Lesson 1
In this lesson, students learned how to strike the handpan. They learned where on their
hand they were expected to strike with as well as how to loosen the wrist to allow for a more
resonant sound from the instrument. The analogy used comparing the feeling to the rubber pencil
trick seemed especially effective, as evidenced in the video. Students also were seen practicing
hand alternating. Work was done in small groups of two, individually, and as a full group. This
allowed for learning from each other with the small groups, as well as openness for individual
feedback thanks to the time for individual work. Students also learned the pattern of notes on the
instrument, alternating left and right as they raise in pitch. One alteration to my original plan was
that we spent more time than originally planned exploring on the instrument. I felt this would be
valuable for them as it not only built more interest in the instrument, but also helped them feel a
stronger connection with the handpan knowing they could play all the notes on it immediately.
Throughout the lesson, there were multiple verbal check-ins to see if everyone was understanding.
Questions were frequently asked for review, and everyone had been called on for multiple
different questions. Individual feedback was given while other students were busy and was
specific, involving mostly positive feedback with some guidance to help with anything noticed. In
the next lesson, the plan is to work on reading notation and learning how to play repeating
patterns.
Lesson 2
In this lesson, students learned how to read musical notation for ways to play the
handpan. A key was given that had them learning about ghost notes, accents, and ding notes,
showing how to read these symbols as they learned patterns. This lesson started with learning by
rote as they learned 3 separate ways to strike the handpan. After each style was learned, they
were introduced to the musical notation. They were also shown a professional player to introduce
them to all the possibilities of the instrument. Patterns were given to them in writing, and they
were expected to play them back. Everyone practiced these patterns together at first, then each
student took turns on the handpan while others practiced on their own handpan sheet. Students
showed what they had learned from the last lesson by demonstrating hand alternation as well as
proper striking techniques on the instrument. Students also showed their learning by answering
review questions at the beginning of the lesson. One adjustment to my lesson plan was that they
would not create their own repeating pattern until the next lesson. This was done because we ran
out of time. If I were to adjust this lesson, I would spend less time bouncing between teaching by
rote and teaching reading notation. While I felt they learned and made the connections between
the two, I found that I may have spent too much time explaining things. I would also make sure
students knew to be called on for when questions were asked. While it was easy to hear everyone’s
answers due to the smaller size of the group, this would not have been possible if there were more
students involved in the project. This lesson had teacher-led discussions about the music heard in
the video we watched together of a professional performing handpan. There was also individual
work which allowed for individual feedback.
Lesson 3
In this lesson, students learned how to write 4 beat grooves for handpan including accents,
ghost notes, ding notes, and pitched notes. They also practiced and performed these patterns,
showing reading skills as well as demonstrating proper playing techniques. Students were assessed
on what they had learned so far with questions at the start of the lesson reviewing technique,
hand alternation, and reading notation for the notation learned in the last lesson. Some of these
answers are seen on video. One adjustment I would make to this lesson was the order I taught the
music notation. I taught specific notes to be played before I had them write their own patterns.
This was a mistake as it had students writing patterns that they were not ready to play yet. If I were
to teach this again, I would have them create patterns with only ding, ghost notes, and accents first
before moving to more challenging music annotation. This lesson had plenty of individual work
time, while also including teacher-led instruction. This teacher-led instruction was necessary to
provide students with a complete understanding of the musical notation. They were then given
time to practice writing rhythm patterns on their own.
