Myths about teaching can hold you back
- Year 9
Writing an instrumental melody
I can create an instrumental melody for my chorus through improvisation.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
- Year 9
Writing an instrumental melody
I can create an instrumental melody for my chorus through improvisation.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- When writing a melody, we need to use a phrase structure that balances repetition and contrast.
- Some of the most popular phrase structures that achieve this balance are AABB, AABA, ABAB and ABAC.
- The A minor scale is a set of notes that uses only the white notes on the piano.
- This is the simplest minor key to compose in.
Keywords
Phrase - A phrase is a short section of a melody, normally lasting for two or four bars.
Phrase structure - The phrase structure is the pattern of phrases in a melody. It should have a balance of repetition and contrast.
A minor scale - The A minor scale is a set of notes starting on A, that uses only the white notes on the keyboard.
Common misconception
Not everyone can write a good melody.
Writing a melody is just like writing a paragraph. Break it into small chunks (phrases). If you are finding it difficult to create a phrase, keep it simple and start by just improvising using 2 or 3 notes.
To help you plan your year 9 music lesson on: Writing an instrumental melody, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 9 music lesson on: Writing an instrumental melody, 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.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom.
Explore more key stage 3 music lessons from the The sound of 90s grunge unit, dive into the full secondary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
A DAW or other suitable compositional tool or instrument.
Licence
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