheyoperate.The
channelstripwillbeaddressedinthislessonaswellasAuxandFXchannels.
2.Activities/strategies/review:

Explain the three different types of mixers (analog, digital, powered)

Show pictures of each mixer
Demonstrate using Reason software all areas of the mixing console
Start with the two main areas of a mixer (channel strips, master section)
Then break down the individual sections found within those areas
Use a demo song in reason to illustrate how these areas can effect music or sound
Demonstrate how an auxiliary channel works as well as a FX channel
Then go over some basic mixing techniques to help guide students future projects
Have students come up individually or in groups to play around with the mixing console in
Reason. (What makes Reason so great is that they cant mess it up)
Add other effects or change knobs on a song to demonstrate the capabilities of the mixing
console.

Closure

Considerations

Recapanynewmateriallearnedinclassbyprobingguidedquestions.Checkforunderstanding.*Tell
meonethingyoulearnedtoday?Whatwassomethingthatchallengedyou?
Bring students in small groups to the main mixing board to recap all material learned in this lesson.
Moveontomixingboardinmoredetailiftimerunsout.