Skip to main content

S9: E170 Pentatonic Scales with Recorders

 Afternoon Ti

Season 9

Episode 170

Pentatonic Scales with Recorders



The pentatonic scale is one of my favorite parts of elemental music teaching.  It’s easy for students to engage in improvisation and composition without fear of others hearing mistakes.  It’s easy to transpose between C, F, and G pentatonic scales on barred instruments so students can experiment with changing of tonal centers and modulating.  It’s easy on the ears when students are creating because the tones all work well together and are pleasing to our hearing.  And it’s easy to facilitate in the classroom with singing, barred instruments, and recorders.  


I’m going to spend the next few episodes focused on the pentatonic scale with a particular focus on lesson ideas.  That means that this episode is all about the soprano recorder!  Today we’re spending time with recorders and I’m sharing two songs that I’ve written that use the pentatonic scale and provide opportunities for students to play (and sing) in G pentatonic.  In the second piece there’s the opportunity for students to improvise and compose.  Links to the Google Slides and materials are provided in the show notes and on the blog so you can use this with your students!


SONG #1: NIGHT
You will be asked to make your own copy of each link when it opens!

Night Google Slides
Night Student Page


SONG #2: SEA SHANTY
You will be asked to make your own copy of each link when it opens!

Sea Shanty Google Slides 
Sea Shanty Student Page 


Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

S4: E107 Active Listening Through Storytelling and Classical Music with Robert Franz

Season Four Episode 107 Active Listening with Robert Franz Robert Franz Website Stella's Magical Musical Balloon Ride Ted Talk: Active Listening and Our Perception of Time Robert Franz Bio: Acclaimed conductor, Robert Franz, recognized as "an outstanding musician with profound intelligence," has held to three principles throughout his career: a commitment to the highest artistic standards, to creating alliances and building bridges in each community he serves, and a dedication to being a strong force in music education.  As Music Director of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra and Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival Orchestra, Associate Conductor of the Houston Symphony, and newly appointed Artistic Advisor of the Boise Baroque Orchestra, he has achieved success through his focus on each of these principles. His appeal as a first-rate conductor and enthusiastic award-winning educator is acclaimed by critics, composers, and audiences of all ages.  Composer Bright S...
Post a Comment
Read more

S6: E127 Mini Soundtrap Project

 Season 6 Episode 127 Mini Soundtrap Project In the last few episodes I’ve shared some Soundtrap lesson ideas that I created and used with students.  Podcasts, Fictional Character Themes, Found Sounds, and Poem with Loops.  Check out the resources provided for each of these lessons in the show notes or on the blog. Today’s episode is about a simple Soundtrap project that could be done as a collaboration by several students or by an individual in whatever time frame you provide.  The benefit of this lesson is that it’s incredibly flexible.  It could be done in as little as 20 minutes or as much as 45 minutes or more.  The idea is to allow students to create a piece containing a specific amount of loops that includes an introduction and ending.  Like I said super simple.  This might be a great way to introduce students to loops and even form structure depending on how you set up your rubric.   This was a lesson I used while I was out th...
2 comments
Read more

S4: E106 What's Next

Season Four Episode 106 What's Next If you listened to any of the reflection episodes that I shared recently - episodes 101-105 to be more specific - you heard me share some ways to reflect on different areas of your life - virtual teaching, summer, focusing on today only, your mental/physical/emotional health, and what’s ahead for fall.  Reflection is important because it helps us see where we’ve been, where we are, and where we want to go.  I’ve finished teaching for this school year and this coming week at work we are finishing the school year out with teacher inservice meetings.  What’s next is several weeks of summer to take time to rest like we might not have ever done before.  Never before have I had a summer that is so wide open with literally not a single item on the calendar - except one possible short trip with my parents, but even that could change depending on what the CDC and the states decide.  Even over this past weekend I struggled int...
Post a Comment
Read more