Dictation

At the bottom of this page, you can see the percussion students first attempts at rhythmic dictation.

Patrick Hait Percussion Lesson - Rhythmic Dictation

Grade Level:	4^th grade beginning band. This takes place towards the end of the curriculum.
Approximate Time:	1 class period (40 minutes)
Objective:	By the end of one class period, the students will be able to record one measure of rhythmic dictation using quarter and eighth notes.
Standards:	MENC 2 (Performing on instruments, alone and with others) MENC 5 (Reading and notating music) NY 1 (Creating, Performing and Participating in the arts) NY 2 (Knowing and using arts materials and resources)
Materials:	White Board Snare Drum Pencils
Procedure:	This is the 'new material' portion of the lesson. Prior to these activities, the students reviewed their band music and learned more about crash cymbal technique. Have the students perform their own 'rock' composition that they composed last week. (Snare = 1 2 + (3) + 4 ... ... Bass = 1 (2) + (3) 4 ... ... Ride = 1+ 2+ 3+ 4+ ) The students have already done verbal dictation exercises. They have counted back to me a four beat rhythm that I played. The students will now write their rhythms down. Begin by playing a very simple rhythm. 1 2 3 4 . Play it three times. Play a slightly harder rhythm. 1 2 + 3 + 4. Assess student progress and remediate if necessary. Show students 'Mr. Hait's Shortcut'. Long lines for quarter notes, short lines for eighth notes. As I play the rhythm the first time, use the shortcut. As I play it the second and third time, change the shorthand into real notes. Play 1 2 + 3 4. Have the students write that down in shorthand only. Play 1 + 2 + 3 + 4. Shorthand. Play 1 2 3 + 4. Have the students write it down in shorthand then in real notation. Assess student performance throughout this section of the lesson to determine any difficulties.

Evaluation:	There are several areas for assessment built in to the procedure of the lesson plan. If it appears that students are having difficulty with dictating particular rhythms, perform a task analysis to find out where the difficulties lie.

The following four images are examples of the student work created in the percussion lesson. I think they did very well! These are from fourth grade (9 - 10 yrs. old) students.