Building a Major Scale

Summary

This lesson is about building a major scale. Students begin with C and learn to build using the tone and half-tone pattern. Then with a gradual release of responsibility, students build their own scales using the pattern and begin on D and G. Students can go beyond the lesson by learning the minor scale pattern and trying to build harmonic minor scales from a starting note.

⏰ Time: 40 min

🎓 Grades: 4-6

🎯 Objective(s): As a result of this lesson students will know and/or be able to...

• Understand the meaning of ‘tone’ and ‘half-tone’
• Build a major scale beginning on any note
• Recognize how scales are part of songs

💡 Required Prior Knowledge and Skills:

• Basic signs and symbols
• Experience playing their instrument
• Knowledge of how to read notes
• Know where middle C is on the piano

💻 Materials:

• Solfeg.io app best used with Chrome browser
• Projector or computer and access to WIFI

Song suggestions:

A cover of
Shake It Off
TAYLOR SWIFT

A cover of
Timebomb
WALK THE MOON

A cover of
Roar
KATY PERRY

Inspiration

🕐 5 min

• Tell students some facts about the songs using the song description on Solfeg.io
• Show students that many melodies of songs are built from scales!

Warm-Up

🕐 10 min

• Determine your student's knowledge base by asking the group:
• What is a musical scale?
• How does it sound?
• Where do you hear scales?
• Then play a scale on your instrument of choice. Ask students if they can identify how many notes they can hear, if it sounds happy or sad and how the notes are moving (in a stepwise motion).

Practice

🕐 7 min - Exercise 1:

• Explain to students that in order to build a major scale, we need to follow the pattern tone-tone-half tone-tone-tone-tone-half tone. Write this pattern on your white board.
• Under the first tone, write C and have students find middle C on the piano. Explain to students that a tone means we are counting our middle C, and then moving two keys up, black and white keys included. This should bring them to D.
• Repeat this process to bring students from D to E. Then for the half tone, explain that we are starting on E but we are only going to move one black or white key up to get our next note since it’s the half tone.
• Repeat this process to build your entire scale. Then have students play the C major scale!

🕐 10 min - Exercise 2:

• Now that students have had the chance to work with the teacher on the C major scale, put students in pairs and using whiteboards and markers, have them work on building a major scale starting on D.
• Remind them to look at the ‘tone’ and ‘half-tone’ pattern on the board to help them. Walk around the room and make sure students are successful in their scale. Have them share and record the scale on the board.

🕐 7 min - Exercise 3:

• Before students look at Shake It Off, have them create the G major scale on their white boards. Then play the chorus of the song and have students identify where they can see the G major scale in the melody of the chorus.
• This will help students as they are practicing the chorus! Play the chorus and point out the student's improvement!

Reflection

🕐 5 min - Q & A

• Select students to answer the following questions:
• Did your playing improve because you knew the scale?
• Could you try this on your own starting on another note?
• How do we incorporate sharps and flats into major scales?

Beyond the lesson

• Knowing that scales are made from tones and half-tones, see if students can figure out how to build a minor scale
• Experimenting by making one or two notes in a scale sharp/flat/neutral and see how it changes the scale

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