Jazz Scope & Sequence

● Ninth grade first year jazz ensemble; all students have participated in three years of
middle school concert band.
Instrumentation:
None have played in this type of ensemble before
➢ 5 saxes (AATTB)
➢ 4 trumpets
➢ 4 trombones
➢ 1 drummer
➢ 1 aux percussion
➢ 1 guitar
➢ 1 bass
➢ 1 piano

Goals:
1. Acquire jazz ensemble playing skills
2. Develop ability to play in swing style
3. Be able to identify selected jazz styles aurally
4. Develop beginning level improvisatory skills
5. Perform concert of 6 big band charts with some members playing improvised solos by the
end of the first semester.
6. Be able to use Smart Music when appropriate for learning.

Pieces:
1. So What
a. Miles Davis/Impressions
b. “Cool”
2. Autumn Leaves
a. Big Band Era
3. Summertime
a. ballad
4. Poco Loco -
a. Carl Strummen
b. uptempo latin jazz
5. Bb Blues (“Shuffle-Time”)
a. Jamey Aebersold
b. swing
6. Chameleon
a. funk
Week 1: Ensemble Sound- Siv
Course / Grade Content:
Student Activities:
Day 1:
1. Distribute syllabus, review as a class
2. Distribute warm-up sheets
a. rhythm
b. tone (overtones/lip slurs)
c. scales
3. Play “So What”
Day 2:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
c. scales
2. Play “So What”
a. work on the piece in detail
Day 3:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Warm up with “So What”
Assessment(s): weekly exercises on SmartMusic

Week 2 - Reinforce Musicianship, Introduce New Pieces - Elana

Course / Grade Content:
Student Activities:
Day 1:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Play “Summertime”
3. Teach history of “Summertime”
a. George Gershwin
b. “Porgy and Bess”
Day 2:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
2. Go over Summertime in depth
 3. Pass out and sight read “Bb Blues”
Day 3:
1. Warm-up with “So What”
2. Teach concept of blues scale as introduction to “Bb Blues”
3. Go over Bb Blues in depth
Assessment(s): Weekly exercises on SmartMusic

Week 3- Juan
Course / Grade Content:
Student Activities:
Day 1:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Talk about soloing and improv
3. Review “So What” for scale (same one as “Poco Loco”)
a. intro “Poco Loco”
Day 2:
1. Warm-up with “So What”
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Continue with “Poco Loco”
Day 3:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Sectionals on Poco Loco first half of class, then tutti rehearsal
Assessment(s): weekly exercises on SmartMusic

Week 4 - KJ
Course / Grade Content:
Student Activities:
Day 1:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Play “So What”
3. Play “Poco Loco”
4. Music history behind “Poco Loco”
a. by Carl Strommen
 b. up-tempo Latin jazz
Day 2:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Continue working on “Poco Loco”
3. Pass out copies of “Chameleon”
4. Sightread through “Chameleon”
Day 3:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Play “Chameleon”
3. Music history behind “Chameleon”
Assessment(s): weekly exercises on SmartMusic

Week 5 - Learned Major 3rds/minor 3rds - Sandra

Course / Grade Content:
Student Activities:
Day 1:
1. Warm-ups
a. 3rd/7th (improvisation)
b. rhythm
2. Play a song with 3rds and 7ths (different from warm-ups)
Day 2:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. presentation about 3rds/7th’s importance in jazz
a. relate it to what they did the day before
Day 3:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2.

Assessment(s): weekly exercises on SmartMusic, memorize 3rds and 7ths

Week 6 - Ashley
Course / Grade Content:
Student Activities:
Day 1: Sectionals Bb Blues
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
c. Scales
2. Go into sectionals on Bb blues
a. Wind instruments with the similar parts will be grouped together. Other
groups will consist of the rhythm section and bass instruments.
b. The teacher will go around from section to section to help and observe
section leaders run sectionals.
Day 2: Sectionals “So What”
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
c. Scales
2. Go into sectionals on “So What”
a. Wind instruments with the similar parts will be grouped together. Other
groups will consist of the rhythm section and bass instruments.
b. The teacher will go around from section to section to help and observe
section leaders run sectionals.
Day 3: Sectionals Summertime
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
c. scales
2. Go into sectionals on Summertime
a. Wind instruments with the similar parts will be grouped together. Other
groups will consist of the rhythm section and bass instruments.
b. The teacher will go around from section to section to help and observe
section leaders run sectionals.

