Lesson video

Hello, musicians.

My name is Mrs. Steele, and I'm so excited that we're going to be learning together today.

In today's lesson, we're going to become composers, so let's get started together.

By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to compose, notate, and perform a major pentatonic melody that uses dotted rhythms. Let's have a look at the keywords that will be important in our learning today.

The first one is compose.

To create a piece of music over time.

That's what we're going to be doing today.

Melody.

A combination of notes to make a memorable tune.

Phrase.

A musical thought like a sentence in a story.

Rehearse.

To practice in order to improve and prepare for performance.

And perform.

To present music, playing, or singing for an audience.

Before every music lesson, it's important to warm up our voices, our minds, and our bodies so that we're ready to move and ready to sing, and so that we can sing safely.

Join in with these warmups so that you're ready to sing together.

Here they come.

(bright music) (feet stomping) (hands slapping) (bright upbeat music) (bright jaunty music) (bright jaunty music continues) Let's warm up all the muscles of our faces.

Show me your happy face.

Show me your grumpy face.

Show me your big face.

Show me your small face.

Show me your silly face.

Show me your thinking face.

Ready.

(gentle piano music) (gentle piano music continues) <v ->Echo my singing.

</v> ♪ No-oo-oo ♪ ♪ No-oo-oo ♪ ♪ No-oo-oo-oo-oo ♪ ♪ Na-aa-aa ♪ ♪ Na-aa-aa ♪ ♪ Na-aa-aa-aa-aa ♪ ♪ Me-ee-ee ♪ ♪ Me-ee-ee ♪ ♪ Me-ee-ee-ee-ee ♪ ♪ Moo-oo-oo ♪ ♪ Moo-oo-oo ♪ ♪ Moo-oo-oo-oo-oo ♪ ♪ Ma-aa-aa ♪ ♪ Ma-aa-aa ♪ ♪ Ma-aa-aa-aa-aa ♪ <v ->Copy this tricky tongue twister.

</v> Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked? Let's warm up further with these three songs.

We're going to start with "Rocky Mountain." Here it comes.

♪ Rocky mountain, rocky mountain, rocky mountain high ♪ ♪ When you're on that rocky mountain ♪ ♪ Hang your head and cry ♪ ♪ Do, do, do, do, do remember me ♪ ♪ Do, do, do, do, do remember me ♪ ♪ Stormy ocean, stormy ocean, stormy ocean wide ♪ ♪ When you're on that stormy ocean ♪ ♪ There's nowhere to hide ♪ ♪ Do, do, do, do, do remember me ♪ ♪ Do, do, do, do, do remember me ♪ ♪ Sunny valley, sunny valley, sunny valley low ♪ ♪ When you're in that sunny valley ♪ ♪ Sing it soft and low ♪ ♪ Do, do, do, do, do remember me ♪ ♪ Do, do, do, do, do remember me ♪ <v ->And now join in with "Tue Tue."</v> Here comes the music for you.

♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Tue tue, barima tue tue ♪ ♪ Tue tue, barima tue tue ♪ ♪ Abofra ba ama dawa dawa tue tue ♪ ♪ Abofra ba ama dawa dawa tue tue ♪ ♪ Barima tue tue ♪ ♪ Barima tue tue ♪ ♪ Barima tue tue ♪ ♪ Tue tue, barima tue tue ♪ ♪ Tue tue, barima tue tue ♪ ♪ Abofra ba ama dawa dawa tue tue ♪ ♪ Abofra ba ama dawa dawa tue tue ♪ ♪ Barima tue tue ♪ ♪ Barima tue tue ♪ ♪ Barima tue tue ♪ And finally it's "I Have a Car." Don't forget to join in with the actions too.

Here it comes.

♪ I have a car, it's made of tin ♪ ♪ Nobody knows what shape it's in ♪ ♪ It has four wheels and a rumble seat ♪ ♪ Hear us chugging down the street ♪ ♪ Honk, honk, rattle, rattle, toot, crash, beep, beep ♪ ♪ Honk, honk, rattle, rattle, toot, crash, beep, beep ♪ ♪ Honk, honk, rattle, rattle, toot, crash, beep, beep ♪ ♪ Honk, honk ♪ ♪ I have a car, it's made of tin ♪ ♪ Nobody knows what shape it's in ♪ ♪ It has four wheels and a rumble seat ♪ ♪ Hear us chugging down the street ♪ ♪ Honk, honk, rattle, rattle, toot, crash, beep, beep ♪ ♪ Honk, honk, rattle, rattle, toot, crash, beep, beep ♪ ♪ Honk, honk, rattle, rattle, toot, crash, beep, beep ♪ ♪ Honk, honk ♪ Do your muscles feel relaxed? Is your throat feeling warm and are you concentrating and ready to learn? I expect so after all that.

You are ready to sing.

Let's get started.

We're going to begin by composing and notating a major pentatonic melody.

Today we're going to compose and notate our own major pentatonic melodies.

