Lesson video

Hi there.

My name's Mr. Pete.

I'm looking forward to making lots of music with you in today's lesson! This unit is called "Compose and Create: Composing a Major Melody on a Stave." And today's lesson is called "Reading the Five-Note Major Pentachord Scale." By the end of this lesson, you will be able to read and notate the ascending and descending major pentachord on a simplified stave.

Here are some of the keywords we're going to use in today's lesson.

The stave is the lines on which musical notes can be placed.

The major pentachord is the first five notes of the major scale, Do, Re, Mi, Fa, and So.

Rhythm is the pattern of sounds and silences that we play and sing.

And finally, improvisation means creative, in-the-moment musical composition.

Now, before we get started, it's always important to warm up our bodies, voices, and minds so we are ready to move and sing.

Warming up our body helps us to stand correctly and at ease while singing.

We need to gently warm up and stretch our vocal cords to prevent our voices from injury.

Join in with these warmups.

<v ->We'll begin with a stretch.

</v> Arms high into the air.

Onto our tiptoes.

Hold onto a monkey bar.

We are going to not let go of that monkey bar, but we are going to lower our heels to the ground.

So we're going to get taller.

Lowering to the count of four.

Here we go.

One, two, three, four.

You're all super tall! Drop your fingers and your wrists, and your elbows and your shoulders.

Relax your knees and go (voice quivers).

(students vocalizing) Very good! Let's do that one more time.

Stretch up.

Onto your tiptoes.

Hold onto the monkey bar, lowering our heels to a count of four.

Going one, two, three, four.

Gosh, you're so tall now! Drop your fingers and your wrists, and your elbows and your shoulders.

Relax your knees and (voice quivers).

(students vocalizing) Very good! Now, let's take up as much space as we can.

Make a really, really big space.

Huge shapes.

And we are going to shrink down into a teeny-tiny shape.

Tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, like a little seed.

And we are now going to grow back to a big shape.

Are you ready? 1, 2, 3, go! Grow, grow, grow, grow, grow, grow, grow! And relax.

Feet slightly apart.

Arms by our sides.

<v ->Now, let's warm up our face.

</v> We're going to start by tapping all over our face, from our neck all the way to the top of our head, to wake ourselves up.

Ready? We're starting on our neck, and just lightly tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

Moving up: tap, tap, tap.

Onto your chin: tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

Past your cheeks: tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

Past your eyes to your forehead: tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

To the very top of your head: tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

Bing! Lovely! Very good! Now, we're going to pretend to brush our teeth, but with our tongue.

So, our tongue is going to move all the way across our top and bottom teeth, all the way into the corners of your mouth, like this.

Mmm! There we go.

Right through the back, coming down to the other side, all the way to the back, and back around.

And there we go! Hopefully that tongue's feeling nice and exercised.

Now, we're going to do some breathing exercises.

We are going to breathe in over a count of four, then we're going to hold it for a count of five, and exhale, breathe out, over a count of six.

It's going to be a bit like this.

So, in.

(inhales deeply) (Mr. Pete exhales) Now you try.

Ready? So, in for four.

Ready? And in, 2, 3, 4.

And hold, 2, 3, 4, 5.

And out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Lovely! And again, in, 2, 3, 4.

And hold, 2, 3, 4, 5.

And out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Well done! Here's a tongue twister to get your mouths and voices working.

Repeat after me: "All I want is a proper cup of coffee." Let's try that again: "All I want is a proper cup of coffee." The next line will go, "Made in a proper copper coffee pot." Try repeating after me: "Made in a proper copper coffee pot." And again: "Made in a proper copper coffee pot." Let's put them both together.

So we'll go, "All I want is a proper cup of coffee, made in a proper copper coffee pot." Now your turn.

Ready? And.

"All I want is a proper cup of coffee, made in a proper copper coffee pot." This is a call-and-response warmup.

So when I say: ♪ Hey yo, Captain Jack ♪ you'll repeat after me.

