Grade 8 - Structure (Elements of Melody)

This sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that students will create, listen to, and perform music, demonstrating understanding of expressive and physical properties of melody.

It is expected that students will:

create, notate, and perform melodic patterns
apply an understanding of melodic direction and contour to expressive phrasing
identify tonal centres in a variety of melodies
use appropriate music terminology to describe melody

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Structure (Elements of Melody) in other grades click on an icon below.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Students listen to a variety of melodies and graph the contour and effect on expression. Discuss the purpose behind each melody. (e.g., Was it designed to portray a particular mood? To suit certain lyrics?)
Listen to examples of music that tell stories and discuss how the melody achieved the desired effects. Students create and perform melodic sequences to portray aspects and structures of a story (e.g., characters, plot, theme, setting, conflict). Use melodic direction and contour as well as elements of expression to demonstrate moods or changes of scene.
Teacher presents examples of scales with an explanation of their structures (e.g., majorTTSTTTS; natural minorTSTTSTT). Students write and perform examples of scales. Starting on a given note students perform melodic patterns (e.g., broken and running thirds, arpeggios) based on these scales.
Students create and perform melodic variations of a known melody (e.g., pop tune, commercial jingle). Discuss the strategies used to alter the melody.
In pairs, students practise question-and-answer melody techniques to describe, through music, a given topic or thing (e.g., a sport, a mathematics test, babysitting). As a class, students discuss and justify their melodic choices.
Students examine a piece of written or recorded music to identify scale fragments and patterns.
Teacher introduces the concept of in tune and uses media (e.g., oscilloscope, video, computer, electronic tuner) to demonstrate visual representation of pitch and other properties of sound. Students discuss the pros and cons of various methods to tune an ensemble (e.g., with an oscilloscope, norm based on a section leader). Discuss other methods to identify pitch (e.g., by touching instruments, speakers, or voice boxes to feel the vibrations).

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

As students analyse each other's original compositions for the use of melody, ask them:
- Which scales were used to create different styles of melodies (e.g., the use of modes to create Spanish, Asian, and blues sounding melodies)?
- How effectively was the scale used to create different styles of melodies? (e.g., How did the music make you feel? What does the music make you think about?)
Ask students to reflect on their composing in their journals. Provide a guide to prompt them, such as: What really worked for me was ____________. When I ____________, I wondered if ____________. Next time I will ____________. Review their work and look for evidence of their understanding of composing melodic lines.
Have students perform their original melodic compositions for the class. Ask questions to see if they are making connections between various scales learned in class and melodic lines used in compositions. Look for evidence of innovative attempts to create melody.
Have students assess their own melodic compositions. To what extent do they:
- analyse melodic contour?
- describe thoughts, images, and feelings evoked by the music?
- use specific examples from the composition to support their statements?
Observe students tune their instruments with mechanical tuning devices, both by watching the scope and by listening to the in-tune sound. Then have students reflect on the tuning of their instruments using the following prompts:
- I found it easy to _____________.
- I had some trouble when ____________ but I solved it by ______________.