Improvising a major pentatonic melody
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Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can create stylistic improvisations using the major pentatonic scale and dotted rhythms (Ta-mi).
Key learning points
- Improvising is creating music in the moment, alone or with others.
- We can improvise actions to songs, new lyrics and responses, rhythms and melodies.
- Improvising allows us to freely explore and try out musical ideas, and to respond to these in the moment.
- The notes of the major pentatonic scale are do, re, mi, so, la.
- Ta-mi is a one-beat dotted pattern that consisting of a longer duration note followed by a shorter duration note.
Keywords
Folk song - a song that originates from a particular country, culture or people that is usually passed down orally
Note - a single sound in music
Major pentatonic scale - the five tones, do, re, mi, so and la arranged in an ascending or descending order
Improvise - to create music in the moment, using the voice or instruments, alone or with others
Melody - a combination of notes to make a memorable tune
Common misconception
Improvising is music created solely on the spot.
Musicians might not know exactly what they are going to do, but they are building on and working from a bank of known ideas and motifs that they can draw upon, use and adapt.
Teacher tip
Make pupils know and believe that improvising need not be tricky. It can be a simple as changing one word or choosing one action. Allow them plenty of time to explore and share musical ideas on pitched percussion.
Equipment
Pitched percussion e.g. glockenspiel or xylophone. Ideally one each, but one-between-two is possible.
Licence
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