Leicester-Shire Schools Music Service Unit 4 Pitch Year 5 In this unit, children listen to a wide range of music, including some pieces which are from the genre minimalism. These pieces act as inspiration for the children to compose their own short performances. The unit moves on by looking at a clip from Tom and Jerry where the children are tasked to create a short group piece which appropriately fits, represents and supports the clip. These performances are recorded and viewed back in order to inform self and peer assessment. Unit breakdown Lesson 1: In this lesson, children begin by learning the principles of how an orchestra is arranged by instruments and their sounds. They then begin exploring a range of junk style instruments, eventually placing them into categories based around the pitches of sound they can create. Lesson 2: In this lesson, children listen to Amazing Grace and learn about minor and major scales. They begin exploring these scales, using tuned instruments in small groups, to create short pieces which involve several parts. Lesson 3: In this lesson, children explore the genre, minimalism, by listening to In C by Terry Riley. Inspired by this piece, the children are then tasked to create there own motifs using body percussion. Working in groups, these motifs are combined to create short pieces. Lesson 4: In this lesson, children will build on their minimalism experience by listening to Steve Reich s Music for 18 Musicians. Children will then be tasked to create their own minimalistic piece, using a range of tuned and untuned instruments. Lesson 5: In this lesson, children will watch a clip from Tom and Jerry and they will use this to inspire the composition of their own graphical scores to fit the moving image. Children will discuss and compare ideas, thinking about how certain sounds, textures and pitches would fit certain parts of the clip. Lesson 6: In this lesson, children will perform their pieces to accompany the moving image. Children will then have opportunities to peer and self assess their work by watching back the recordings. Unit Outcomes Learning Outcomes I can begin to demonstrate increasing confidence, expression, skill and level of musicality through taking different roles in performance and rehearsal (playing a solo melody, group ostinato, conductor, evaluator, pulse keeper). I can begin to create music which demonstrates understanding of basic structure (focusing on contrasting pitches and melodies) and evaluate the choices made. I can begin to use a variety of musical devices, timbres, textures, techniques etc when creating and making music. I can listen and evaluate a range of live and recorded music from different traditions, genres, styles and times, responding appropriately through composition, discussion, mind map etc... I can begin to critique own and others work, offering specific comments and justifying these with musical examples and technical vocabulary.
Glossary and Acknowledgements Glossary Chord When three or more notes are played at the same time In this unit, children will explore pitch through singing Harmony nursery a combination rhymes, of using pitches their playing voice, simultaneously, using such tuned as a chord and un-tuned instruments and creating simple graphic scores to support Interval the difference between two pitches in semi-tones creating simple compositions. Throughout the unit, children Melodic will phrases be developing a musical sentence their skills - a succession to communicate of notes, varying in their pitch thoughts and feelings about the music they are creating and listening to. Motif a short musical idea to represent a mood or character in a piece of music Ostinato a repeated musical phrase or rhythm Pitch how high or low a note is Pulse the regular heartbeat of a piece, holding the core timing together in a song Rhythm the pattern of syllables or sounds played through time, formed by a series of notes Semitone half a tone (the smallest interval in Western Classical music) Scale a sequence of notes in either descending or ascending order Tempo the speed at which a piece of music is played Texture how the pitches and rhythms are combined, determining the overall quality of the sound in a piece of music Timbre - the quality or colour of sound that make one voice or instrument different from another. For example, timbre is what you hear when you decipher a piano from a guitar. 2
LO: To explore sound and the meaning of pitch Lesson 1 Play Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eab_beh07hu as the chn walk into the classroom. Give each pair / small group an envelope, each containing key questions (see teaching resources). Explain to the chn that they are going to be recapping their knowledge of sound. Chn to discuss key questions: How is sound made? Can sound travel through solids, liquids and gases? You could use a tuning folk in water to demonstrate how sound is created by vibrations and how these vibrations can travel through water. Can humans hear all sounds? Does sound travel in space? Are all sounds the same? Chn to write their responses on post-it notes. Discuss as a class. Explain to the chn that, throughout this unit, we are going to be learning about pitch. In pairs, chn to write down everything that they know about pitch. (They will do this again at the end of the unit and compare). What do we mean by pitch? Give chn some statements (see reacher resource 2). Ask chn to read all the definitions carefully and then sort them into statements that are about pitch and those that are not. Discuss as a class and then reveal the