Pitch & The Recorder Year 7 Music CLANCY CATHOLIC COLLEGE CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTS FACULTY 1
PITCH & THE RECORDER Aural Activity 1. This music is from which culture? a) Aboriginal b) Chinese c) American Indian d) South Africa 2. This excerpt contains a rhythmic pulse: True / False 3. The best word to describe the quality of the voice is: a) Nasal c) Breathy b) Warm d) Harsh 4. The rhythmic pulse in this excerpt is provided by the: a) Voice c) Claves b) Didgeridoo d) Cello 5. This excerpt also contains an ostinato. The ostinato is played on: a) Voice c) Claves b) Didgeridoo d) Cello 6.Graphically notate the pitch of the didgeridoo. P I T C H TIME 7. What do you notice about the pitch of the didgeridoo? A drone is a note of fixed pitch repeated throughout a piece. A drone will often play a repeated rhythm (ostinato). 2
Melody descend higher low also notes Pitch describes how or high a note is played. A melody is an organised series of notes played one after another. This is called a tune. A melody can either ascend (get ) in pitch or (get lower) in pitch. It may also contain repeated. 3
Melodic Contour Contour refers to a melody s shape. In terms of pitch, melodies can either: Stay on the same note Ascend Descend Melodic Movement Movement refers to the distances between the notes. In terms of the way melodies can move, they can either: Stay on the same note Move by step Move by a leap Activity Small notes distance leap The shape of a melody is called contour. Changes in pitch can occur by moving by step or by. Stepwise movement is where the distance between two notes is. A large between two notes is known as a leap. The distance between is called an interval. Use the information above to complete these sentences 1. Complete the following sentences: a) How high or low a note is can be defined as b) Pitch direction can either c) Intervals between notes in a melody can be d) Contour describes 4
The Staff or Stave Notes are written on the stave or staff. The staff tells us how high or low a sound is. A staff is made from 5 lines with 4 spaces between them. Notes are written on the line or spaces. The lower the note is, the closer it is to the bottom of the staff. The higher the note is, the closer to the top of the staff. The following sounds are gradually moving up, and are therefore, gradually rising in pitch. Short lines are added above or below the staff when notes are too high or low for the staff itself. These are called ledger lines. Note Names A clef is a symbol placed at the beginning of every stave. It is used to indicate the exact pitch of a particular note. An example of a treble clef can be seen on the right. The treble clef is used for instruments with a high register. That is, instruments that play high notes. 1. Practice drawing a line of treble clefs below: 5
The following stave uses the treble clef. As a result, each note on the stave has a particular name. 2. Note the direction of the stems (lines attached to notes): Below B in the middle of the staff the stem goes up / down and to the left / right of the note. Above B in the middle of the staff, the stem goes up / down and to the left / right of the note. The stem of B in the middle of the staff can go either up or down. A simple way of remembering the name of the notes on the treble staff are the following rhymes: Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit F A C E LINE NOTES SPACE NOTES Exercise 6
Aural Quiz List the order in which the following short melodies incorporating crotchets are played. Aural Quiz List the order in which the following short melodies incorporating minims and semibreves are played. 7
How to hold the recorder 8
Recorder This is how to play the note G on the recorder. Each circle represents a hole in the recorder Holes coloured black show you which holes need to be The line tells you where you swap hands Holes coloured white are to be left uncovered Performance Activity Play through each of the following drones on the note G on the recorder. 9
Notes on the Recorder 10
The Note G We have already learnt to play the note G on the recorder. Practice drawing the note G on the second line of the stave as a semibreve, minim, crotchet and quaver. Be careful of your stem direction! Here is a tune to play using G. Practice playing it now. The Note E The next note that we will learn to play on the recorder is E. It is lower in pitch than G. Practice drawing the note E on the first line of the stave as a semibreve, minim, crotchet and quaver. Be careful of your stem direction! Here is a melody to play using G and E. Practice playing it now. 11
The Note A The next note that we will learn to play on the recorder is A. It is higher in pitch than G and E. Practice drawing the note A on the second space of the stave as a semibreve, minim, crotchet and quaver. Be careful of your stem direction! Here are some melodies to play using G and A. Practice playing each of the melodies below. Lucy Locket 12
The Note B The next note that we will learn to play on the recorder is B. Practice drawing the note B on the middle line of the stave as a semibreve, minim, crotchet and quaver. Be careful of your stem direction! Play through the following melody using G, A and B. Now it is your turn to compose! Fill in the missing beats in the bars below using G, A, B and E. Remember to use a variety of different rhythms to make it sound interesting. Dotted Notes 13
Anacrusis This is where apiece of music does not begin on the first beat of the bar, but begins with an upbeat. To balance this, the last bar of the piece is incomplete to make up for the extra beat which comes at the start. The main reason for an anacrusis is to avoid an accent on a note which the composer wants as a weak beat. Dance Tune Standing in the Need Negro Spiritual 14
Performance Pieces - G, A and B 15
The Note D The next note that we will learn to play on the recorder is low D. Can a Parrot? Practice drawing the note D below the first line of the stave as a semibreve, minim, crotchet and quaver. Be careful of your stem direction! Old McDonald 16
Performance Pieces - G, A, B and C 17
Performance Pieces - G, A, B, C and D 18