5 Transfer Tasks:

1. Notice the angle you are using right now to play on your head joint, make sure that when

you put the full instrument together, the angle of the head joint stays the same.

- I am at a middle school teaching beginner flutists and we are reviewing the flute

embouchure and flute angle using the headjoint. Last time I taught them, I

noticed that once the students put their instruments together after warming up on

the headjoint, they begin to play with improper flute angles. So, while we are

warming up using the headjoint, I remind them that the headjoint should stay at

this angle even when you put the whole flute together. I foresee this benefitting

the ensemble by making the players more aware of things that they might be

changing between their warm ups and their “real playing”. This will improve

students' likelihood of playing with the correct flute angle.

2. Notice the hand positioning that you are using right now while you are playing ONLY the

first note of the Bb scale. Make sure you continue using the same hand positioning when

we begin the scale exercise and you are changing notes.

- I am at a middle school teaching beginner flutists about hand positioning using

only the first note of the Bb scale. Last time I taught them, I noticed that the

students began changing their hand positioning after they started playing multiple

different notes. So, while we are reviewing the notes of the scale and playing

them one by one, out of time, I remind the students to keep the proper hand

positioning when they begin the scale exercise that we are about to play. I

foresee this benefitting the ensemble because it reminds the students to continue

focusing on their mechanics even when they are adding extra skills on top of it.

3. After we complete a warm up using staccato eighth notes, I ask the students to pull out

the march they are working on, and use the exact same articulation they just played in

the warm up with when they have staccato markings on their page.
 - I am at a middle school leading an ensemble rehearsal through a warm up

chorale. After we play the chorale the first time, I ask the students to play 4

staccato eighth notes on each chord they play. I am doing this because as the

students are working on their pieces, I have noticed that their staccato

articulations are not separated like they should be. I foresee this benefitting the

ensemble because by implementing the articulation style into their warm up, the

students have a chance to practice the articulation outside of their music and

make that their primary focus.

4. After completing a warm up on dynamics, I ask the students to transfer the way they

played the crescendos and decrescendos in their warm up into the way they play their

lyrical piece that we are about to work on.

- I am at a middle school leading the saxophone section through a warm up

focusing on dynamics. I am doing this because after working with the students, I

have noticed that they do not follow the dynamic markings on their music. The

students will play the first note of the Bb scale in a whole note, crescendoing, and

then will play Bb again for another whole note while decrescendoing. They will

repeat this for each note of the Bb scale.I foresee this benefitting the ensemble

because it allows them to experiment and develop this skill outside of their music.

It also gives them a chance to listen to their individual tone quality when changing

dynamics.

5. After talking with the students about taking intentional breaths when playing long tones, I

ask them to transfer the kind of breaths they are taking to the Forte and Marcato

passage we are about to work on so that they have the breath support to play in the

correct style.

- I am at a middle school rehearsing the Brass section and to warm them up, I ask

them to play the Bb major scale in whole notes taking deep and relaxed breaths,
aka. intentional breaths. I am implementing this into the warm up because I have

noticed that the students do not play with proper breath support consistently,

especially in passages that require a lot of air. I foresee this benefitting the

ensemble beacuse it allows the students to practice taking deep and relaxed

breaths while playing something that is very simple. It allows them to really

experiment with how much they can relax their body and take a full breath. It also

allows the students to practice blowing consistent air without articulations, like

there are in music.

Lesson Plan from 3/9/22 with Teaching for Transfer Tasks:
Name: Holly Trudell Date: 3/9/22 Period: Band 3

Ensemble or Class: Ms. Davidsons Band 3 Flutists Lesson Topic: Characteristic tone production using
the first 5 notes of the Bb scale
Standards: MU.68.S.3.2

Long Term Goal: Students will develop a characteristic flute tone using the correct embouchure.

