Music Theory

Root notes of chords

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Music Theory
Root notes of chords
Online Lesson Plan
Classroom Lesson Plan
Classroom Lesson Plan
Online Lesson Plan
Classroom Lesson Plan
Classroom Lesson Plan

Summary

Students will improve their basic harmonic sense and learn the fundamentals of voice leading by singing and playing the root notes of the chords. They will learn to follow the chord symbols and create the melody of root notes of a given chord progression. Students will practice writing staff notation, as well as singing and playing along the song to understand how the root notes move within the tonality/mode.

 

⏰ Time: 50 min

🎓 Grades: 5-12

🎯 Objective(s): As a result of this lesson, students will be able to...

  • Understand terms: chord, chord progression and root notes;
  • Identify the root note of a chord;
  • Write down the root notes of a chord progression;
  • Play and sing the line of root notes.

💡 Required Prior Knowledge and Skills:

  • Note names;
  • Note letters - chord symbols;
  • Note placement on a given instrument (optional).

💻 Teaching aids:

  • Solfeg.io app best used with Chrome browser 
  • Computer and access to WIFI
  • Simple harmonic instruments, for example, keyboards, metallophones etc. (optional)
  • Root Note Practice Sheet (download button at the end of the lesson plan)
  • Chord Cards (download button at the end of the lesson plan)

 

Visual presentation

 

Song suggestions:

 

Inspiration

🕐 5 min - Introduce the song

  • Choose a song from the ‘Song suggestions’ list, for example, ‘Dance Monkey’ by Tones and I. Tell your students about the song! You can pick some facts from the song description.
  • Under 'Tools' - 'Visuals' you could select 'Piano' to provide a visual clue of the harmonic movement.
  • Play a fragment of the song and ask students to pay attention to the harmony instruments.
  • Select students to answer the following questions:
    • What instruments do they hear in the song?
    • Can they mimic the sound of some instruments/melodies/chords that are in the accompaniment? , etc.

 

Warm-Up

🕐 10 min - Tell about the root notes

  • Show the image of root notes and explain that chords consist from at least three notes and “Root note” is a fundamental pitch of any chord.

image1.png

  • (optional) If you have an instrument, you can demonstrate various chords, then play their root notes separately and then play the chord and emphasize the root note by singing it.
  • Show the image and tell that continuous succession of chords is called “chord progression”.

image2.png

  • Any chord is based on its fundamental pitch. Capital letters in chord symbols refer to a fundamental ‘root’ note on which the chord is built, while other characteristics refer to its colour (use comparisons like happy, sad, bright, dark, light, heavy etc.) Capital letters are the root notes.
  • You can easily sing separate notes from chords and make a simple melody of them.

 

Practice

🕐 10 min - Exercise 1 - To the roots

  • Give each student a Root Note Practice Sheet and a simple harmonic instrument (optional).
  • Play a part of the selected song and ask students to follow the chord symbols.
  • Ask students to write down the root notes of the most common chord progression in the part. Remind them to draw the treble clef before starting.
  • Repeat the part several times until the students have written the notes down.
  • Ask students to play or sing the notes they have written along the song. You can adjust the playing speed, if necessary.
  • Point out to the students that playing the right root note is essential. You can demonstrate how 'weird' music sounds when 'wrong' root notes are played and, optionally, shortly explain that it can be used in composition as an interesting effect.
  • You can divide students in two groups - one will sing the melody, the other - sing or play the root note.

🕐 10 min - Exercise 2 - A chord by chance

  • Put Chord Cards (cards with easy chords - visual materials coming soon) on a table, chord symbols facing down.
  • Ask one student at a time to pick one card and show it to the class.
  • Ask the student to identify the root note of the given chord.
  • Play the chord on a guitar or piano and ask the class to sing the root note or play it on their instruments.
  • Invite the next student to pick a Chord Card and repeat the cycle.

🕐 10 min - Exercise 3 - Build and progress

  • Take the Root Note Practice Sheet
  • Ask students to build a triad on a given root note, write the chord down.
  • When students have finished, play them the written chord progression.
    • Ask them if they know which song can this chord progression be heard in (it's 'Still Falling for You' by Ellie Goulding, chorus part)
    • Play the chorus part of the song.
  • Invite students to sing or play along the song fragment.

