Unit Plan 11 (Grade 7 Vocal Music): Improvising Vocal Patterns
Grade 7 choir unit on vocal improvisation using expanded pitch sets and varied rhythms to create expressive patterns that match mood and style.
Focus: Improvise vocal patterns using expanded pitch sets and varied rhythms to match a given expressive goal (mood, character, or style).
Grade Level: 7
Subject Area: Vocal Music (Choir • Creativity • Musicianship)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this unit, students explore what it means to create music on the spot using their voices. Instead of only singing written melodies, they use expanded pitch sets (for example, do–re–mi–fa–sol–la) and simple rhythm patterns to improvise short vocal ideas that fit a mood such as calm, playful, or triumphant. Through call-and-response, small-group work, and structured practice, students learn that improvisation has guidelines, not just random notes. By the end of the week, each student can improvise a short vocal pattern that clearly matches an expressive goal and explain the musical choices they made.
Essential Questions
- What does it mean to improvise in vocal music, and how is it different from just “making random sounds”?
- How can pitch sets (do–re–mi–fa–sol–la) and rhythm patterns give structure to our improvisations?
- How do we use melody, rhythm, and contour to match a specific emotion or expressive goal?
- How can improvising help us become more confident, flexible singers in choir and other musical settings?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Improvise short vocal patterns (2–4 beats, then longer phrases) using an expanded pitch set within a given key.
- Use varied rhythms (eighths, quarters, half notes, simple rests) in improvisations while maintaining a steady beat.
- Shape improvisations to match a specific expressive goal (e.g., triumphant, calm, mysterious) and describe how their choices fit that goal.
- Participate in call-and-response and “question-and-answer” improvisation activities, listening and responding musically to peers.
- Use simple strategies (thinking in solfege, planning contour, feeling meter) to prepare for and reflect on improvisations.
- Reflect on personal comfort and growth with improvisation and identify one technique that helps them feel more confident creating in the moment.
Standards Alignment — Grade 7 Vocal Music (custom, NAfME-style)
- VM:Cr1.7a — Improvise vocal lines and rhythmic patterns using expanded pitch sets and varied rhythms to match a given expressive goal.
- Example: Students improvise a short melody using do–re–mi–fa–sol to sound “triumphant,” then explain why it works.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can improvise a short vocal pattern using notes from the given pitch set.
- I can keep a steady beat and use different rhythms when I improvise.
- I can make my improvisation sound “like the mood” (happy, calm, triumphant, etc.) that I’m aiming for.
- I can listen to a partner’s pattern and respond musically with my own idea.
- I can explain at least one musical choice (pitch, rhythm, contour) I made on purpose in my improvisation.