Let's get a bit of a march going.

(upbeat music) Get ready.

Here we go.

Ready? And here we go! ♪ Hey yo, Captain Jack ♪ ♪ Take me down that railroad track ♪ ♪ Got my boots, got my hat ♪ ♪ I'm gonna be in a marching band ♪ Great! Let's do it again.

♪ Hey yo, Captain Jack ♪ ♪ Take me down that railroad track ♪ ♪ Got my boots, got my hat ♪ ♪ I'm gonna be in a marching band ♪ Well done! And again! ♪ Hey yo, Captain Jack ♪ ♪ Take me down that railroad track ♪ ♪ Got my boots, got my hat ♪ ♪ I'm gonna be in a marching band ♪ One more time! ♪ Hey yo, Captain Jack ♪ ♪ Take me down that railroad track ♪ ♪ Got my boots, got my hat ♪ ♪ I'm gonna be in a marching band ♪ Well done! You should be starting to feel quite warmed up, but let's try a few more songs to help you move your bodies and use your voices in different ways.

Join in with this first song: "Hey, Ho, Nobody Home." (playful music) ♪ Hey, ho, nobody home ♪ ♪ Meat nor drink nor money have I none ♪ ♪ Yet I would be very, very merry ♪ ♪ Hey, ho, nobody home ♪ ♪ Meat nor drink nor money have I none ♪ ♪ Yet I would be very, very merry ♪ ♪ Hey, ho, nobody home ♪ ♪ Meat nor drink nor money have I none ♪ ♪ Yet I would be very, very merry ♪ ♪ Hey, ho, nobody home ♪ Now, join in with this warmup: "H-E-L-L-O." <v ->Copy me.

</v> ♪ H-E-L-L-O ♪ ♪ This is how we say hello ♪ ♪ March your feet to the beat ♪ ♪ Can you feel your heart beat ♪ ♪ H-E-L-L-O ♪ ♪ This is how we say hello ♪ ♪ March your feet to the beat ♪ ♪ Can you feel your heart beat ♪ <v ->Finally, join in with this warmup: "Boom Chicka Boom."</v> (steady percussion beat) ♪ I said a-boom chicka boom ♪ ♪ I said a-boom chicka boom ♪ ♪ I said a-boom chicka rocka chicka rocka chicka boom ♪ ♪ Uh-huh ♪ ♪ Ee-hee ♪ ♪ One more time ♪ ♪ Like a robot ♪ ♪ I said a-boom chicka boom ♪ ♪ I said a-boom chicka boom ♪ ♪ I said a-boom chicka rocka chicka rocka chicka boom ♪ ♪ Uh-huh ♪ ♪ Ee-hee ♪ ♪ One more time ♪ ♪ Underwater ♪ ♪ I said a-boom chicka boom ♪ ♪ I said a-boom chicka boom ♪ ♪ I said a-boom chicka rocka chicka rocka chicka boom ♪ ♪ Uh-huh ♪ ♪ Ee-Hee ♪ ♪ One more time ♪ (percussive beat speeds up) ♪ Speedy ♪ ♪ I said a-boom chicka boom ♪ ♪ I said a-boom chicka boom ♪ ♪ I said a-boom chicka rocka chicka rocka chicka boom ♪ ♪ Uh-huh ♪ ♪ Ee-hee ♪ <v ->Are you ready to sing?</v> Hopefully, your muscles feel nice and relaxed, your throat feels warm, and you are concentrating, ready to learn.

So what are we going to be doing in today's lesson? In our first learning cycle, we're going to be reading and notating the major pentachord.

Then we're going to look at improvising a melody to a chant called "Sagidi Sagidi Sapopo." So let's find out a little bit how we're going to be reading and notating the major pentachord.

Melodies with a major tonality will be organized around a central note called Do.

The first five notes of a major scale is called the major pentachord.