 

Reflection

🕐 5 min - Discussion

  • Make sure students have understood the terms: chord, chord progression and root notes.
  • Talk about their experience of playing and singing the root notes.
    • Was it challenging to sing the part along the melody?
  • What instruments would be best suited for playing the root notes? For example, bass guitar, double bass etc.

 

Beyond the Lesson

  • Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by...
    Capture.PNG
    • Doing the “Root Notes of Chords” class as a homework

Summary

This lesson is about improving basic harmonic sense and shows the fundamentals of voice leading by singing the root notes of the chords. Students will use the online class “Root Notes of Chords” with robot chatbot guidance. In this class, students will learn to create and sing the melody of the root notes to understand how the root notes move within the tonality/mode (optional: if students have harmonic instruments at home, they can also play root notes, instead of singing).

 

⏰ Time: 45 min

🎓 Grades: 5-12

🎯 Objective(s): As a result of this lesson, students will be able to...

  • Sing root notes;
  • Understand terms: chord, chord progression and root notes.

💡 Required Prior Knowledge and Skills:

  • Note letters
  • Note names

💻 Teaching aids:

  • Solfeg.io app best used with Chrome browser 
  • Computer and access to WIFI
  • Your own voice

!!! If this is the first online setup lesson for your class, we recommend starting with an onboarding lesson using this presentation explaining how solfeg.io works. Download it here. If the class is more than 10 students, this might take some 30 minutes to register and go through the app.

🤳 Video conference call provider:

  • We recommend Google Hangouts, you can read how to set it up and download it here.

 

Visual presentation

 

Song suggestions:

 

Start of your lesson

🕐 5 min - Announcement for Students

  • Instructions for your next lesson...
    • Open this Google video call link via phone: Insert your unique Google Hangouts invite link here
    • Access your Solfeg.io account via desktop: Insert your unique Solfeg.io invite link here
    • The online class will be 45 minutes. For optimal learning, find a room with little background noise.
    • We will be learning how to recognize root notes in chords.

🕐 5 min - Setting up an online classroom

  • Send your video conference call link to students. For best results:
    • Encourage them to make this call via mobile device for optimal sound management
    • Make sure everyone can hear and see you.
  • Students log into Solfeg.io on their desktop
  • Students mute their microphone to hear you clearly. They should unmute if they want to ask a question.
  • Teacher preloads one of the suggested songs for this lesson if needed.

 

Inspiration

🕐 5 min - Explain the song

  • Choose a song from ‘Song suggestions’ list. For example, ‘Dance Monkey‘ by Tones and I. 
  • Tell your students about the song - you can pick some facts from the song description.
  • Share the screen, click ‘Play’ and ask students to pay attention to the harmony instruments.
  • Select students to answer the following questions:
    • What instruments do they hear in the song?
    • Can they mimic the sound of some instruments/melodies/chords that are in the accompaniment? , etc.

 

Warm-Up

🕐 10 min - Tell about the root notes

  • Show the image of root notes and explain that chords consist from at least three notes and “Root note” is a fundamental pitch of any chord.

image1.png

  • (optional) If you have an instrument, you can demonstrate various chords, then play their root notes separately and then play the chord and emphasize the root note by singing it.
  • Show the image and tell that continuous succession of chords is called “chord progression”.

image2.png

  • Any chord is based on its fundamental pitch. Capital letters in chord symbols refer to a fundamental ‘root’ note on which the chord is built, while other characteristics refer to its colour (use comparisons like happy, sad, bright, dark, light, heavy etc.) Capital letters are the root notes.
  • You can easily sing separate notes from chords and make a simple melody of them.

 

Practice

  • Lead students to the Classes section in Solfeg.io;
Capture.PNG
  • Show them where the “Root Notes of Chords” class is located;
  • Tell them to take the class to learn more about recognizing root notes (30 min)!

 

Reflection

Check if your students understood the material by testing their knowledge at the start of next lesson!

🕐 10 min - Test the knowledge of students

  • Ask to play the song they chose in chatbot class ‘Root notes of the chords’ and sing the exercise.
  • Select students one by one for each performance.
  • Discuss their performances and help them understand by explaining in different approaches or associations known.

 

Beyond the Lesson

  • Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by...
    • Try to add vocals to the root notes of chords of the song you learned.

