Title – Listening Carefully to Miles Davis
By – Miriam Graham
Primary Subject – Music
Secondary Subjects – Language Arts
Grade Level – 4-6

Materials needed:

• CD ( Kind of Blue ) with Miles Davis’ ” So What “
• paper
• pencils

Introduction:

I had a successful contest with my class (prize – free pass to P.E.), which got them to listen carefully to a piece of jazz and also to understand how words and music are related.

Procedure:

• First, I played a little of the beginning of the tune and pointed out how the music said “So What” without words, and how it said it in different rhythms and pitches.
• Then the kids listened to the entire piece, making a mark on paper each time they heard “So What.”
• If the music wasn’t playing, you could’ve heard a pin drop in the room!

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