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Educator Information - This PowerPoint is the second lesson from Unit Three – Les and Mary from the Les Paul Study Units. This music unit was developed through a collaboration between the Les Paul Foundation, the Wisconsin Center of Music Education, and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

The lessons are geared for use with students in grades 4 and 5. The purpose of the units are to explore the life and achievements of a Wisconsinite who excelled as a musician, inventor, and sound pioneer, Les Paul. Les Paul’s life story offers learners an expanded view of how to develop their curiosities, nurture their creative nature, and to persevere through challenges. The lessons developed offer learners opportunities to explore, create, discuss, and share, while making connections to their own skills and knowledge about being a musician, inventor, and sound pioneer.

Standards are provided, along with essential questions, which help students deeply reflect and apply to their own lives. Additional extension activities are shared, along with blank templates for: Student Study Sheets, PowerPoint's, and Scrapbook pages. These templates allow teachers to build additional lesson activities. Suggestions for cross-curricular connections are also highlighted within the study unit and may be used in multiple increments of time and study with students in a classroom, multiple classrooms, or school building.

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Les Paul Study Units

Unit Two : On the Road

Resources

Unit Template
PowerPoint
Student Study Sheet
Scrapbook Page
Article Excerpts
Prezi Link
Supplemental Resource List

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Essential Question

How do people adapt to challenges?

Standards

I can explore and demonstrate an understanding of the elements of music by reading, singing and/or playing an instrument. (MG2.P.6.i)
I can explain how music relates to self, others, and the world. (MG4.Cn.6.i)

Les Paul

Musician, Inventor, Sound Pioneer

Les and Mary

2

The Wisconsin Standards for Music (2017) are used for the Les Paul Study Units.

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Waukesha

Scrapbook – How do the clues fit the pictures?

Les Paul

Musician, Inventor, Sound Pioneer

Les and Mary

2

Script - In our scrapbook, we have several pictures and clues that help us find out about Les Paul. Let’s get started with the scrapbook.

Question - How do the clues fit the pictures? (Students may use the Student Study Sheets to see the clues and pictures.)

Teacher Notes - Choose one of the following instructional methods for this activity.

Review the images as a class, describing what is in each image and possible clue word matches. Have students guess how these words might be connected to the images. The teacher offers a clue match/sentence (see the sentences for each clue on the next slide) to six students who then read the sentence about the picture.

Have the class divided into 6 teams, each with one of the pictures. Each team reviews the image, describes it, and identifies which clue might fit the picture. The team leader shares with the teacher, who then provides the students with the clue match/sentence. The team leader shares about the picture with the whole class and sentence.

CLUE/MATCH SENTENCES - (Quizlet – Words in italics are within the online dictionary. http://quizlet.com/37282801/les-paul-roots-and-beginnings-flash-cards/ .)

1. The Log - one of the very first solid body electric guitars.

2. Audio Engineer - the work of designing, creating, or modifying sound.

3. Fret - a series of ridges fixed across the fingerboard of a stringed musical instrument.

4. Thumb pick - guitar pick that fits on the thumb.

5. Multi-track Recording - music, sounds, or images that have been stored on a record, CD, computer, etc., so that they can be heard or seen again on many tracks at the same time or as recorded.

6. Recovery – the process of becoming healthy after an illness or injury.

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Scrapbook – How do the clues fit the pictures?

Recovery

Fret

The Log

Thumb pick

Les Paul

Musician, Inventor, Sound Pioneer

Les and Mary

2

Audio Engineer

Multi-track

Recording

Question - How do the clues fit the pictures? (Students may use the Student Study Sheets to see the clues and pictures.)

CLUE/MATCH SENTENCES - (Quizlet – Words in italics are within the online dictionary. http://quizlet.com/37282801/les-paul-roots-and-beginnings-flash-cards/ .)

1. The Log - one of the very first solid body electric guitars.

2. Audio Engineer - the work of designing, creating, or modifying sound.

3. Fret - a series of ridges fixed across the fingerboard of a stringed musical instrument.

4. Thumb pick - guitar pick that fits on the thumb.

5. Multi-track Recording - music, sounds, or images that have been stored on a record, CD, computer, etc., so that they can be heard or seen again on many tracks at the same time or as recorded.

6. Recovery – the process of becoming healthy after an illness or injury.

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Les Paul

Musician, Inventor, Sound Pioneer

Les and Mary

1

Script - Here are some significant events that occurred in Les Paul’s life including when he met and performed with Mary Ford. We will be discussing a few of these today.

June 9, 1915 – DOB Waukesha, WI

1935 - Les forms his first Trio. (Record in 1939)

1938 - Les joins Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians.

1941 - Les builds “The Log.”

1943 – Armed Forces Radio musician

1945 – Les meets Colleen Summers. (Married in 1949)

1947-48 – New sound from Les.

1948 - Les and Mary in car accident.

1949 – Les invents a sound on sound tape machine.

1950 – Radio show with Les and Mary. (TV show in 1953)

1957 – Les designs the first eight-track tape recorder.

1964 – Les retires from performing.

Extension Activities/Resources -

Les Paul Interactive Timeline - http://www.lespaulfoundation.org/les-paul-legacy.html

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Watch the making of How High the Moon by Les Paul and Mary Ford.

Think of how the song was created.

What melody would you add to the song?

Share.

Les Paul

Musician, Inventor, Sound Pioneer

Les and Mary

2

Script –

Here is the song How High the Moon. Think of how it was created and what you might add to it. You’ll have an opportunity to share after we have watched the video.