Instructional objectives(s): Students will produce a clear tone 90% of the time while playing the first 5 notes of the Bb
scale.
Key Vocabulary: embouchure, aperture, head-joint Instructional Materials/Resources/Technology:
none
Critical Thinking: Lesson Structure:
After I explain the angle of the headjoint, proper hand Introduction, TT task 1, TT task 2, Bb scale note review,
positioning, and posture, I will no longer tell the students numbers exercise, wrap-up
how they should look. I will ask them critical thinking
questions such as “Should your flute be at an angle or
parallel with the floor?” and “Should you be aiming all or
some of you air into the headjoint?”
ESE Modifications CPLAMS Access Points http://www.cpalms.org/Standards/AccesspointSearch.aspx
(identify access point, if needed)
Independent: MU.68.S.3.In.b

Supported: MU.68.S.3.Su.b

Participatory: MU.68.S.3.Pa.b

Lesson/Rehearsal Procedures:
Pacing: Assessment:
Highlight Differentiated Instruction in Yellow

3 minutes TT TASK 1: Start by reviewing embouchure: I will assess the students by looking for
- I will ask the students to take off their head joints, form an extremely relaxed face, proper head
their embouchure, and play into the head joint in order joint angle, and by listening for a clear
to check their embouchure and angle. tone.
- If any of the students are having issues, I will
remind them to relax their lips and place the
headjoint parallel to the ground underneath
their bottom lip, find a spot on the floor 3 feet
in front of them to aim their air at, and say
“poo” while blowing into the instrument with
the least amount of lip movement.
- For transfer, I will remind students to notice
the angle that they are holding their head
joint at (parallel to the ground); this is the
angle that your flute should be at when you
put it all together. Don’t let the flute angle
come down simply because the instrument
gets heavier.
 TT TASK 2: Have students put instruments together and review I will assess the students by listening for
hand positioning: correct responses: chin, thumb, and
1 minute - We will begin by talking about the three different ball (or inside knuckle).
contact points when holding the flute: the chin, thumb
of your right hand, and ball of your left hand. I will ask
students to raise their hand and show me one of the 3
contact points. I will assess the students by looking at
- I will then have the students show me their best their hand positioning and checking for
1 minute holding position on the flute and give them feedback the 3 correct contact points.
before we begin playing.
- For transfer, I will remind the students that especially
1 minute when they begin playing, they need to transfer the
proper hand position from when they were practicing
holding the flute.

Next I will ask them to put their instruments together and we

will review the notes of the Bb scale. Ms. Davidson mentioned I will assess the students by looking for
that some of the students may be having trouble with the correct fingerings and listening for
fingerings, so we will start with reviewing those. correct pitches.
- At this point I will make the transfer BOTH TT’s for the
1 minute students and remind them once more to transfer the TT 1+2: I will assess the students by
knowledge of proper flute angle AND holding position looking at their headjoint angles and
from their warm-up into playing the notes of the Bb hand positioning once they have put
scale. their instrument together. The flutes
- To review the notes, I will ask each of the students to should be angled at the correct angle
show me the fingering for Bb, and then they will play (parallel with the floor) and the
the note. I will repeat this process for all 5 notes of the students should be holding the flute
scale. using the 3 contact points that they
were using from the warm-up.

After reviewing, we will do a short exercise on numbers

(1,121,12321, etc.):
- To begin, I will explain how the numbers relate to the
1 minute notes of the Bb scale. Bb=1, C=2, D=3, E=4, F=5.
- Next, we will do a short “game” where I call out a
number and ask students to raise their hand and tell I will assess the students by listening for
me the letter name of the scale that it corresponds to. correct answers when translating the
So if I call out 3, the students should tell me D. numbers into notes.. Bb=1, C=2, D=3,
- I will then explain to them that for this exercise, you E=4, F=5.
2 minutes will add the next note each time you go up the scale. I
will verbalize: 1, 121, 12321, 1234321, 123454321. I
will ask if there are any questions.
- I will briefly remind the students about the transfers we
have made before we begin. I will assess the students by listening for
- Next, I will count off at an extremely slow tempo, and I if they are playing the pattern
2 minutes will ask the students to play the exercise while I show successfully or not. I will be listening for
them the numbers on my fingers. correct pitches and patterns (1, 121…).
- After having the students play the pattern once, I will
2 minutes ask if there are any questions. I will answer the I will be assessing the students by
questions if there are any, and then we will play the listening for improvement in tone and
looking for improvement in posture
 pattern again, this time focusing more on making the between this run through and the first
transfers and playing with a great sound. run through.

1 minute Wrap-up and send back:

- I will thank the students and remind them about always
making the transfer from your warm up angle and hand
position into your “real playing” angle and hand
position.

