Unit 7: C MAJOR, MAJOR AND MINOR SCALES

Music:

  • Students will be able to notate C major scale on the staff. (We Shall Over Come, Water Canon) (Pr4.2)
  • Students will perform with others, with expression, technical accuracy, and appropriate interpretation. (Water Canon) (Pr6.1)
  • Students will compare and provide feedback to evaluate the accuracy and expressiveness of the round. (Water Canon) (Pr 5.1)

SEL:

The focuses of this unit are to guide students to explore self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

HĀ: #2 e, g & h - Strengthened Sense of Responsibility; #5-Strengthened Sense of Total Well-being

  • Students will discover how harmony in music can create a harmonious atmosphere among human beings. 
  • Students will be able to discover the relationship among individuals; how role-playing can contribute to making harmony and beautiful performance and lessen stress. When individuals manage their roles appropriately, they will accomplish the task.

 

FOCUS KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS SONGS/CHANTS/BOOKS

SCALE

 

FORM

 

TONALITIES

  • Notate notes in C major scale. 
  • Identify same and different phrases, melodic contour.
  • Expose to Major and Minor scales
  • We shall overcome
  • Water Canon

Major Scale

Major scale

  • What is the first note in mm 9 of We shall overcome? (high do)

  • In music, contour means the "shape and direction" of the melody, which is the shape/direction going up (ascending), going down (descending), or up and down (random directions).

  • Does the melody's contour ascend (going up) or descend (going down)? (descend)

  • You have learned do-pentatonic scale. Can you identify the solfege of all the notes, except those with red circles? (do - ? - la - so - la - so - ? - mi)

  • In a major scale, the solfege of ti is between do' and la, and fa is between so and mi. Can you sing mm 9-12 with hand signs and solfege, then sing the lyrics?

For teacher's reference, below is the score of the piece:

Music - Scale:  

A scale is the collection of notes that are used in a song, arranged in order from the lowest to the highest note. It's kind of like the alphabet for music: you learn the alphabet by learning in order from A to Z. In music, a common scale is the C major scale. We would start with the note C, then D, E, F, G. There is no note H in music, so we would then continue to A, B, then start with C again.

 

When you read a book, the author will use those same letters to form words, sentences, and paragraphs by using them in different order and repeating any letter as many times as she wants. Similarly in music, a composer can use the notes of a scale in different orders and/or repeating notes to create melodies.

 

In music, there are different types of scales that are used. Two very common ones are Major and Minor scales (below are some examples, show and explain some - train their ears).

  • Major scale: Probably the scale that most songs you know are based on. Examples include Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Star Spangled Banner (National Anthem), Hawai‘i Pono‘i, and London Bridge is Falling Down. 
  • Minor Scale: Not as common, but a minor scale is a collection of notes often associated with darker sounds. Examples include the theme to Harry Potter, theme of Hawaii Five-O, Prince Ali from Disney's Aladdin, Für Elise.
SEL: Self Awareness

 

  • Why do some songs "sound" like major or minor? Open discussion with the students (STANDARD)
  • When cleaning your room, would you rather listen to a song in a major or a minor key? Why do you think that would be helpful when cleaning your room?
  • When you are sad because your dog is lost, would you rather listen to a song in a major or minor key? How would that song comfort your emotions?
  • If you watch a scary movie, would the background music be major or minor? How would that help the movie to feel suspenseful?

C major scale

Starting from the first note, which is C, students fill in the rest of the note names.
In the key of C, C is the tonic, and the solfège of C is “do.” Students fill in the solfège of the C major scale.

From do to do', this is a major scale. When a song ends on do, which is also called the tonic, the song is in a major scale. 

Now, let's go back to Activity #1 and watch the Do-Re-Mi video again. Pay attention to the scale. When the children in this movie sang do re mi fa so la to do, they sang in a major scale.

Water Canon, procedures:
Phrase 1:

  1. What is the key of this song? (C) What is the first solfege? (Do)
  2. What is the contour of the melody in mm 1-4. (Descending)
  3. Sing and hand sign this phrase.

 Phrase 2:

  1. What is the first solfege of this line? (Mi) What rhythms do you see? (Ta, Ti-Ti, Ta-a)
  2. Sing and hand sign mm 5-6.
  3. What happens at the beginning of mm 7? Sing Do to Do’. In music, if there is a huge skip/jump, for example, from do to do', re to re', mi to mi', etc., we call it an octave apart.
  4. Sing and hand sign mm 7-8.

 Phrase 3:

  1. What do you notice about the first half of this line? (All the same) What is the solfege? (So)
  2. Sing and hand sign mm 9-10.
  3. Is the second half of this line the same or different? (Different)
  4. Sing and hand sign mm 11-12.

 Phrase 4:

  1. What solfege do we start with for this line? (Do)
  2. Sing and hand sign mm 13-14.
  3. What rhythms do we need for this last part? (Ta, Ti-ti)
  4. Sing and hand sign mm 15-16.
  5. What do we call it when we start with Do and work our way up to high Do’? (Scale)
  6. Direct attention to Repeat Sign (Eggs and Bacon) - Teacher instructs how to navigate the repeat.

 Put it all together

  1. Sing through the whole song using solfege syllables and hand signs.
  2. Sing using the words with the repeat.

Bonus activities:

Students explore:

  • Create movements for each phrase that could also be performed in canon.
  • Sing while walking the melodic rhythm.
  • Sing while walking the scale.
SEL: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, & Relationship Skills

HĀ: #3-Strengthened Sense of Excellence; #5 b & d -Strengthened Sense of Total Well-being

  • What emotions does this song make you feel?
  • How does the contour of the song match the words?
  • (If you perform it as a canon) How did your group perform its role? Did you stay together? Could you hear where the other groups were in the song as you sang?
  • If your group is having trouble staying together, what are some strategies we could try to improve the group performance?
  • How does it change the experience if you sing the song in unison verses in a round?
     Why is it crucial to stay together when singing in canon?  
  • When you sang in front of the audience, were you scared? How can we, as a team, including the teacher, create a safe environment to perform and encourage a growth mindset with this skill? (Self-awareness-identifying one’s emotions, having a growth mindset)
  • Who can share a strategy for making performing “less scary?” How can we support our classmates during events like this?

Mahalo for feedback and suggestions from Katherine Alarcio, Janice Boychuk, Holly Cowdery, Lauren Fagaragan, and Kevin Morita.

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