Erica Messinger

Dr. Talbot
MUS_149
9 November 2020

Assignment: #4.5: Creative Musicianship Lesson Microteach

Context: 7th Grade General Music Class
Prior Knowledge: Students have learned about the basic musical elements of tempo, articulation,
dynamics, and they have experience writing melodies and harmonies to go along with them.
They have also practiced creating movement based off of musical excerpts. They will be
combining this knowledge to identify textures in music and create textures in music of their own.
Essential Question: How does texture convey different expressions of emotion in music?

I. National Standards:
1. MU:Cr1.1.6a – Generate simple rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic phrases within
AB and ABA forms that convey expressive intent.
2. MU:Pr4.3.6a – Perform a selected piece of music demonstrating how their
interpretations of the elements of music and the expressive qualities (such as
dynamics, tempo, timbre, articulation/style, and phrasing) convey intent.
3. MU:Re7.2.7a – Classify and explain how the elements of music and expressive
qualities relate to the structure of contrasting pieces.
4. MU:Cn10.0.7a – Demonstrate how interests, knowledge, and skills relate to
personal choices and intent when creating, performing, and responding to music.

II. Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will define texture.
2. Students will identify aspects of texture in musical selections.
3. Students will connect aspects of texture to expression.
4. Students will compose texture of their own.

III. Materials:
1. Laptop for Audio Examples
2. Paper and Pencil for Exit Ticket
3. References
a. OnMusic Dictionary -. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2020, from
http://dictionary.onmusic.org/
b. [ABBA]. (n.d.). Abba – Dancing Queen (Official Video) [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFrGuyw1V8s
 c. [CHANNEL3YOUTUBE]. (n.d.). CLAUDE DEBUSSY: CLAIR DE LUNE
[Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvFH_6DNRCY
d. [Houston Youth Symphony]. (2017, August 3). Huapango Del Oso – Gabriel
Musella – Houston Youth Symphony [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klfP8GhTUBo
e. [thebandheart]. (2016, July 28). Heart – Barracuda (Audio) [Video].
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdOkQ6THDVw

IV. Key Terms:

1. Texture: Term which refers to the vertical structure of a composition. That is to
say, how many parts or voices there are, what the configuration (close, open, etc.)
of the voices happen to be, how the voices interact, etc.
2. Expression: When a composition is trying to represent something extra-musical, it
is said to be an expression of the composer or of an idea such as the composition
is an expression of the composer’s grief.

V. Procedure:
1. The teacher will begin class by playing excerpts of songs and asking students
what emotions the composer is trying to get across in the song. The students will
voluntarily provide answers.
2. Next, the teacher will play the same excerpts, but this time, students will be asked
to pay attention to what aspects of the song get that expression across to the
listener. For example, students will identify instrumentation, voicings, dynamics,
or tempi that evoke certain emotions. Students will receive a thumbs-up for
correctly identifying an aspect of the texture of a piece and a thumbs-down if they
do not.
3. The teacher will then explain expression and texture in music. Then, they will
explain how texture is used to get certain expressions across.
4. Students will then be asked to get into groups of two (this number can be changed
for an odd number of students, but try to make the groups as equal in number as
possible). They will choose an emotion they would like to express and compose a
short melody that expresses that. They will also add other aspects to create
texture, such as different instrumentation, harmonies, percussion, or movements.
5. Students will be given 5-10 minutes (depending on time constraints) to compose
this short piece utilizing texture to create expression.
6. Once students are finished composing, they will be asked to share their creations
with the class. Every group will share to give everyone different ideas of how
texture shows expression in music.
7. The teacher will assess these compositions out of three points.
8. After their performances, the students in the groups will justify why they chose
certain aspects of texture to express themselves in their composition.
9. They will be given a satisfactory or unsatisfactory rating based on how well their
texture connects to their expression.
 10. After being assessed on their connections, students will be asked to write an exit
ticket with their definition of texture and how it affects a composer’s expression
in a musical composition.
11. The teacher will assess these with a check/minus system before the end of class.

VI. Assessments:
1. The teacher will assess students’ definition of texture by grading exit tickets
through a check/minus system.
a. Check: Students will receive a check if they define texture correctly.
b. Minus: Students will receive a minus if they do not define texture correctly.
2. The teacher will assess students’ identification of texture through a thumbs-
up/thumbs-down system.
a. Thumbs-Up: Students will receive a thumbs-up if they identify important
aspects of the texture of a piece.
b. Thumbs-Down: Students will receive a thumbs-down if they do not identify
important aspects of the texture of a piece.
3. The teacher will assess students’ connection of aspects of texture to expression
through satisfactory and unsatisfactory ratings.
a. Satisfactory: Students will receive a satisfactory rating if they give a
satisfactory answer of connecting aspects of texture to types of expression.
b. Unsatisfactory: Students will receive an unsatisfactory rating if they give an
unsatisfactory answer of connecting aspects of texture to types of expression.
4. The teacher will assess students’ composition of texture through a 3-point system.
a. 3 points: Students will receive three points if they can accurately represent
their expression through texture with varying aspects.
b. 2 points: Students will receive two points if they can somewhat accurately
represent their expression through texture with varying aspects.
c. 1 point: Students will receive one point if they cannot accurately represent
their expression through texture with varying aspects.
d. 0 points: Students will receive zero points if they do not even try to represent
expression through texture.

VII. Continued Learning:

1. The students end class with an exit ticket to solidify their understanding of texture
in music.
2. In the next class, students will practice connecting texture to musical expression
in more complex compositions.
3. Students will also practice creating more in-depth compositions to create even
more texture within a piece of their own music.

VIII. Honor Code: I affirm that I have upheld the highest principles of honesty and
integrity in my academic work and have not witnessed a violation of the Honor Code.
-Erica Messinger
IX. Resources Page:

1. “Dancing Queen” Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFrGuyw1V8s

2. “Clair de Lune” Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvFH_6DNRCY
3. “Huapango del Oso” Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klfP8GhTUBo
4. “Barracuda” Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdOkQ6THDVw