Building texture with a melodic ostinato
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Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can accompany a major tonality song with a melodic ostinato.
Key learning points
- Folk songs can be accompanied or unaccompanied.
- An ostinato can be rhythmic or melodic.
- Adding an ostinato underneath a song adds another layer of sound to the texture of the piece.
- We need to consider the dynamic balance when adding accompaniments to songs.
Keywords
Beat - the playing or showing of the steady pulse, like the ticking of a clock
Texture - the combination of different layers of sounds
Melodic ostinato - a repeating musical pattern that uses notes of differing pitch
Accompaniment - a musical part that supports the main melody or chant
Major pentachord - the first five notes of the major scale: do, re, mi, fa, so
Common misconception
Playing loudly shows we are playing confidently.
We want to encourage pupils to understand the importance of balancing their sound and that playing or singing loudly does not mean it is more confident or more correct.
Teacher tip
The more time spent exploring the pitch of the ostinato with pitch actions, followed by hand signs, followed by singing and signing, the more successful pupils will be when given an instrument to play it on.
Equipment
Pitched percussion, notes F, A, C', e.g. percussion tubes, chime bars, glockenspiels, hand bells or xylophones.
Licence
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