Those notes are Do, Re, Mi, Fa, and So.

We can read and write melodies using something called a stave.

These are lines on which musical notes are placed, and that tells us the pitch, how high and low the notes are.

Let's listen to a song.

This song's called "The Elevator Song." Have a listen.

(cheerful piano music) ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ♪ <v ->Now that you've heard the song,</v> try singing it.

(cheerful piano music) ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ♪ ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ♪ ♪ Elevator won't you take me ♪ ♪ 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ♪ <v ->This song uses the first five notes</v> of the major pentachord.

Let's try singing the song again, but this time, replace the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 with the Solfege syllables.

Those syllables are Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So.

So instead of singing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, you'll sing, "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So." And when you come down again, instead of 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, you'll sing, "So, Fa, Mi, Re, Do." Let's try that now.

(cheerful music) (cheerful music continues) (cheerful music continues) (cheerful music continues) So as we've heard, this melody uses the major pentachord, and we give these notes names using Solfege, Do, Re, Mi, Fa, and So.

Try singing these up and down.

♪ Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So ♪ ♪ So, Fa, Mi, Re, Do ♪ Try it with me.

♪ Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So ♪ ♪ So, Fa, Mi, Re, Do ♪ Now, let's try singing another song using Solfege note names.

We're going to sing the song "Ode to Joy," and the words that we're going to use are the note names themselves.

First, have a listen.

(uplifting music) ♪ Mi, Mi, Fa, So, So, Fa, Mi, Re ♪ ♪ Do, Do, Re, Mi, Mi, Re, Re ♪ ♪ Mi, Mi, Fa, So, So, Fa, Mi, Re ♪ ♪ Do, Do, Re, Mi, Re, Do, Do ♪ Now that you've had a listen, try singing along yourself.

(uplifting music) ♪ Mi, Mi, Fa, So, So, Fa, Mi, Re ♪ ♪ Do, Do, Re, Mi, Mi, Re, Re ♪ ♪ Mi, Mi, Fa, So, So, Fa, Mi, Re ♪ ♪ Do, Do, Re, Mi, Re, Do, Do ♪ Well done! Now, we can put the "Ode to Joy" notes on the stave, like this.

Can you sing the first part of "Ode to Joy" following the notes on the stave? Try pausing the video now and singing this melody.

Now, can you sing the second part of "Ode to Joy" and work out where those missing three notes go? Pause the video now, sing the melody, and then think, "Where would the missing notes go?" Here's the answer.

The last three notes are re, do, do, and they'd be positioned on the stave, like this.

Let's try writing out the major pentachord on a simplified stave.

First, draw three straight horizontal lines across your page to act as your stave.

That might look a little bit like this.

Pause the video now and draw out your stave.

Now that you've done that, let's copy out the ascending major pentachord.

Do goes on the bottom line, Re in the space between the next two lines, Mi on the middle line, Fa in the space just above, and then, finally, So on the top line.

Pause the video and copy this out now.

Next, let's do the same again, but for the descending major pentachord.

Pause the video again, draw a new three-line stave, and then write the descending major pentachord on it.

Now you've completed your major pentachord, ascending and descending.

How did you do? The answer should look a little bit like this.

In our next learning cycle, we are going to be improvising a melody to a chant called "Sagidi Sagidi Sapopo." Let's have a listen to this chant from the Philippines.

Ready? And here we go! ♪ Sagidi sagidi sapopo ♪ ♪ Sagidi sagidi sapopo ♪ ♪ Sagidi sagidi sapopo ♪ ♪ Sagidi sagidi sapopo ♪ Now, let's try chanting it together.

Ready? And here we go! ♪ Sagidi sagidi sapopo ♪ ♪ Sagidi sagidi sapopo ♪ ♪ Sagidi sagidi sapopo ♪ ♪ Sagidi sagidi sapopo ♪ You can play a rhythm game using this chant.

The leader will do an action during the first phrase, and then you repeat it a phrase later, all while chanting.

