- Year 10
- OCR
Texture in pop ballads
I can identify and recreate some idiomatic ways to develop chordal textures.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
- Year 10
- OCR
Texture in pop ballads
I can identify and recreate some idiomatic ways to develop chordal textures.
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
- Songwriters use various techniques to develop their chord sequences, including voicings and broken chords.
- The voicings of a chord can change how it sounds and create added interest.
- Chords can also be made to sound more melodic through the addition of passing notes.
- Songwriters develop the texture in pop ballads through the use of orchestral instruments, voices and synthesisers.
Keywords
Broken chord - A broken chord is a chord in which the notes are not all played at the same time.
Block chord - A block chord is a chord in which the notes are played together, at the same time.
Voicing - The voicing of a chord is the way that the notes are spread out on an instrument.
Passing note - A passing note is a non-chord note that provides a melodic link between two chord notes.
Arco - Arco is the technique of playing a string instrument with a bow.
Common misconception
Changing the voicing of a chord is the same as changing the chord inversion.
They are not the same thing. The inversion of the chord is determined by which note is at the bottom (the root or a different note). The voicing is how the notes are spread above this - whether they are close together or far apart.
To help you plan your year 10 music lesson on: Texture in pop ballads, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 10 music lesson on: Texture in pop ballads, 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 4 music lessons from the Extending understanding of pop music: pop ballads and modern pop unit, dive into the full secondary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
DAW and MIDI keyboard
Licence
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