Solo and group tasks
Solo tasks
Solo tasks are designed for a student to work on the concept of pitch on their own (at home or individually).
Task 1 - Draw a worm
The worm shape below shows a melody's contour or shape.
Listen to any song with one vocal line at a time.
Draw an imaginary worm in the air to show the high, middle and low notes of the song.
Consider shutting your eyes to help imagine the movement of the music and pitch.
Song suggestions
Task 2 - Draw an imaginary double worm
You need 2 hands to show the melodic contour of this song, because sometimes there are 2 different vocal parts.
Task 3 - Experiment with pitch
Use any of the following websites or free software to experiment with pitch.
Chrome Music Lab online melody maker (Song Maker)
Hook Pad melody and chord harmony using colours and blocks
Flat.io collaborative online notation website
MuseScore (download) notation software
Group tasks
Group tasks allow groups of students to further their understanding of pitch.
Task 1 - Use a keyboard, piano or tuned percussion instrument to explore different pitches
Play the highest note.
Play the highest and lowest note at the same time.
Play every note in order from highest to lowest.
Task 2 - Improvise or compose 6 or more seconds of music on any pitched instrument
Choose any scale or mode and only use the pitch set of notes that belong to that scale or mode.
Create a musical phrase that uses only the notes in the chosen pitch set, by improvising or composing.
Play the improvisation (live or recorded) to someone in the classroom to guess which scale or mode you chose.
Task 3 - Play 3 musical concepts and write a reflection
On instruments in your classroom, play phrases of random notes using these combinations of 3 musical concepts:
low + slow + loud
high + slow + loud
low + fast + soft
high + fast + soft.
Write your own description for how each example sounds. For example:
Number 1 might sound old, tired and grumpy.
Number 4 might remind you of skittering dragonflies.