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Scales: Landscaping

Goal: To tell the difference between major and minor scales on hearing major or minor scales and to set up improvisations featuring major and/or minor scales.

Out of Tempo

Beginning

Major and Minor

  1. Teacher plays or sings, "Doe."
  2. Class sings, "Doe."
  3. Teacher plays, "Doe" and "Rey."
  4. Class sings, "Doe" and "Rey."
  5. This process repeats up the scale to high Doe.
  6. Teacher repeats process from top down.
  7. Students repeat the process from top down.

Intermediate

Major and Minor

  1. Teacher sings first four notes of scale – lower tetra-chord.
  2. Students sing the first four notes of scale – lower tetra-chord.
  3. Teacher sings the last four notes of the scale – upper tetra-chord.
  4. Students sing the last four notes of the scale – upper tetra-chord.

Advanced

Major and Minor

  1. Students sing first four notes of major or minor scale holding each of the notes as they go up the scale resulting in a harmonic grouping of all four notes.
  2. Students sing the last four notes of a major or minor scale, holding each of the notes as they go up the scale resulting in a harmonic grouping of all four notes.
  3. Process is repeated going down the scale.

In Tempo

Beginning

  1. Teacher sings or plays a major or minor scale with each note worth two beats.
  2. Students sing the scale with each note worth two beats.
  3. Teacher repeats process with each note worth three, then four beats.

Intermediate

  1. Half the students sing the lower tetra-chord, the other half sings the upper tetra-chord.
  2. Switch which group sings which tetra-chord.

Advanced

  1. Each student sings one note of a major or minor scale, each note two beats.
  2. Same process is repeated for three and four beats per note.