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Lesson 1

Making music visible - first steps towards notation

1
create music
in groups
2
play music
in groups
3
talk about music
whole class

Preparation

Print materials (for the entire series):

Additional materials:

  • Melody instruments
  • Blank DIN-A4 sheets

Activity 1

Create music
Group work
20 min.
Melody instruments e.g. glockenspiels, keyboards, xylophones (1 per group)
blank DIN A4 sheet (1 per group)

The class is divided into groups of 3.

Task:

Together with your group, create a short piece of music on your instrument (approx. 8 notes). Write it down so that another group can play it.

Activity 2

Making music
Group work
10 min.
Melody instruments e.g. glockenspiels, keyboards, xylophones (1 per group)

Task:

Swap your notation with another group. Your task is to play the other group's piece of music using their notation. Practise the piece briefly. Play your piece to the other group and ask them what they might have done differently. Then have the other group play your own piece of music and compare whether it sounds exactly as you thought it would.

Activity 3

talk about music
Class group
15 min.

Task:

Reflect together on what went well and what was difficult. Use the reflection questions for this.

Reflection questions
  • What worked well when reading the notation?
  • What was difficult?
  • What problems were there when playing the melody?
  • What information was missing in order for the melody to be played correctly?
Information for the teacher

The aim of the lesson is for the pupils to understand that a standardised way of writing down music is useful so that pieces of music can be played (by others).

If there is still time...

... we can think together about how pitches and note values can be presented in such a way that they are clear and understandable for everyone.

Information for the teacher

The whole group can discuss how pitches (e.g. using lines/ high-low) and note values (e.g. using symbols/ short-long) can be clearly represented.

... can we think together about what can be done so that everyone starts at the same (notated) pitch? What needs to be established for this to happen?

Information for the teacher

The whole group can discuss how to establish which note to start on (e.g. introducing the clef/treble clef).

Skills learned in this lesson:

Pupils...

... recognise the importance of uniform notation.
... develop a basic understanding of the meaning of note values and pitches.