Y2. Lesson 18. Practising the major pentatonic scale

Students practise and develop their understanding of the major pentatonic scale.

By the end of this lesson, students will have:

Students demonstrate their understanding of the major pentatonic scale through aural and visual activities.

Prior learning: Major pentatonic scale

Duration: 30 minutes

Materials:

Keywords: Beat, rhythm, singing, chanting, partners, rhymes, circle games.

Difficulty:

Prepare

Present

Practise

Major pentatonic scale

Students discover the pentatonic scale in a known song.

Project the score on the board.
Lead the class in singing Pumpkin and sequentially point to the notes on the board as you do so.
When secure, ask the class what is the lowest note in the song. [do]
Ask what the highest note is. [la]
Sing again and use hand signs.
Ask the class how many different hand signs did they see. [5]
Sing again using solfa and ask the class to repeat after you.
Teach that these five notes make up the pentatonic scale.

Students learn how rhythms are played on a Ghanan log drum.

Performed by Odai, from Hello Africa

Distribute untuned percussion instruments to the class.
Play the short video of the musician explaining how sounds are made on a log drum.
When finished, ask students what they discovered.
Discuss what the drum was made from [log] and why there are parts that are hollow [to make the sound]. What material was used at the end of the drumstick? [rubber]
Project the rhythm pattern graphic.
The graphic is for illustrative purposes only; any suitable unturned percussion instruments may be used.
Divide the class into three groups and show each group the pattern they will play on their instrument.
Begin with the group who will play crotchets.
When secure, add the ti-ti ta rhythm from the second group.
Finally, add the quaver rhythm from the third group.

Students sing and dance to this classic classroom song.

Students form a circle, with one or more individuals positioned within the circle's centre.
The circular formation moves and sings the initial two lines of the verse.
Following this, they come to a halt, allowing the player or players at the centre to each select a partner who joins them inside the circle.
Holding hands, the newly formed pairs dance around to sing the concluding two lines of the verse.
The last lines are 'Yes I know the Muffin Man, the Muffin Man, the Muffin Man' x 2

Questions

Students listen and respond to solfa pitch patterns.

Students are seated and attentive.
Begin by singing the major pentatonic and using hand signs.
Play the first track from the audio player and ask students to sing the second time you play it.
Ask students what the solfa pattern is.
Ask them to use hand signs.
Repeat with each of the subsequent tracks, which are in ascending order of difficulty.

Students write the major pentatonic scale starting on lines and spaces.

Project the first score of the major pentatonic starting on a line. [in G]
Lead students in singing the scale.
When secure, ask the class to write the first scale in their notebooks, including the solfa. Draw attention to the fact that it starts on a line.
Remind students that the pattern starting from do is step, step, skip, step.
Teach that do can also sit in a space.
Ask students to draw the second scale in their notebooks, starting with do in a space.

Students discover how to play the first eight bars of a known classroom song.

Distribute tuned percussion instruments. In this exercise, xylophones are chosen.
Divide the class into two groups.
Demonstrate the melody of the first eight bars of the song to the first group.
When secure, demonstrate the simple accompaniment to the second group.
Conduct the two groups and monitor the class performance, offering gentle guidance where appropriate.
The song's second half is shown in the next lesson [19].