4.1 Copying A Melody
Objectives
Musical:
Learn the building blocks of a melody: pitch and rhythm.
Introduction to syncopation, repetition, space, and duration.
Technical:
How to add notes in the piano roll.
How to adjust the duration of notes in the piano roll.
Procedure
As a Class:
Watch the top video and discuss the building blocks of melody. Ask the students for examples of either folk songs, nursery rhymes, or Disney songs that they remember from childhood. Listen to and/or sing some of these melodies and have students draw the shape of the melody on paper.
Complete some of the connection activities to build confidence and understanding of the material.
Watch the longer step videos and have the class copy the first bar of the melody together. Walk around and/or have students check each other to make sure that the grid is set up correctly, that students are using the light-colored spaces, and that the rhythms are correct.
Individual:
Instruct students to copy and paste the assignment URL from their LMS to open the Soundtrap assignment on their own devices.
Have students watch the short step videos and complete the copy the melody project.
Remind students to check their work by viewing the checklist.
When students are done, they can show each other their melodies and work on the enrichment activity.
Assessment
Informal Assessment:
Check for understanding by asking questions between the class viewings of the step videos.
Walk around the room while students are completing the individual portion of their projects and check to see if their grid is correct, if the notes are in the correct range, and if the pitches and rhythms are correct.
Formal Assessment:
The completed projects can be graded by the instructor against the rubric. Students can also present their melodies to each other in small groups or to the entire class.
Connection Activities:
Piano Roll History
Watch THIS VIDEO of a player piano being loaded and playing "The Entertainer" and THIS VIDEO of how a player piano works. Discuss how the player piano existed before radios, record players, and TV. It was the first form of recorded music used at home. Ask students how the pitch of notes is changed and how the rhythm of notes is changed in a player piano roll.
Quick Copy
Prepare one bar of the piano roll with a ¼ grid size. Instruct students to make their grid size the same. Write a melody on the board in the piano roll and have students copy it. Make it a game and see who can copy the one-bar melody the quickest. Break students into small groups and have one student be the composer while the rest are the copiers. Have the composer create a melody and let the copiers try to recreate the melody on their devices as quickly as possible.
Melody Doctor
Warm up by showing students two bars of a melody. The second bar should be almost the same as the first with a few alterations. Have students find the differences. Next, create a one to two-bar melody in the piano roll that either has notes with accidentals (dark spaces), doesn’t have space, and/or repetition. Give students an opportunity to copy the melody and fix it by changing the pitch, adding space, and/or repetition.
On-The-Beat Off-The-Beat Call And Response With Leg Tapping
Warm up by having everyone tap the steady beat on their laps. Create a call and response chant that is all on the beat, then all off the beat. Mix up on-the-beat and off-the-beat rhythms and have students repeat it back in time. Listen to student or teacher-directed songs while participants tap the steady beat on their laps and have them find instances of on-the-beat melodies and off-the-beat melodies together.
Differentiation
Enrichment:
Students can create another melody or try to recreate one of the folk, nursery rhyme, or Disney melodies that were used in the introduction of the unit. This is a great opportunity for them to work on the connection from their ear to the piano roll.
Remediation:
If there are students that are struggling with the pitch or rhythm in the melody, shorten the assignment in half. These students also do not have to complete the last step where they make the melody their own.
Notes:
Making the connection between a student's ears and the piano roll takes time. Any extra practice they have in seeing, hearing, and iterating in the piano roll is going to strengthen this connection. Highlight students who are actively working on this connection and note incremental changes in struggling students. There will be some who excel in using the piano roll and some who struggle with it. Sometimes, it is the students who are strong at sequencing drums, bass, and chords who have trouble. Remind them that working in the piano roll is a skill that takes time to develop and is similar to learning a new language. With enough practice, they will be able to hear what they see.