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Scales: Call and Response



Goal: To focus on whole tone and pentatonic scales with group activities.


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, rhythms.

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. Introduce the whole tone/pentatonic scales starting on C, but move to other starting notes quickly.

Refer to the Scales Smorgasbord for ideas.

Beginning

  1. Teacher sets up as above and prompts, “I sing these notes and you sing the same notes.”
  2. Students do so.

Intermediate

  1. Student sets up as above and prompts, “I sing these notes and you (the teacher or another student) sing the same notes, then re-order them.”
  2. Teacher or student does so.

Advanced

  1. Teacher or student sets up as above and prompts, “I sing these notes and you sing different notes, then sing the original notes.”
  2. Teacher or student does so.