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Lesson 4 of 6
  • Year 5

Reading and playing minor melodies

I can read and play minor melodies on tuned percussion.

Lesson 4 of 6
New
New
  • Year 5

Reading and playing minor melodies

I can read and play minor melodies on tuned percussion.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Stave notation can tell us the rhythm and pitch of a melody, which we can use to help us perform it accurately.
  2. We can work out the rhythms and pitches using takadimi and solfège note names.
  3. We can add to the texture of our music by using a drone as an accompaniment.

Keywords

  • Stave - lines on which musical notes can be placed

  • Texture - the combination of different layers of sounds

  • Accompaniment - musical ideas that support the main melody

  • Drone - a constant, pitched sound that continues throughout a piece of music

Common misconception

We can play a melody quickly when we are learning it.

It's always better to start slow, then speed up when confidence is built.


To help you plan your year 5 music lesson on: Reading and playing minor melodies, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Pupils can work in pairs to play the melody and drone at the same time. This is a good opportunity for differentiation. Confident students may try doing both parts themselves.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Class set of pitched percussion instruments.

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

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

4 Questions

Q1.
What solfège note name does this hand symbol represent?

An image in a quiz
La
Ti
Do
Re
Correct answer: Mi

Q2.
When learning a piece of music it's best to...

try and play it full speed straight away.
Correct answer: start slow and try and speed up when you're confident.
not use the written notes, just try and work it out in your head.

Q3.
In music, a drone is...

an ascending melody.
a melody with a minor tonality.
Correct answer: a single repeating note played over and over again.
a loud melody.

Q4.
This melody is...

An image in a quiz
Correct answer: descending
ascending
loud
happy

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

4 Questions

Q1.
Which two notes are shown in this melody?

An image in a quiz
Do and mi
Correct answer: La and do
Re and ti
Mi and so

Q2.
What is the last note of this melody?

An image in a quiz
La
Ti
Correct answer: Do
Re
Mi

Q3.
What does musical texture mean?

how high or low the music is
how fast or slow the music is
Correct answer: how many layers the music has
whether a song is major or minor

Q4.
The accompaniment is...

the main melody
the rhythm of the notes
the pitch of the notes
Correct answer: the musical ideas in the background