New
New
Lesson 5 of 6
  • Year 5

Composing and notating a minor melody

I can compose and notate a stylistic minor melody.

Lesson 5 of 6
New
New
  • Year 5

Composing and notating a minor melody

I can compose and notate a stylistic minor melody.

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. We can compose rhythms by selecting and arranging takadimi patterns.
  2. We can compose melodies by selecting pitches from the minor scale and assigning these to our composed rhythm.
  3. Effective melodies move mostly by step, with some leaps.
  4. We can use question and answer phrases to structure our melodies.

Keywords

  • Composition - a new piece of music that has been created

  • Improvisation - creating new musical ideas on the spot

  • Steps and leaps - melodies can move up or down one note at a time (steps) or jump up or down several notes (leaps)

  • Question and answer - a melody is often structured with a phrase that sounds like a question and an answering phrase

Common misconception

When composing, choosing a wide variety of complicated rhythms is more exciting than using simpler ones.

When starting composing it's often good to use mostly simpler rhythms, and to make use of repetition.


To help you plan your year 5 music lesson on: Composing and notating a minor melody, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Pupils can use a ruler to draw out their stave, or could have one pre-printed.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Class set of pitched percussion instrument, pencils, rulers.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Loading...

Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

4 Questions

Q1.
What does composing mean?

To perform a piece of music
To listen to and understand a piece of music
To read music
Correct answer: To create music

Q2.
What does improvising mean?

Reading musical notation
Creating and refining music
Correct answer: Making up music on the spot
Playing a challenging piece of music

Q3.
What is the first note of the minor pentachord?

Correct answer: La
Ti
Do
Re
Mi

Q4.
How would you describe this rhythm?

An image in a quiz
Takadimi ta takadimi ta
Correct answer: Ta-mi ta ta-mi ta
Ta-di ta ta-di ta
Takadi ta-mi takadi ta-mi

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

4 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following would make a good rhythmic composition?

It should be really long
It should be complicated to make sure it's interesting
It should use lots of different types of rhythms
Correct answer: It should be simple and use repetition

Q2.
Which of the following would most likely make a good melodic composition?

Using mostly leaps in the melody.
Using as many different notes as possible
Correct answer: Using mostly steps in the melody.

Q3.
What is meant by a question and answer phrase?

Correct answer: A melody that ascends at the start, and descends at the end.
A melody that keeps ascending.
A melody that repeats exactly.

Q4.
What is the name of the lines on which musical notes are placed?

Symbol
Correct answer: Stave
Structure
Solfège