Once in a while we like to change things up a bit in jazz band. To give ourselves a bit of a break, we did some cover projects. The kids had a great time, got super creative, and ultimately created stronger bonds in the band. They did ALL the work. They learned all the music from ear or looking up the chords online. They had about one week to put their songs together. We reflected afterwards while this was a "fun" project, it ultimately helped them to see themselves as musicians beyond what they are in the "band" or "jazz band." Quite possibly one of the highlights of the year!!
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Additional videos of Guitar 1 & Guitar 2 original songs and covers may be found here: South High Guitar
South High's jazz 2 playing a great chart by Mary Lou Williams at the 2016 Eau Claire Jazz Festival.
These two students were a part of my guitar 1 class this past year. This was a unique class in that 95% of the students were newcomers to the United States and were Level 1 EL students. These two had not played guitar prior to this class, but we utilized YouTube tutorials so they could learn their favorite songs. I apologize for the low video quality.
What happens when you put graduate students together in a class that is all about creating music?
We had about an hour to put this together and it demonstrates how a variety of instruments can be
utilized to create covers of songs.
We had about an hour to put this together and it demonstrates how a variety of instruments can be
utilized to create covers of songs.