Post Rehearsal or Lesson Reflections

Content Adjustment: While reviewing the notes of the Bb scale, I noticed that the students had a very good understanding
of the fingerings, unlike what I thought initially. So, instead of wasting time by reviewing each fingering, I asked them to
play each note. Since the students have an understanding of the fingerings, I will not need to review them next lesson.

Rehearsal or Lesson Adjustment: If I was going to reteach today’s lesson, I would have let the students know that they did
not need to bring their stands or music into the rehearsal room. I feel that by telling them not to bring any equipment, we
would have saved time.

Reflection on Teaching: When we entered the room, I introduced myself to the students and had them tell me their names.
I asked them to take off their headjoints and show me their best holding position. One student's headjoint was slightly
angled towards the ground so I reminded everyone that your headjoint should be parallel with the ground. After looking at
the students again, she had fixed the angle of her headjoint angle. I had the students say “poo” into their instruments and
they all were able to make a characteristic sound on their headjoint. The sound was slightly airy, so I asked the students
how much of their air should be going into the headjoint: some or all? and they replied some, which is correct. I decided to
be more specific and let them know that they should be aiming 60% of their air into the headjoint and the rest slightly
above. After this discussion, I asked the students to say “poo” again into their headjoints. This time, the sound was much
less airy. I gave the students specific feedback, saying great job for aiming your air differently and creating a much more full
tone. Before moving on, I reminded students to transfer this headjoint angle and air angle to when we begin playing on the
whole instrument. I then asked the students to put their instruments together and show me their best playing position.
When they put their flutes up, many of the students had their flutes at an angle. So I asked the students if their flute should
be at an angle or parallel to the ground, and they replied parallel and then fixed their angles. I gave them specific feedback,
mentioning that they made the transfer from the headjoint angle like I asked them to. I then asked them to tell me the 3
contact points on the flute, and they all replied with the correct answers, which I applauded them for and reminded them
that if you hold the flute with the correct contact points, holding it at the correct angle will be much easier. Before we
moved on, I reminded them to always keep the correct hand positioning as we move into the playing exercise. Next, we
reviewed the notes of the Bb scale, and as mentioned previously, I saw that the students had a good understanding of the
fingerings because all students were quick and accurate when showing me the fingerings for Bb and C, so for the rest of the
notes I just had the students play them one after another. I gave the students specific feedback related to their posture,
hand positioning, and flute angles, and thanked them for making the transfer while playing. Next, I explained the numbers
to them, which they understood very quickly. I asked them what note “4” was, and they all replied with Eb, which was
correct. I then verbalized the pattern, and explained that you go up and down the scale, adding the next note on top each
time. I asked if there were any questions and explained that we were going to go very slow with a focus on accuracy of the
pattern. We played the exercise once and I noticed the students posture and hand positioning changing, but they played
the pattern accurately like I asked them to. I gave them specific feedback related to the pattern, saying that they played it
accurately, but then asked them to continue focusing on their posture, hand position, and flute angles for the next run
through. I counted off again and we played once more and the students made a great improvement on the things I asked
them to focus on, which contributed to them having an overall better tone. I gave the students specific feedback related to
their posture, hand positioning, and flute angles, as well as congratulated them on improving so much in the short lesson. I
thanked them for working with me and sent them back into class. Overall, I think the students did a great job listening and
making the transfers. I also believe that the lesson ran smoothly and flowed in a way that kept the students engaged.

Teaching for Transfer Essay:

Both transfer tasks that I used in rehearsal were effective for the students. I was able to start my

lesson with the transfer tasks because they functioned as a warm up and review, which allowed

me to implement them both into the rehearsal with ease. The first transfer task was meant to

remind the students to play with a proper headjoint angle so that they can have a pure tone; The

task accomplished what I intended because it was a great way to remind the students about

their flute angles. I was able to refer to the task throughout the lesson and say “remember the

headjoint angle you played with at the very beginning of rehearsal!” and the students would fix

any issues related to flute angle immediately. The second transfer task was meant to help the

students find and keep the correct hand positioning. This task accomplished what I intended as

well because the students did a much better job of playing with proper hand positioning

throughout the rehearsal. When we began playing the Bb scale using the numbers exercise, I

asked the students to show me their best playing position, and then I asked them to transfer the

hand positionings that we established in the review, and the students who had their hands at the

wrong angle, fixed them immediately. After I sent them back to class, one student actually came

up and told me that reviewing the hand positioning helped them when they had to switch

between different notes because they felt like their flute was more secure.