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2.4 Melody
Creative Arts and Sports · Grade 8 · 10 lessons in the design
What this covers
- Question and answer phrases in a melody
- Extending a melody by exact repetition and varied repetition
- Four-bar melodies in G major and 3/4 time; intervals not exceeding a perfect/major 4th
- Phrase marks; performing simple pieces in G major
- Kenyan call-and-response folk melody as a model for question and answer
What you will be able to do
- describe methods of creating a melody
- compose a 2-bar answering phrase to a given 2-bar opening phrase
- compose a 4-bar melody in G major
- perform simple pieces of music in G major
- value the use of melody in Creative Arts and Sports
Key questions
“How can a melody be extended to make it interesting?”
Lessons
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Melody in G major and 3/4
40 min · 1 practice tasks · quizA Grade 8 melody uses G major pitches and 3/4 grouping; sing the scale, then a tiny tune that starts on d, m or s.
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Question and answer phrases
40 min · 1 practice tasks · quizA question phrase sounds unfinished; an answer replies and usually ends on G; two plus two bars make four.
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Kenyan call and response as melody shape
40 min · 1 practice tasks · quizCall-and-response folk singing models question and answer; use the shape in G major without stealing sacred songs.
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Exact repetition
40 min · 1 practice tasks · quizExact repetition copies a phrase so the melody grows by saying the same thing again; useful, but can feel static.
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Varied repetition
40 min · 1 practice tasks · quizVaried repetition keeps the idea but changes a pitch, rhythm or ending so the four-bar melody becomes more interesting.
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Intervals not beyond a 4th
40 min · 1 practice tasks · quizKeep melodic leaps within a 2nd, 3rd or 4th in G major so the line stays singable.
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Compose a 2-bar answering phrase
40 min · 1 practice tasks · quizWrite an original 2-bar answer in G major 3/4 to a given 2-bar opening, using small intervals and a close on d.
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A four-bar G major melody with phrase marks
40 min · 1 practice tasks · quizNotate a complete 4-bar melody in G major and 3/4 with question, answer, small intervals and phrase marks.
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Sight-sing a given G major piece
40 min · 1 practice tasks · quizSight-sing a short given melody in G major and 3/4, using phrase marks and a count-in, before performing your own composition.
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Perform and value melody in G major
40 min · 1 practice tasks · quizPerform the 4-bar G major pieces, give kind feedback, and say why melody matters in Creative Arts and Sports.