correct definition, reminding chn that pitch is how high or low a note is. A high sound has a high pitch and a low sound has a low pitch. Each group to play their instruments from low pitch to high pitch. Chn to write and complete a musical quiz for their friend to consolidate their learning in today s lesson about sound and pitch. Remind them to think about what they have learnt from the video clip from earlier. Teaching Resource 1, 2 and 3, tuning folk to demonstrate sound moving through water, post-it notes, tuned and untuned instruments, selection of junk object (crisp packets, plastic bottles, plastic / paper bags, coins, etc). Step 1 - Play Benjamin Britten s Young Person s Guide to the Orchestra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxepli40oek. Explain to the chn that they will need to identify some of the musical instruments that are being played and whether they are making a high pitch or a low pitch. Chn could write their responses using a table (see Tchr Resource 3). Share as a class. Step 2 - Chn to work in small groups. Each group to have a variety of objects that can be made to make a sound. For example: large and small saucepans to bang, bottles to tap or blow into, wind chimes to shake as well as some musical instruments, such as tambours or triangles. Chn to play their instruments and order them from low pitch to high pitch. This could be varied by using musical instruments (pitched and un-pitched). 3
Lesson 2 LO: To compose a piece of music based on the major or minor pentatonic scale Learn the song 1, 121 (available on Sing Up). Try Each group to perform their composition based on the pentatonic scale. choosing a number and giving it an action so whenever 2 stars and a wish: the chn sing that particular number, they do the action. Chn to assess each group s composition. You could then develop this so you replace the number completely and just do the action. A challenge could be to give a different action to each and every number. Recap with the chn what we learnt about pitch in our last session. What do we mean by the term pitch? Display the term Pentatonic scale somewhere in the classroom. Using post-it notes, chn to see if they can identify what the term might mean, drawing upon their Access to 1,121 song (available on Sing Up), tchr Resource 4, tuned prior knowledge of the term pent in relation to instruments (glockenspiel or xylophones). mathematics, and have a go at writing a definition. Share and discuss as a class. Step 1 - Share that a pentatonic scale is simply a sequence of five notes and that the two of the most common scales are: Pentatonic major, which can be played using the notes CDEGA. Pentatonic minor, which can be played using the notes ACDEG Display the pentatonic scales in the classroom for the chn to refer to (see Tchr Resource 4). Explain that a lot of folk songs and hymns are based on the pentatonic scale. Play a recording of Amazing Grace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atterd5bbnq. Give chn the opportunity to explore these scales on their tuned instruments (it can be helpful to remove the keys that are not needed, for example on a glockenspiel or xylophone or to sticker the keys that are needed, for example on a keyboard). What do you notice about the feel these different scales create? Discuss how the major pentatonic creates a happy sound whereas the pentatonic minor creates a sad sound. Step 2 - Divide the class into small groups of 4-6 chn and allocate appropriate instruments. Some groups will use the pentatonic major and the others with the pentatonic minor. In their group, the chn will need to have three different roles: the melody, the ostinato player and the drone player. The chn can double on these roles. The drone player should work with the lowest note of the pentatonic scale, perhaps also adding the fourth note of the scale. For those working with the pentatonic major, the notes will be C and G. For those working with the pentatonic minor, the notes will be A and E. As a class, generate a Composer s Toolbox (success criteria) for their composition. As a class, generate a Composer s Toolbox (success criteria) for their composition. They must use the notes of the pentatonic scale (either the notes of the pentatonic major or pentatonic minor, depending on which they are working with). There must be a melody, an ostinato and drone. The drone should work with the lowest note and fourth note of their pentatonic scale (either the pentatonic major or pentatonic minor). The different parts must fit together rhythmically. Chn to use Composer s Toolbox to support their compositions, as well as being aware of other musical devices (revised in the starter), such as timbre, texture, dynamics etc. 4
LO: To explore pitch through minimalism Lesson 3 Body percussion: Play a clip of a thunderstorm. Share ideas about how we could create these sounds with our bodies. For example, rubbing our palms together to create the sound of light rain or clicking our fingers to create the sound of dripping water from the trees above. Chn to then create a class thunderstorm using body percussion to represent the different sounds. Bring in each sound one at a time. Phone a friend: What were we learning about last lesson? Explain to the chn that we re going to listen to a piece of music. Chn to write down their responses to the music as they listen. Each group to perform their piece. Tchr to record the performances to watch at the beginning of last lesson. Exit slips: chn to hand the tchr their personal responses about the piece of music. Recording of a thunderstorm, Recording