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Modern Band

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01

Video Lecture: Starting Out a Singer/Songwriter Ensemble in YOUR Classroom!

Everything you need to know to structure and facilitate a Singer/Songwriter Ensemble for your students!

02

Methods Books/Texts Applicable to Your Singer/Songwriter Ensemble

The five books shown below are perfect for getting students started with chords, strumming patterns, fingerpicking patterns, commonly known songs from a variety of genres... use them at your discretion based on what YOUR kids want to play, learn about, and write!

1) Hal Leonard Guitar Method-
Complete Edition

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2) Hal Leonard Guitar Method-
Complete Edition

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3) Hal Leonard Guitar Method-
Folk Guitar

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4) Hal Leonard Guitar Method-
Fingerstyle Guitar Songs 

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5) Hal Leonard Guitar Method-
Rock Guitar

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Although I believe that the best ways to learn songwriting are to listen to other songs, analyze, and experiment, and therefore not many method books are required for the Analysis half of the class, the three texts shown below are great for providing students with ideas to bounce off of in terms of lyric development!

1) Meriam Webster's Rhyming Dictionary- Second Edition

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2) Essential Songwriter's Rhyming Dictionary: Pocket Size Book- Mitchell

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3) The Complete Rhyming Dictionary- Wood & Bogus

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03

Examples of Repertoire that could be used in a Beginner Singer/Songwriter Ensemble

1) Send My Love by Adele-

uses I and vi chords, transposed

to C major

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2) I'm Yours by Jason Mraz- uses I, V, vi, and IV chords, transposed to C major

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3) House of the Rising Sun by The Animals- uses vi, I, II, IV, and V chords; in d minor

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04

2-Week Unit Strand Plan: Story Songs!

A 2-Week Unit Plan which outlines the many day-by-day objectives that one can expect to implement when culminating to a two week song-writing project via the teaching of guitar skills, and song analysis activities.

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05

Singer/Songwriter Ensemble Marking Period 1 Summative Assessment

A summative assessment with two rubrics assessing students' level of proficiency on the guitar, as well as the many different elements of an original composition that they will present to the class.

06

Three Set Lists for Modern Band Class

Beginner Set List: Songs Using the I-V-vi-IV Progression

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Inspired by Axis of Awesome's Four Chords video, all of the songs of this set list will function to verse the students thoroughly in what is probably the most commonly used chord progression in all of pop music!

  1. I'm Yours- Jason Mraz

  2. Perfect- P!nk

  3. Let It Be- The Beatles

  4. Someone Like You- Adele

  5. No One- Alicia Keys

  6. Demons- Imagine Dragons

Intermediate Set List: Songs Utilizing Secondary Dominants

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All of the songs of this set list will function to teach students about the secondary dominant chord, and the ways in which it implicitly adds a pull to resolution in far-away keys! I tried to select songs from many different genres or musical aesthetics, as to show how widely these chords are used in popular music.

  1. Don't Know Why- Nora Jones

  2. All You Need is Love- The Beatles

  3. Happier Than Ever- Billie Eilish

  4. Dancing Queen- ABBA

  5. Piano Man- Billy Joel

  6. Big Girls Don't Cry- Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons

Advanced Set List: Songs Utilizing Odd Time Signatures

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All of the songs of this set list will function to teach students all about odd time signatures, complex beat groupings, and subdividing! Again, I attempted to select songs from many different genres or musical aesthetics, as to demonstrate how odd time signatures can be used to create many different musical atmospheres... and not just jarring ones!

  1. Icon- Ohmme (5/8)

  2. Money- Pink Floyd (7/8)

  3. Closure- Taylor Swift (5/8)

  4. Silent Sea- KT Tunstall (5/8)

  5. Anagram- Young the Giant (7/8)

  6. Say a Little Prayer- Aretha Franklin (11/4 in the chorus)

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