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- Year 7
Folk dance and the minor scale
I can describe some common features of European and Russian folk dance and can perform the melody of Korobeiniki.
- Year 7
Folk dance and the minor scale
I can describe some common features of European and Russian folk dance and can perform the melody of Korobeiniki.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- Many folk music traditions use music for dance, including for celebrations like marriages and harvest.
- Like most dance music, folk dance needs a clear pulse, suitable tempo and repeated rhythms.
- Korobeiniki is a Russian folk song often used for dancing, that was famously used for the video game Tetris.
- It includes four-bar phrases, dotted crotchets and it is based on a minor scale.
- The music repeats and uses repeat marks in the notation to show this.
Keywords
Minor scale - a set of seven notes in a minor key
Dotted crotchet - a note that lasts for one and half beats
Phrase - a short section of a melody, normally lasting 1, 2 or 4 bars
Repeat mark - a symbol at the end (and also often start) of a section that tells the performer to repeat it
Common misconception
Hand positions should only change at the start of new phrases.
This depends entirely on what notes are used. Sometimes, like in Korobeiniki, it is more useful to change hand position during a phrase. When doing this, we should always practise making it seamless, so there is no obvious change in sound.
To help you plan your year 7 music lesson on: Folk dance and the minor scale, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 7 music lesson on: Folk dance and the minor scale, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
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Explore more key stage 3 music lessons from the Folk songs from around the world unit, dive into the full secondary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
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