of In C by Terry Riley, Tchr Resource 5, Tuned instruments (glockenspiel or xylophones) Step 1 - Play a minute or so of In C by Terry Riley http://youtu.be/yni0bukyrna. Discuss as a class. Do you like the piece of music? Why/why not? How does the piece make us feel as the listener? Does the music remind us on anything in our everyday lives? What words can you use e to describe this piece of music? Chn to write their responses on a piece of paper which they ll then hand to the tchr at the end of the lesson (exit slips). Discuss how the piece of music starts with just one note of C, played over and over again in a steady rhythm. It has an almost hypnotic feel to it then, suddenly, other notes come in with a striking impact. Explain to the chn that over the next couple of lessons, we are going to be exploring a genre of music called Minimalism. Hand out the score of In C (see tchr resource 5). Give the chn an opportunity to see if they can have a go at playing any of the notes on tuned instruments (glockenspiel or xylophones). Explain how the score is made from 53 musical ideas. The musical names for these are motifs. As the piece progresses, the 53 motifs are played. This piece has been performed many times. Sometimes it s taken 20 minutes and sometimes as long as an hour and a half depending on how quickly the performers choose to play it. Listen to the first minute of the piece again, encouraging the chn to listen out for when the different motifs come in. Step 2 - In small groups, chn to compose a group of motifs (no more than 4) that they can then use to put together as a piece of music, using body percussion. Chn to record their motifs as a graphic score to support them. 5
LO: to explore pitch through minimalism Lesson 4 Listen to Music for 18 musicians by Steve Reich for a few minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5u9577n-dq How is this music similar to In C which we listened to last lesson? How is it different? Watch recording of chn s performances from last lesson. Explain to the chn that, today, they are going to be taking their ideas from last lesson and varying them so that they can add instruments. Each group to perform their piece. Chn to evaluate each others work, justifying their comments with musical examples and technical vocabulary. Tuned and untuned instruments. Step 1 - What are the features of Minimalism? Create a Composer s Toolkit for composing a piece of Minimalist music: Repetition note addition (where notes are added to a repeated phrase) Different rhythms Gradual changes in texture and dynamics In their groups, chn to change their musical ideas from last week so that they can be played by musical instruments (tuned and untuned). 6
LO: explore pitch through mimetic music Lesson 5 Play video clip from the cartoon Tom and Jerry. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctd7_vgvs-o Chn to mind map their responses to the music. What can they hear? What can they notice about the pitch?? What is the purpose of the music? Share responses as a class. Discuss how the music mimes what the characters are doing. The music is there instead of dialogue. Give chn a selection images (for example an ascending stair case, a cat pouncing on a mouse, someone slipping over). In groups, using their instruments, chn to have a go at creating a musical idea to go with each image. Share as a class. How have we used pitch to represent the image? For example, the chn will probably create an ascending scale to match the ascending stair case. Why? Chn to team up with another group and share their compositions so far. Selection of images for starter / input, resource handout, tuned and untuned instruments. Step 1 - Show chn a short video clip with no sound (Oktapodi, available on The Literacy Shed, would be a good example, although any video clip where there is lots of action would be suitable, including a different Tom and Jerry clip). https://www.literacyshed.com/the-funshed.html Explain to the chn that their task is to create music, similar to that of Tom and Jerry, to fit with this video. Screenshots of various parts of the clip would help the chn plan their musical ideas (see Tchr Resource 6). An ipad or laptop (with the sound turned off) would be useful per group so that they can refer to the video clip whilst composing. Chn to stick each screen shot in the middle of some paper. In their groups, chn to annotate the image with musical ideas which could include graphic scores and notation. 7
LO: To explore pitch through mimetic music Lesson 6 Phone a friend: What were we learning in our last lesson? Chn to get into their groups from last lesson. Play the video clip that the chn were using to compose their mimetic music last lesson. Chn to team up with another group and share and discuss their ideas. Each group to perform their piece along with the video clip. Compliments: using post-it notes, chn to write down a compliment about each group s performance, justifying their comments with musical examples and technical vocabulary. Everything you know: In pairs, chn to write down everything that they know about pitch. (They could then compare this with what they knew at the beginning of the unit). Short video clip used last lesson, each group s screenshots and notes / graphic scores, post-it notes, paper and pens for Everything you know. Step 1 - Chn to continue working on their compositions, creating music, to fit with the silent video. As they re rehearsing and performing, remind chn to be aware of other musical devices (revised in the starter), such as timbre, texture, dynamics etc. 8