Summary

Students will improve their basic harmonic sense and learn the fundamentals of voice leading by singing and playing the root notes of the chords. They will learn to follow the chord symbols and create the melody of root notes of a given chord progression. Students will practice writing staff notation, as well as singing and playing along the song to understand how the root notes move within the tonality/mode.

 

⏰ Time: 50 min

🎓 Grades: 5-12

🎯 Objective(s): As a result of this lesson, students will be able to...

  • Understand terms: chord, chord progression and root notes;
  • Identify the root note of a chord;
  • Write down the root notes of a chord progression;
  • Play and sing the line of root notes.

💡 Required Prior Knowledge and Skills:

  • Note names;
  • Note letters - chord symbols;
  • Note placement on a given instrument (optional).

💻 Teaching aids:

  • Solfeg.io app best used with Chrome browser 
  • Computer and access to WIFI
  • Simple harmonic instruments, for example, keyboards, metallophones etc. (optional)
  • Root Note Practice Sheet (download button at the end of the lesson plan)
  • Chord Cards (download button at the end of the lesson plan)

 

Visual presentation

 

Song suggestions:

 

Inspiration

🕐 5 min - Introduce the song

  • Choose a song from the ‘Song suggestions’ list, for example, ‘Dance Monkey’ by Tones and I. Tell your students about the song! You can pick some facts from the song description.
  • Under 'Tools' - 'Visuals' you could select 'Piano' to provide a visual clue of the harmonic movement.
  • Play a fragment of the song and ask students to pay attention to the harmony instruments.
  • Select students to answer the following questions:
    • What instruments do they hear in the song?
    • Can they mimic the sound of some instruments/melodies/chords that are in the accompaniment? , etc.

 

Warm-Up

🕐 10 min - Tell about the root notes

  • Show the image of root notes and explain that chords consist from at least three notes and “Root note” is a fundamental pitch of any chord.

image1.png

  • (optional) If you have an instrument, you can demonstrate various chords, then play their root notes separately and then play the chord and emphasize the root note by singing it.
  • Show the image and tell that continuous succession of chords is called “chord progression”.

image2.png

  • Any chord is based on its fundamental pitch. Capital letters in chord symbols refer to a fundamental ‘root’ note on which the chord is built, while other characteristics refer to its colour (use comparisons like happy, sad, bright, dark, light, heavy etc.) Capital letters are the root notes.
  • You can easily sing separate notes from chords and make a simple melody of them.

 

Practice

🕐 10 min - Exercise 1 - To the roots

  • Give each student a Root Note Practice Sheet and a simple harmonic instrument (optional).
  • Play a part of the selected song and ask students to follow the chord symbols.
  • Ask students to write down the root notes of the most common chord progression in the part. Remind them to draw the treble clef before starting.
  • Repeat the part several times until the students have written the notes down.
  • Ask students to play or sing the notes they have written along the song. You can adjust the playing speed, if necessary.
  • Point out to the students that playing the right root note is essential. You can demonstrate how 'weird' music sounds when 'wrong' root notes are played and, optionally, shortly explain that it can be used in composition as an interesting effect.
  • You can divide students in two groups - one will sing the melody, the other - sing or play the root note.

🕐 10 min - Exercise 2 - A chord by chance

  • Put Chord Cards (cards with easy chords - visual materials coming soon) on a table, chord symbols facing down.
  • Ask one student at a time to pick one card and show it to the class.
  • Ask the student to identify the root note of the given chord.
  • Play the chord on a guitar or piano and ask the class to sing the root note or play it on their instruments.
  • Invite the next student to pick a Chord Card and repeat the cycle.

🕐 10 min - Exercise 3 - Build and progress

  • Take the Root Note Practice Sheet
  • Ask students to build a triad on a given root note, write the chord down.
  • When students have finished, play them the written chord progression.
    • Ask them if they know which song can this chord progression be heard in (it's 'Still Falling for You' by Ellie Goulding, chorus part)
    • Play the chorus part of the song.
  • Invite students to sing or play along the song fragment.

 

Reflection

🕐 5 min - Discussion

  • Make sure students have understood the terms: chord, chord progression and root notes.
  • Talk about their experience of playing and singing the root notes.
    • Was it challenging to sing the part along the melody?
  • What instruments would be best suited for playing the root notes? For example, bass guitar, double bass etc.

 

Beyond the Lesson

  • Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by...
    Capture.PNG
    • Doing the “Root Notes of Chords” class as a homework

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