Teacher Notes - Click on How High the Moon (PowerPoint page) for the video excerpt. After the video have students share how the song was created and what they might add to it through singing/melody pitches.

Safe share version (1 minute 25 seconds)- excerpt- http://safeshare.tv/w/qLmXKfgaUH ; Full version- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJANfS_rDgg

Extension Activities/Resources –

Jeff Beck Honors Les Paul – How High the Moon (2 minutes 30 seconds) - http://safeshare.tv/w/yDsoCYnNxs;

Youtube full version- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9H0j17XTyA; How High the Moon performance only - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4LMDPvLeFzLLUxJS1Q3WEx4QWc/view?usp=sharing.

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What do you know about Les Paul and Mary Ford?	What do you want to know about Les Paul and Mary Ford?	What have you learned about Les Paul as a musician, inventor, or sound pioneer? Complete after the reading excerpt.

K - W - L - Fill in the boxes based on the information gathered so far about Les Paul.

K

W

L

Les Paul

Musician, Inventor, Sound Pioneer

Les and Mary

2

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Vocabulary (Quizlet)

Underline one word you know. Circle one word you do not know. Audio Engineer Fret Multi-track recording The Log	I know the word: ______________________________ Describe your word by drawing or writing a sentence about it. Share this work with a partner who has a different word.

Les Paul

Musician, Inventor, Sound Pioneer

Les and Mary

2

Script - Here is a list of vocabulary that you will come across in our lesson today. Within your Student Study Sheet, underline one word you know. Circle one word you do not know in the first box. Within the second box, either draw or write a sentence about the word you know. Be ready to share this with someone who has a different word.

Questions - Did you learn a new word or way of thinking about a word from your partner? What words have we already heard so far?

Teacher Notes – Have students write/draw describing their word, then pair up with another student to share with each other. Bring the class back together and ask the questions above. Gather responses from a few students. We will see the remaining words within our next activity.

Extension Activities/Resources -

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Inventor and Sound Pioneer -

Les Paul talks about adapting to physical challenges

Read the excerpt with your group.

Think, share, and write with your group for the question below.

What have you learned about Les Paul being a musician, inventor, or sound pioneer?

Les Paul

Musician, Inventor, Sound Pioneer

Les and Mary

2

Script - We are going to read a section of this article, with six groups each taking a different section, then a group leader sharing back the main points of their section to the whole class.

Group 1 - You will read section 1. A clue in your reading involves the word kaput.

Group 2 - You will read section 2. A clue in your reading involves the word opinion.

Group 3 - You will read section 3. A clue in your reading involves the words audio engineering.

Group 4 - You will read section 4. A clue in your reading involves the words nerve damage.

Group 5 - You will read section 5. A clue in your reading involves the word fret.

Group 6 - You will read section 6. A clue in your reading involves the word recovery.

Your group has five minutes to read and discuss the section. I will call you back for leader sharing with the whole class.

Article - Les Paul talks about adapting to physical challenges (Use the adapted version within the lesson packet. A few modifications in length and content to the original blog article were made for the jigsaw activity.) http://www.lespaulfoundation.org/blog/les-paul-talks-about-adapting-to-physical-challenges/

Extension Activities/Resources -

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What do you know about Les Paul and Mary Ford?	What do you want to know about Les Paul and Mary Ford?	What have you learned about Les Paul as a musician, inventor, or sound pioneer?

K - W - L - Fill in the box based on the information gathered so far about Les Paul.

K

W

L

Les Paul

Musician, Inventor, Sound Pioneer

Les and Mary

2

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Les Paul

Musician, Inventor, Sound Pioneer

Les and Mary

2

Sound Pioneer – Watch the video on multi-track recording. Create a class part to accompany the main melody.

How is the performance of this class song different than what Les Paul and Mary Ford did for the song How High the Moon ?

Script –

We learned about Les’ adapting his life to some challenges. The song we had heard, Lover was recorded the year before his car accident. You had shared how he overcame these challenges and invented and kept thinking of new musical ideas.

Let’s see what musical ideas we can come up with. We had listened to the song Lover in the beginning of class today. Les Paul performed Lover in 1947 at about 31-32 years old. Although it sounds like several people are playing at the same time, only one person, Les, created the eight tracks. He recorded these separately, making this the first multi-track recording.

Let’s create our own multiple track piece. Watch the video and then create a class part to accompany the melody. We’ll perform these and layer together to create our own song. Consider what the difference is in what we are doing, compared to what Les Paul did in his recording of Lover. We’ll discuss this after we have created and performed our song.

Teacher Notes – Have students in four groups with access to pitched instruments (i.e. orff equipment with pentatonic pitches set for creating melodies is ideal). Have each team create a two-measure ostinato. Encourage teams to play alone and then layered with other groups to create a class composition.

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Essential Question

How do people adapt to challenges?

Standards

I can explore and demonstrate an understanding of the elements of music by reading, singing and/or playing an instrument. (MG2.P.6.i)
I can explain how music relates to self, others, and the world. (MG4.Cn.6.i)

Les Paul

Musician, Inventor, Sound Pioneer

Les and Mary

2

The Wisconsin Standards for Music (2017) are used for the Les Paul Study Units.

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Next Lesson Clue –

? Les Paulverizer

How is this clue connected to Les Paul?

Les Paul

Musician, Inventor, Sound Pioneer

Les and Mary

2