Lesson 009
Students
enjoy listening to holiday music in December. Many of the
students can play some of the easier songs in the Alfred
1A books, but they also would like to play some of the
songs in more difficult books. This lesson was used to
teach the students the chord feature on our Casio keyboards and may be applied to other keyboards.
Objectives:
*Students will learn to identify the B Flat, C, D, F, and G chords
on the keyboard, with help from the chord setting.
*Students will accompany the teacher in class, playing the chords on the
keyboard as stated by the teacher.
*To
continue working on pp. 22-35 or more in the Alfred Basic Piano
Library Level 1A (varies based on student level).
*To complete one or more Lessons in Music Ace 1.
*To complete one or more quizzes on our web site and report scores to the
teacher.
Materials:
Alfred 1A Piano Books,
keyboards and related equipment, computers (with or without Internet
access), printer, Music Time Deluxe and Music Ace 1 software
and teacher's manual, holiday piano books.
Procedures: All
keyboard headphones should be unplugged. Teach the students
how to identify the chords on the Casio keyboard. Change the
power button from Normal to Chord. Students should be able
to identify the notes B Flat, C, D, F, and G in the bass clef
octaves on the keyboard. Students should notice the entire
chord played when they press one note (press C, keyboard plays
C E G). This can also be viewed on the keyboard screen. Call
out the note names and have students play them until they are
familiar with the notes / chords. Students should release the
note after playing each one, otherwise, the chords may sound
minor instead of major. The teacher will then play several
melodies of holiday songs from a piano book (we used 'Electronic
Keyboard Series Christmas', 1988 Karamar Publishing and 'Swing
Into Christmas' by Carl Strommen, 2002 Carl Fischer Publishing).
As the teacher plays, chord names are stated and the students
respond by playing that chord on the keyboard. When the students
successfully play the chords in accompaniment to the teacher,
we will add the percussion / rhythm section of the keyboard
and play the songs again in a medium tempo. Our young students
love doing this activity and they feel like they are playing
the more difficult music with the teacher. Most of the students'
fingers are not quite long enough to play the 3-note chords
yet, but this gives them the knowledge of playing chords to
accompany their music, and they learn the notes that build
each major chord in B Flat, C, D, F, and G. (Minor chords have
not been taught, but students should be told the difference
Gm = g minor, G = G Major.)
Ask
students to notice...
-What is a chord? What notes make up each major chord that we are learning?
-Does your keyboard sound differently when playing the chords and rhythms
than it does when playing the chords alone?
-Can you play all 3 notes in the chord at the same time?
-What rhythm do you like the best when using rhythms to accompany your
chords?
-Look at the chords listed above the staff. Name all of the major chords
listed in each song.
-When you look at the chords above the staff, would you play Gm the same
as G? (No, Gm is a minor chord, not major)
-What happens on the keyboard if you press more than one fingered chord
note down at once? (It could become a minor or other chord, it is no longer
a major chord.)
Compositions:
Students may start working on their second compositions in
ABA song form (discussed in previous lessons). The composition
should have notes in the treble clef starting with Middle C or
higher, using notes in the F
Major Scale, 3 staves and 32 or more measures. We will add a percussion
part in the bass clef or percussion staff for this composition.
Students may use half, quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes in
the rhythm section. Students will be taught, after completing
this composition, how to make dynamic changes in the song. If
a student already has an understanding of how to use chords,
they may use the F, C, and G major chords in their song. This
will be done after the composition is complete.
Music
Ace 1 - Students will continue to progress at their own
pace through the lessons on the computer. Teacher will assist
with students and their questions. Some students will have
completed Lesson 7 or higher by this time. Worksheets and
lesson benchmarks are listed in the Teacher's Manual for
the Music Ace software.
Alfred
Basic Piano Book 1A - If time allows, students will work
individually on pages 22-35, with assistance and demonstration
of notes and technique by the teacher. The teacher will follow
the lesson goals and procedures as outlined in the teacher's
manual for the Lesson books.
Extra
Activities:
Work
on musical skills through some of the quizzes and games on
the Music Tech Teacher Quizzes
and Games pages. Choose games according to the skill
level of the students.
Post
student compositions (in MIDI or Scorch (Sibelius) form on
the 'Student Work' pages of this
site.)
Evaluation:
*Students
will be able to successfully perform all of the exercises on
pp. 22-35 of the Piano Level 1A Lesson Book.
*Students
will begin work on their second music composition in ABA form,
using the treble clef and notes of the F Major Scale, 3
staves - one being percussion, the General MIDI sound sheet,
no longer than 32-60 measures. Additional evaluation will be
conducted after students learn how to write percussion parts,
and make dynamic changes using the computer.
*Students
will successfully complete Lesson 7 or higher in Music Ace
1, and will print a Progress Report of their work to give to
the teacher and to their parents.
*Students
will be able to identify the notes in the B Flat, C, D, F,
and G Major chords and use the 'Chord' setting on the keyboard
to accompany the teacher playing melodies on the keyboard in
a group setting.
