Myths about teaching can hold you back
- Year 11
- OCR
Identifying intervals
I can accurately identify a range of intervals by ear and notate them.
- Year 11
- OCR
Identifying intervals
I can accurately identify a range of intervals by ear and notate them.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.
These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Identifying intervals is key to melodic dictation.
- We can use reference melodies to help us identify specific intervals by comparing the interval to the specific melody.
- We also need to consider whether an interval is ascending or descending.
- Once we have worked out the interval, we can notate it by drawing it on the stave next to the given starting note.
Keywords
Interval - An interval is the distance in pitch between two notes (e.g. a 5th).
Semitone - A semitone is the smallest interval in most Western music (e.g. C to C#).
Tone - A tone (also called a major second) is an interval of two semitones (e.g. C to D).
Common misconception
Singing is only useful for singers.
When identifying intervals, singing is incredibly useful, even for those who aren't confident singers. Hearing the intervals back through singing or humming allows us to compare them to the reference melodies. Without this, it is much harder.
To help you plan your year 11 music lesson on: Identifying intervals, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 11 music lesson on: Identifying intervals, 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. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 music lessons from the Listening: dictation unit, dive into the full secondary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of these is an example of an interval?
Q2.Which of these intervals is largest?
Q3.A conjunct melody can only use semitones and __________.
Q4.Which is larger – a tone or a semitone?
Q5.Which two of these intervals could be included in a disjunct melody?
Q6.Is this melody disjunct or conjunct?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which reference melody could we use to identify a fifth?
Q2.Which reference melody could we use to identify a tone?
Q3.Which reference melody could we use to identify a fourth?
Q4.What interval is this?
Q5.What interval is this?
Q6.What interval is this?
