Building texture with a minor accompaniment
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Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can accompany a minor 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.
- Beats are organised into groups. Rise Up O Flame is in 3-time.
Keywords
Unison - the same tune sung or played at the same time
Accompaniment - a musical part that supports the main melody or chant
Melodic ostinato - a repeating musical pattern that uses notes of differing pitch
Minor pentachord - the first five notes of the minor scale: la, ti, do, re, mi
3-time - the organisation and feel of the beats as strong-weak-weak
Common misconception
We always count to four in music.
Beats can be grouped or organised in any number. 4-time is common, but beats can be organised in an any number with 2, 3, 4 being common and 5, 7 less common.
Teacher tip
Encourage pupils to can tap the beat with a feeling for the metre (3-time here), and to sing, sign and understand the shape of the ostinato, before practising with instruments.
Equipment
Pitched percussion, notes D, F, A, e.g. percussion tubes, chime bars, glockenspiels, hand bells or xylophones.
Licence
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