Watch this video and join in.

♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Sagidi sagidi sapopo ♪ ♪ Sagidi sagidi sapopo ♪ ♪ Sagidi sagidi sapopo ♪ ♪ Sagidi sagidi sapopo ♪ ♪ Sagidi sagidi sapopo ♪ ♪ Sagidi sagidi sapopo ♪ <v ->This song uses the ta-ka-di rhythm,</v> which you can see written out below.

Let's try chanting it together, but this time using takadimi syllables.

That'll sound like this.

♪ Ta-ka-di, ta-ka-di, ta-di-ta ♪ Try chanting that along with me.

Ready? And here we go! ♪ Ta-ka-di, ta-ka-di, ta-di-ta ♪ Great! Let's try that one more time.

Ready? And here we go! ♪ Ta-ka-di, ta-ka-di, ta-di-ta ♪ Well done! Now, we are going to improvise a melody to "Sagidi Sagidi Sapopo" with a pitched percussion instrument.

Improvising just means making up a new melody on the spot.

And for this task, you can use any pitched percussion instrument.

It might be a xylophone, a glockenspiel, or chime bars.

We are going to be using the notes of the major pentachord.

For this activity, that will be the notes C to G on your instrument.

Let's find those notes, and then pause the video, and play them ascending and descending.

That's up and down, to get used to where those notes are on your instrument.

Now you've found the notes you'll be using.

Let's try playing the rhythm for "Sagidi Sagidi Sapopo," just on the note Do of your pitched percussion instrument.

So remember that rhythm goes ♪ Sagidi sagidi sapopo ♪ Try playing that rhythm on the note Do.

Pause the video now and give it a try.

Now that you've got used to playing that rhythm, we can experiment with different notes of the major pentachord to create a simple melody for our chant.

Choose just two notes from the major pentachord and try playing the rhythm between these two notes.

You can change between the notes at any time.

Pause the video now and give this a try.

We can make this melody longer by playing the rhythm twice.

This time, let's try adding a third note from the major pentachord to the melody when you play the rhythm a second time.

Pause the video now, and try playing it again.

Remember, you're playing the rhythm twice, and try using three notes from the major pentachord.

You can switch between them at any time, but keep that rhythm nice and steady.

Now you've played that rhythm a few times.

What you've actually been doing, to choose which pitches you were going to play, is improvising.

Now, when you improvise in music, you make up the music as you play and sing it.

Do you think that's true or false? The answer is true.

Improvising means making it up on the spot as you play.

You can be creative as you like and make up completely new melodies each time.

Now, let's try improvising a melody.

When you do this, you can start on any note in the major pentachord.

Play the rhythm four times to make the melody a bit longer.

Now, you can change notes at any time.

Try moving around the notes of the major pentachord, including in the middle of a phrase.

There are no wrong answers when you are improvising.

So, you may play something like: "Re, re, re, mi, mi, mi, do, so, mi," or it could be something totally different from that.

Watch this example of some improvising.

Notice that the player will move around the different notes of the major pentachord, changing often, and there are no wrong answers.

Once you've seen the example, pause this video and have a go at improvising yourself.

(bright music) (bright music continues) Now you've had a go at some improvising.

How did it go? When Jun was improvising, he said, "It was fun making up new melodies and knowing that there were no wrong answers!" Laura said, "It was hard to come up with a melody that didn't sound random." But Alex said, "Repeating the same rhythm gave my improvisation some structure." Who do you agree with? So in today's lesson on reading the five-note major pentachord scale, we've learned that musical notes can be written on a stave, which tells us the pitch of the notes.

The higher notes are higher up on the stave.

We learned that improvising means creating music in the moment using your voice or instruments, alone or with others.

We can add pitches to a rhythmic composition using improvisation, just like we did with "Sagidi Sagidi Sapopo." Well done for all your great playing and singing in today's lesson! I look forward to seeing you again next time.