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Melody: Change

Goal: To improve sight singing and sing reading by asking students to change a specific component of a group or chain of three to five notes to include the seventh scale degree to develop a sense of tonality. (This differs from the ‘scales’ topic in that the groups of notes are interpolated or already change contour. In Ear Training I, the chains are based on the lower and upper tetra-chords. Later Ear Training levels will feature other scale degree combinations and tonalities.)

Out of Tempo

Spoken, sung, or played

Beginning

  1. Teacher speaks, sings, or plays the melody scale degrees "1, 2, 4, 3" in major, and prompts students to speak, sing, or play the melody in minor.
  2. Students speak, sing, play answer.

Intermediate

  1. Teacher speaks, sings, or plays the melody scale degrees "1, 7, 2, 1" in major, and prompts students to speak, sing, or play the melody in minor.
  2. Students speak, sing, play answer.

Advanced

  1. Teacher speaks, sings, or plays the melody scale degrees "1, 7, 3, 2, 1" in major, and prompts students to speak, sing, or play the melody in natural or harmonic minor, depending on what has been covered.
  2. Students speak, sing, play answer.

In Tempo

In 2, 3, or 4 time in a slow tempo – one note per measure.

Beginning

  1. Teacher sets up a time signature in a slow tempo, singing, playing, or speaking one note per measure scale degrees "1, 2, 4, 3" in major, and prompts students to repeat the four notes and then change them to minor.
  2. Students repeat four notes and change to minor.

Intermediate

  1. Teacher sets up a time signature in a slow tempo, singing, playing, or speaking one note per measure scale degrees "1, 7, 2, 1" in major and prompts students to repeat the four notes and then change them to minor.
  2. Students repeat four notes and change to minor.

Advanced

  1. Teacher sets up a time signature in a slow tempo, singing, playing, or speaking one note per measure scale degrees "1, 7, 3, 2, 1" in major and prompts students to repeat the five notes and then change them to minor.
  2. Students repeat five notes and change to minor.