Melody: Call and Response
Goal: To use social activities to improvise four (or more) note combinations (and focus can be on larger intervals of sixths, sevenths, and octaves using major, minor, whole tone, and pentatonic scales).
Out of Tempo
All Levels
“Out of Tempo” exercises are not presented separately in Ear Training III and Ear Training IV improvisations. Should any exercise prove difficult performed in tempo, out of tempo versions of the materials in Ear Training III and Ear Training IV can be modeled on Ear Training I and Ear Training II approaches to out of tempo improvisations.
In Tempo
Teacher sets up a tempo, time signature, tonality, and rhythms.
Phrases can be four to thirty-two measures in length depending on the student’s ability.
Start with one note per measure and add different rhythms as students become more comfortable with the exercise. For more confident students, use non-repeating notes and rhythm patterns.
Students sing one, two, three, or four notes per measure.
Speaking, singing, playing.
Refer to the Melody Smorgasbord for ideas.
Beginning
- Teacher sets up as above and prompts, “Repeat this five note melody.”
- Students do so.
Intermediate
- A student sets up as above and prompts, “Repeat this five note melody then repeat is backwards.”
- Students do so.
Advanced
- A student or teacher sets up as above and prompts, “One student sings three of the five notes, another sings two of the five notes."
- Another student does so.
- The process continues with all students participating in sharing the notes of the melody.