We're going to use a song we already know as our inspiration, "Ame Ame." Have a go at singing "Ame Ame," tapping the beat gently on your thighs as you sing.

Here comes the music.

♪ Ame ame, fure fure, kaasan ga ♪ ♪ Janomede omukae uresiina ♪ ♪ Pichi pichi, chappu chappu ♪ ♪ Ran ran ran ♪ ♪ Ame ame, fure fure, kaasan ga ♪ ♪ Janomede omukae uresiina ♪ ♪ Pichi pichi, chappu chappu ♪ ♪ Ran ran ran ♪ <v ->We're going to use the rhythm of "Ame Ame"</v> and compose new melodies for the first line and the third line.

So you can see the notes for the third line are already there.

We're going to add our own notes in the first line and the third line.

And I'm going to walk you through exactly how we're going to do that now.

Let's begin by singing the rhythm of the song "Ame Ame." Here comes the music for you to join in.

You could use this body percussion on the screen to help you sing each rhythm correctly.

Here comes the music.

♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Ta-mi, ta-mi, ta-mi, ta-mi, ta-mi, ta-mi, ta-a ♪ ♪ Ta-mi, ta-mi, ta-mi, ta-mi, ta-mi, ta-mi, ta-a ♪ ♪ Ta-mi, ta-mi, ta-mi, ta-mi, ta, ta, ta-a ♪ <v ->For our own composition,</v> let's use the middle line of "Ame Ame" like a composition sandwich.

It will work a bit like this.

We'll start with our first composed melodic phrase.

Then the middle of our sandwich will be the middle line of "Ame Ame." That's the bit we already know.

And then we'll finish with our final composed melodic phrase, and that will make our composition sandwich.

Let's spend some time rehearsing the middle of our composition sandwich, that middle line of "Ame Ame." There are several different ways we need to do this to make sure that we're ready.

First, we'll chant and tap the rhythm of this middle line, then sing and sign the melody.

Then we need to find the notes on our pitched percussion instrument.

And we know that we'll need all the notes of the major pentatonic scale.

Do, ray, me, so, and la.

And then when we've done all of that, we can practice playing the melody slowly and carefully on our pitched percussion instrument.

You're going to want to do this at your own pace where you are.

There's audio and video support to help you if you'd like it.

So press pause, use the audio and video if you need to, and have a good practice.

I'll see you in a bit.

Welcome back.

Next, we're going to sing and sign the middle line of "Ame Ame" again.

As you sing and sign it, what do you notice about the shape of the melody? Here comes the audio for you to join in.

♪ Do, do, do, ray, me, so, la ♪ ♪ So, me, me, me, ray, do ♪ What did you notice about the shape of the melody as you were singing and signing? Did you notice that it begins on do? It ends on do as well, and it moves up and down the major pentatonic scale in step.

This makes it simple to sing, simple to play, and simple to remember.

It's time for a check-in with our learning so far.

Which two suggestions would you recommend to someone composing a melody like "Ame Ame?" Here are your choices.

Would you suggest a, using big leaps between the notes, or b, only use do in the middle of the melody? Would you suggest c, keep it simple and move in step often, or would you suggest d, start and/or end on do to help us hear the major pentatonic sound? Which two of these would you suggest to someone composing a melody like "Ame Ame?" Press pause to decide.

What did you think? Here come the answers.

I would definitely suggest c, keep it simple and move in step often.

I'd suggest d as well.

Well done if you spotted that.

Start and or end on do because that helps us to hear that major pentatonic sound.

Let's watch and listen to this first phrase composition.

As you watch, think carefully.

What do you think makes it successful? Here comes the video.

(gentle rhythmic music) What did you spot about what makes that a successful composition? Did you spot that the melody started and ended on do? How about that the melody returns to do often.

Well done if you spotted either or both of those things.

How about this final phrase composition? What do you think makes this one successful? Here comes the video.

(gentle rhythmic music) Let's see what our Oak friends noticed about that composition.

I wonder if you noticed the same thing.

Sofia noticed that the melody moves mostly in step from note to note.

Well done if you spotted that too.

And Lucas spotted that the leaps were manageable and musical and that they repeat it.

Well done if you spotted either of those things.

When we're notating or writing down our compositions, it's important to line up the Solfege syllables neatly under each stick so that we can read it really clearly.

Every stick needs a Solfege syllable like in this example here.

Let's look carefully at this notation example.

Can you spot what works well and what might not work so well here? Press pause to look carefully and have a think.

Welcome back.

What did you notice? Did you spot that there are neatly lined up sticks and Solfege syllables? That's a successful strategy.

Did you spot the missing note here? Well done if you did the eagle-eyed amongst you.

Every stick needs a Solfege syllable.

This one's missing.

And did you spot that these Solfege syllables are not lined up underneath the sticks.

That needs to be fixed as well.

Well done if you spotted those things.

The moment has arrived.

Let's get composing.

Your first challenge is to recap the notes of the major pentatonic scale on your pitched percussion instrument.

