How can you compose a countermelody?
Lesson details
Key learning points
- In this lesson, we will explore countermelodies by listening to and performing 'Swing low, sweet chariot' before composing a countermelody for it.
Licence
This content is made available by Oak National Academy Limited and its partners and licensed under Oak’s terms & conditions (Collection 1), except where otherwise stated.
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5 Questions
Q1.
Balanced melodies usually have...
A 4 bar question and an 8 bar answer.
Different bar lengths for the question and answer.
Q2.
Which musical period favoured balanced phrases?
20th Century
Contemporary
Q3.
Which is the most common phrase length?
15 bars
7 bars
Q4.
When composing a melody, which pitch should your question end on?
Subdominant
Tonic
Q5.
When composing a melody, which pitch should your answer end on?
Dominant
Subdominant
5 Questions
Q1.
What is a countermelody?
The main melody in a piece of music
Two melodies
Q2.
Finish the sentence, 'A countermelody is played...'
After the main melody
Before the main melody
Q3.
Which scale did we use to perform 'Swing low'
A major pentatonic scale
G major pentatonic scale
Q4.
What did 'Swing low' end on?
Dominant
Subdominant
Q5.
Where did we play our countermelodies on the keyboard so they could be heard with the main melody?
The middle of the keyboard
The right hand side of the keyboard