[ Login ]
lesson plan12345678
4

The Swing Era

Overview

I.

Transition from Dixieland

II.

Performance Practices

III.

Important Figures

IV.

Cultural Implications of the Swing Era

V.

Listening Guide

Jazz Timeline

Student Handout

Test Bank

Answer Key

footnotes

1. all styles of jazz from Early Jazz to contemporary are still being performed and recorded today; all style dates given are the approximations of when each respective style came to the forefront of jazz and experienced its most concentrated development; of course, styles and dates overlap

2. National Center for History in the Schools, UCLA

3. NAfME: The National Association for Music Education

4. Student handouts may be down loaded from the Jazz in America website, printed, and photocopied.

5. Any material from the Jazz in America website may be downloaded, printed, and/or made into PowerPoint slide as the instructor sees fit.

6. IHJ = selection is found on Willie Hill's The Instrumental History of Jazz; JIA = selection is found on the Jazz in America website (www.jazzinamerica.org)

TOPICS: The Swing Era (aka the Big Band Era): 1935 - 19451

  1. Transition from Dixieland
  2. Performance Practices
  3. Important Figures
  4. Cultural Implications
HISTORY STANDARDS
National Standards for United States History2

Historical Thinking
Students should be able to:
  1. Draw upon the visual, literary, and musical sources, including: (a) photographs, paintings, cartoons, and architectural drawings; (b) novels, poetry, and plays; and (c) folk, popular and classical music, to clarify, illustrate, or elaborate upon information presented in the historical narrative (Historical Comprehension Standard 2i).
  2. Compare and contrast differing sets of ideas, values, personalities, behaviors, and institutions by identifying likenesses and differences (Historical Analysis and Interpretation Standard 3a).
  3. Consider multiple perspectives of various peoples in the past by demonstrating their differing motives, beliefs, interests, hopes, and fears (Historical Analysis and Interpretation Standard 3b).
  4. Hypothesize the influence of the past, including both the limitations and opportunities made possible by past decision (Historical Analysis and Interpretation Standard 3j).
  5. Obtain historical data from a variety of sources, including: library and museum collections, historic sites, historical photos, journals, diaries, eyewitness accounts, newspapers, and the like; documentary films, oral testimony from living witnesses, censuses, tax records, city directories, statistical compilations, and economic indicators (Historical Research Capabilities Standard 4b).
Historical Content
Students should:
  1. Understand how American life changed during the 1930s (Great Depression and World War II Standard 1B); the New Deal and the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt (The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945) Standard 2A); understand the effects of World War II at home (Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945) Standard 3C). Therefore, the student should be able to:
  2. Explain the cultural life of the Depression years in art, literature, and music and evaluate the government’s role in promoting artistic expression.
  3. Analyze the involvement of minorities and women in the New Deal and its impact upon them..
  4. Explore how the war fostered cultural exchange and interaction while promoting nationalism and American identity, and evaluate how minorities confronted discrimination.
ARTS STANDARDS
National Standards for Music Education3

Artistic Process - Responding: Select, Analyze, Interpret, and Evaluate Music
Students:
  1. Choose music appropriate for specific purposes and contexts. – Identify reasons for selecting music based on characteristics found in the music, connection to interest, and purpose or context (MU:Re7.1.E.5a); Apply criteria to select music for a variety of purposes, justifying choices citing knowledge of the music and the specified purpose and context (MU:Re7.1.E.IIa).
  2. Analyze how the structure and context of varied musical works inform the response. – Compare how the elements of music and expressive qualities relate to the structure within programs of music (MU:Re7.2.8a); Identify and compare the context of programs of music from a variety of genres, cultures, and historical periods (MU:Re7.2.8b).
  3. Support an interpretation of a musical work that reflects the creators’/performers’ expressive intent. – Support personal interpretation of contrasting programs of music and explain how creators or performers apply the elements of music and expressive qualities, within genres, cultures, and historical periods to convey expressive intent (MU:Re8.1.7a).
  4. Support personal evaluation of musical works and performance(s) based on analysis, interpretation, and established criteria. – Apply appropriate personally developed criteria to evaluate musical works or performances (MU:Re9.1.8a).
  5. Relate musical ideas and works with varied context to deepen understanding. – Demonstrate understanding of relationships between music and the other arts, other disciplines, varied contexts, and daily life (MU:Cn11.0.T.5a).
Artistic Process - Connecting: Select, Analyze, Interpret, and Evaluate Music
Students:
  1. Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make music. – Demonstrate how interests, knowledge, and skills relate to personal choices and intent when creating, performing, and responding to music (MU:Cn10.0.H.5a); Identify reasons for selecting music based on characteristics found in the music, connection to interest, and purpose or context (MU:Re7.1E.5a).
  2. Relate musical ideas and works with varied context to deepen understanding. – Demonstrate understanding of relationships between music and the other arts, other disciplines, varied contexts, and daily life (MU:Cn11.0.T.5a); Evaluate works and performances based on research as well as personally- and collaboratively-developed criteria, including analysis and interpretation of the structure and context (MU:Re9.1.E.IIa).
SESSION OBJECTIVES:
The student will
  1. gain a fundamental understanding of the Swing Era
    1. transition from Early Jazz (aka "Dixieland")
    2. performance practices
  2. learn the basic definition of several terms associated with jazz
    1. arrangement
    2. polyphony
    3. homophony
    4. rhythm section
    5. unison vs. harmony
    6. call and response
    7. soli
    8. intonation
    9. virtuoso
  3. listen to Swing Era recordings
  4. become acquainted with Lester Young and Benny Goodman
  5. participate in a class discussion regarding jazz's contribution to and reflection of American culture in the 1930s and early '40s
EQUIPMENT:
  1. computer logged onto www.jazzinamerica.org
  2. LCD projector and screen
  3. CD player (optional)
MATERIALS:
  1. The Instrumental History of Jazz (IHJ) – optional
    1. two CDs
    2. accompanying booklet
  2. Student Handouts (one per student)4
    1. chapter glossary5
    2. one American History (AH) handout: Race Relations During the Great Depression and World War II
    3. Swing Era Characteristics
    4. time line (Swing era)
    5. Jazz Biographies (JB) handout (Lester Young and Benny Goodman)
INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES:
The instructor will
  1. distribute student handouts
  2. have students read and discuss the student handout, Race Relations During the Great Depression and World War II
  3. discuss the Swing Era
  4. examine the biographical sketches of Lester Young and Benny Goodman
  5. play significant Swing Era recordings
    1. Wrappin' It Up, Fletcher Henderson (IHJ) and/or I Got Rhythm, Benny Goodman (JIA)6
    2. One O'clock Jump, Count Basie Orchestra (IHJ) and/or Jumpin' at the Woodside, CountBasie Orchestra (JIA)
    3. East St. Louis Toodle-o, Duke Ellington & His Orchestra (IHJ) and/or Main Stem, Duke Ellington & His Orchestra (JIA)
  6. lead a class discussion regarding jazz's contribution to and reflection of American culture during the Swing Era
ASSESSMENT:
Test Bank 
  1. Multiple Choice
  2. Fill in the Blank
  3. True-False
  4. Matching
  5. Essay

the Herbie Hancock institute of jazz
home overview lesson plans jazz resources what's new jazz in america