Assessment(s): Kahoot
weekly exercises on SmartMusic

Week 7 - Tara
Course / Grade Content:
Student Activities:
Day 1:
 1. Warm-ups
a. Long tones, scales
b. continue 3rd/7th improvisation
c. Rhythmic sight-reading
2. Review Chameleon as class
3. Sectionals on Chameleon
Day 2:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Sectionals on Poco Loco
3. Practice assessments, divide class into small ensembles and give them the
opportunity to practice in front of the class
Day 3:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Formal assessment on Poco Loco sections
3. Sectionals on Autumn Leaves
Assessment(s):
a. weekly exercises on SmartMusic
b. Small ensemble test: One person per part playing, other members of their section give
constructive criticism and compliments

Week 8 - Sydney
Course / Grade Content:
Student Activities:
Day 1:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. work on specific details Autumn leaves, poco loco
Day 2:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. work on specific details Chameleon, Bb blues
Day 3:
1. Warm-ups
 a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. work on specific details Summertime, So what
Assessment(s): weekly exercises on SmartMusic

Week 9 -
Course / Grade Content:
Student Activities:
Day 1:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
Day 2:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
Day 3:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
Assessment(s): weekly exercises on SmartMusic

Week 10: 80 Percent of Tune Learned - Cameron (sight readings)

Course / Grade Content:
Student Activities:
Day 1:
4. Warm-ups
a. scales
b. Rhythmic sight-reading
5. Review Chameleon as class
6. Sectionals on Chameleon
Day 2:
4. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
5. Sectionals on Poco Loco
 6. Practice assessments, divide class into small ensembles and give them the
opportunity to practice in front of the class
Day 3:
4. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
5. Formal assessment on Poco Loco sections
6. Sectionals on Autumn Leaves

Week 11
Course / Grade Content:
Student Activities:
Day 1:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
Day 2:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
Day 3:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
Assessment(s): weekly exercises on SmartMusic

Week 12
Course / Grade Content:
Student Activities:
Day 1:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
Day 2:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
Day 3:
1. Warm-ups
 a. improvisation
b. rhythm
Assessment(s): weekly exercises on SmartMusic

Week 13 Jack Aron / Jessica Lipman

Course / Grade Content: Choose soloists
Student Activities:
Day 1:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
Day 2:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
Day 3:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
Assessment(s): weekly exercises on SmartMusic

Week 14: Problem Spots Polish

Course / Grade Content:
Student Activities:
Day 1:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Sectional Day
a. “So What”
b. “Summertime”
c. “Bb Blues”
Day 2:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Sectional Day
a. “Autumn Leaves”
b. “Poco Loco”
 c. “Chameleon”
Day 3:
1. Short Warm-ups
2. Run Through whole set
Assessment(s): weekly exercises on SmartMusic

Week 15: Soloist Polishing

Course / Grade Content:
Student Activities:
Day 1:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
3. Continue Polishing
a. So What - Miles Davis/Impressions
b. Autumn Leaves
Day 2:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Soloists
a. Summertime
b. Poco Loco - Carl Strummen
Day 3:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Soloists
a. Bb Blues- Jamey Aebersold
b. Chameleon
Assessment(s): weekly exercises on SmartMusic

Week 16: Polishing

Course / Grade Content:
Student Activities:
Day 1:
1. Warm-ups
 a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Continue Polishing
a. So What - Miles Davis/Impressions
b. Autumn Leaves
Day 2:
2. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
3. Continue Polishing
a. 3. Summertime
b. 4. Poco Loco - Carl Strummen

Day 3:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Continue Polishing
a. Bb Blues- Jamey Aebersold
b. Chameleon
Assessment(s): weekly exercises on SmartMusic

Week 17 (last minute touches, expressiveness, and presentation)

Course / Grade Content:
Student Activities:
Day 1:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Poco Loco, So What, Autumn Leaves
Day 2:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
2. Bb Blues, Summertime, Chameleon
Day 3:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
c. Refine minute details
Full concert run through
Assessment(s): weekly exercises on SmartMusic

Week 18 (CONCERT WEEK)- SAM

Course / Grade Content:
Student Activities:
Day 1:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
c. Refine minute details in performance pieces
Chameleon, So What, Bb Blues
Day 2:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
c. Refine last minute details in performance pieces
Autumn Leaves, Summertime, Poco Loco
Day 3:
1. Warm-ups
a. improvisation
b. rhythm
c. Refine minute details in performance pieces
2. Full concert run through
Assessment(s): Concert!