Lesson Plan

Advanced Men’s Ensemble

Middle School

Goals
CB.2 Students will sing with a free and clear tone, using accurate intonation.
1. Sing developmentally appropriate vocal exercises.
2. Perform assigned vocal parts in repertoire accurately.

CB.5 Students will perform an assigned vocal part in unison and in simple harmony.
1. Sing literature in two-part harmony.
2. Sing literature with and without instrumental accompaniment.

Materials
Piano
Sing for Joy! by George F. Handel arr. Linda Spevacek

Experiences

Warm-Up Sequence 

Physical: spine alignment, shoulders, torso twists, neck rolls, face stretching

Breathing/Noises: repatica breath exercise, lip trill/chewing in different parts of

range

Short Vocalises: “bi bi bi” (123454321) going up half-steps, “bum bidilly biddilly
bum” (54321) going down half-steps

Long Vocalises: “jokes” going up half-steps

Rounds/Cannons: French Cannon with solfege hand signs in (unison/two parts)

Sing for Joy! Sequence 

1. Pass out music and instruct students to put their name and folder number,
then begin to number their measures.
2. Play TMEA Middle School Boys recording with instruction to follow along
after numbering measures. The recording will be played twice.
3. Model measures 5-10 and have students cross out r’s, l’s, and diphthongs.
4. Ask students where the r’s, l’s and diphthongs are.
5. Model measures 5-10 and instruct students to follow by tapping rhythm.
6. Have students clap the rhythm on their own (fix with call and response if
unsuccessful).
7. Have students sing 5-10 to check for accuracy and understanding (fix with
call and response in smaller chunks if unsuccessful).
 8. Model measures 11-15 and instruct students to find the one measure with
rhythmic difference by tapping the rhythm when following along.
9. Ask students what measure has rhythmic difference.
10. Have students clap the rhythm on their own (fix with call and response if
unsuccessful)
11. Have students sing 11-15 to check for accuracy and understanding (fix with
call and response in smaller chunks if unsuccessful then do whole line).
12. Have students split into individual lines and sing through 5-15 (inform
tenors that the basses’ ending note is their starting note).
13. Repeat singing through 5-15 until inaccuracies are fixed through call and
response.

14. Model (chant) measures 12-15 and instruct basses to tap the rhythm and lip
sync when following along.
15. Ask basses to clap and chant the rhythm on their own to check for accuracy
and understanding (fix with call and response if needed).
16. Model entrances from 12-15 through chanting.
17. Have both sections chant through 12-15 (isolate problem entrances if
needed).
18. Model measures 12-15 for basses (tenors circle places that words for both
parts line up) and have basses copy physical hand motions.
19. Have basses sing measures 12-15 (fix with call and response and smaller
chunks if unsuccessful).
20. Have tenors sing from 11-15 as a reminder.
21. Have tenors and basses sing 11-15 together (fix pitches, rhythms, and
entrances as needed).
22. Have tenors and basses sing individual parts from 5-15.

Evaluation
While in the process of warm-ups I will be listening for healthy tone, deep singers’
breaths, and energized singing. This evaluation will be done while listening to the
group as a whole, and focusing giving specific related feedback often. This feedback
might result in changing the way each warm-up is originally done if one of the
focuses isn’t achieved right away. For example, if breath engagement is an issue, we
might switch to a lip trill for a specific vocalise to help move more air through the
phrases. Evaluations for Sing for Joy! will happen throughout teaching the piece, by
listening for accurate pitches and rhythms.