Play these ascending and then descending.

Remember, these are the notes that you can choose from today.

After you've done that, it's time to play different simple patterns and choose sounds that you like.

When you're happy with your notes, write them down under each stick to form your composition.

Remember that these are the ideas that make a composition particularly successful: start and/or end on do; repeat notes and short musical ideas; try to move mostly in step with only small manageable leaps, and this will help you to create something that's memorable, easy to play, and easy to sing.

Remember, we're going to create a composition sandwich.

It's going to look like this.

Here's our composition sandwich.

The first bit is going to be your first composed phrase.

Then the middle of our sandwich is the middle line of "Ame Ame." We already know how that goes.

And then the last bit of our sandwich is your final composed phrase.

Good luck.

Happy composing.

I'll see you on the other side.

How did you get on with your compositions? Here's an example of a first phrase melody.

I wonder how yours compares.

This one starts on do.

That's a good start.

It ends on do as well to help us hear that major pentatonic sound.

It moves in step, ascending, going up.

It has small leaps and repeats an idea.

And it moves in step descending at the end here.

I wonder how your first phrase compares to this one.

Let's look at this example of a final phrase melody.

How does yours compare to this one? This one repeats an up, down, up, down pattern, getting lower each time.

That's a creative idea.

It also ends on do.

It moves in a stepwise pattern.

I wonder if yours does that.

It uses small leaps, repeating an idea.

We know that's a successful strategy.

And it has a stepwise pattern here again.

I wonder how your final phrase melody compares to this one.

If you'd like to, you could pause the video now and share your thoughts about that.

Now let's rehearse and perform a major pentatonic melody.

Before we perform, first, it's important to rehearse.

Rehearsing is when we practice in order to improve so that we can share our performance with an audience successfully.

Jun is reminding us that rehearsing helps him to play his melody more accurately and helps him to feel confident and prepared.

That's why musicians rehearse so much.

If at this stage in the lesson you've composed your own first and final phrase, you could use that.

But if you don't have your own melody yet, don't worry.

You could use this one here.

Before you get rehearsing, here are my top tips to make sure that your rehearsing is as successful as possible.

Top tip one, set a steady tempo.

Playing slowly and steadily will give you more time to find the correct notes.

When musicians are rehearsing a tricky bit, they often slow that tempo right down top.

Tip two is to practice small chunks.

Find the parts that are the most tricky for you and repeat these small chunks of melody over and over again to help you to get it right.

Top tip number three, chant and clap the rhythm first.

Sam's doing that here.

This reminds you of the rhythm before you play it.

And top tip number four is to sing and sign the melody first.

This helps you to know the shape of your melody really well, which helps you to play it successfully.

Using these top tips to rehearsing as your guide, practice your major pentatonic melody so that you feel ready to perform.

Press pause and have a good practice.

See you later.

Hello again.

How did your practicing go? Did you remember to play slowly? Could you focus on the hardest parts? Perhaps you found it useful to chant and clap your rhythm first and sing and sign your melody to help you.

Well done if you did those things.

What excellent rehearsing.

You must feel ready to perform now.

When we perform, we're ready to do our best.

We prepare for our performance by making sure that we have everything ready.

Before your performance, have a look at this performance checklist.

Do you have your pitched percussion instrument ready to go? Do you have your notation or have you memorized your melody? And do you feel prepared from your time spent practicing? If you need to, you could press pause now to make sure you've got everything from the performance checklist sorted.

Have you got everything you need? Okay, here we go.

It's now time to perform your piece.

This is a wonderful opportunity to share and celebrate all of your hard work.

You might feel a little bit nervous, a little bit excited, or maybe both.

Take a deep breath, make sure you have everything you need, and remember to keep a steady tempo.

This really helps.

Remember that we're celebrating your learning and sharing your progress with this performance.

Doesn't matter if you make mistakes.

Musicians make lots of those.

Good luck in your performance.

I wish I could hear it.

I'll see you soon.

Press pause and go.

Well done for performing your composition.

How successful was it? Use the checklist below to decide.

Did you feel a steady pulse and play the rhythm accurately? Well done if you did.

Did you place the notes carefully, making sure you only played notes from the major pentatonic scale? Well done 'cause that's tricky.

And did you keep going even through any tricky moments? Fantastic.

That's the most important bit.

If you decided to record your performance, you could watch it back and check through this list to see which parts you did the most successfully.

Well done, composers, we've made it to the end of our lesson today.

Let's end by taking a minute to think about everything we've been learning together.

We know that compositions can be changed and improved with the music being created over time.

We know that music can be shared by the oral tradition, and it can also be notated and shared and remembered for another day.

We know that stick notation is one way to notate our compositions, and we did exactly that today.

We know that rehearsing is essential to help us prepare for a performance.

And we know that playing slowly and keeping to the steady pulse is one way to help us rehearse and perform effectively.

Congratulations, composers and performers.

What a great lesson.

I'll see you again for another music lesson soon.

Bye, everyone.