Unit Plan 10 (Grade 7 Band): Reading Band Notation
Grade 7 band unit builds music literacy and performance readiness by practicing standard notation—complex rhythms, key signatures, and expressive markings—so students read confidently, perform accurately, and keep a steady tempo.
Focus: Read and perform band music using standard notation, including increasingly complex rhythms, key signatures, and expressive markings, while maintaining a steady tempo.
Grade Level: 7
Subject Area: Band (Music Literacy • Reading Skills • Performance Readiness)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this unit, students strengthen their ability to read band notation so they can become more independent musicians. They review and extend their understanding of rhythms (including dotted notes, ties, syncopation, and rests), key signatures (sharps, flats, and accidentals), and expressive markings such as dynamics, articulation, and tempo indications. Through clapping, counting, and playing short notation exercises plus excerpts from real repertoire, students learn how to decode what’s on the page and turn it into accurate, expressive sound. By the end of the week, they complete a short notation reading check that applies these skills in real music.
Essential Questions
- How does standard notation communicate what we should play—pitch, rhythm, and expression—in band music?
- How can understanding rhythms, key signatures, and expressive markings help me learn new music more quickly and accurately?
- What strategies can I use when I see unfamiliar rhythms or new key signatures in my music?
- How does strong notation reading make me a more confident, independent band musician?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Read and accurately perform common and intermediate rhythms, including dotted notes, ties, and simple syncopation, at a steady tempo.
- Identify key signatures (up to several sharps/flats) and read notes correctly in those keys, including accidentals.
- Explain and respond to expressive markings (dynamics, articulations, tempo markings, repeats, first/second endings) in their band music.
- Use strategies such as counting aloud, subdividing, and silent fingering to decode unfamiliar notation in new pieces.
- Demonstrate improved notation reading in a short playing assessment that includes varied rhythms, key signatures, and expressive markings.
Standards Alignment — 7th Grade Band (custom, NAfME-style)
- BD:Pr4.7b — Read and perform band music using standard notation, including varied rhythms, key signatures, and expressive markings, maintaining steady tempo.
- Example: Students perform music with dotted rhythms and accidentals accurately.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can count and play rhythms with dotted notes, ties, and simple syncopation at a steady tempo.
- I can look at a key signature and know which notes are sharp or flat, and adjust for accidentals.
- I can notice and follow dynamics, articulations, and tempo markings in my music instead of ignoring them.
- I can use reading strategies (counting out loud, subdividing, silent fingering) when I see something new or tricky.
- I can accurately perform a short line of music that includes varied rhythms, a key signature, and expressive markings.