By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
Sight-read melodies that incorporate chromatic embellishing tones with steps on both sides.
Sight-read rhythms that incorporate 16th note subdivisions in compound time (no dotted 8th notes).
Aurally identify chord changes in a harmonic progression that uses only I and V chords in root position.
Aurally identify authentic and half cadences in examples from the repertoire.
"Paying Attention to Bass Lines" (Chenette, Foundations of Aural Skills)
"The Do/Ti Test" (Chenette, Foundations of Aural Skills)
2 Sections on Improvisation with I and V from Cleland & Dobrea-Grindahl, Developing Musicianship through Aural Skills)(Available online through the NYU library)
"Improvisation I: Tonic Function" -Just read pp. 73–75
"Improvisation II: Dominant Function" - Just read pp. 193–195
(Orpheus Academy of Music, 3 minutes)
Check out the Chord Player here or the Sequencer in the Online Orchestra here. Put together a 4-bar chord progression that uses a sequence of tonic and dominant chords.
Practice the Do/Ti test with your progression, singing "Do" during tonic chords and "Ti" during dominant chords.
Try singing the bassline (Do and Sol)
Then, try improvising over the top of the chords using the guidelines from the reading. Be sure to use solfège so that you're conscious of which scale degrees and members of the chord you're singing. (See the "Study Aids" below for an improvisation guide.)
Visual Guide for Improvising Solfège Above a I - V- I - V progression.
Chord Progression/Chord Function: What is a chord function in tonal harmony? Why do certain chords sound stable and others unstable? Does it have something to do with the equal tempered tuning system?
Strategies for Improvisation: The reading by Cleland & Dobrea-Grindahl discusses strategies for melodic improvisation with I and V chords. Work as a group to summarize the strategies discussed in the reading. What other strategies can you think of? Think back to the unit on melody from Theory & Practice I. What were some of the features of melody discussed (e.g. shape, repetition, motive, rhythmic material, scale degrees and cadence)? What are some ways you could apply these ideas to improvisation?
Learn the Chord Spelling Song: Sing along with Dr. Newman and the solfège choir. Here's a link to the audio and to the lyrics to use for the sing along.
Listening for Chord Changes: Listen to excerpts from popular music that include only I and V chords played by your instructor. Conduct while you listen and transcribe the chords you hear in each bar. As an example, for a 4-bar phrase, you might transcribe: | I | V | V | I | .
Instructors: Find the playlist with solutions in the instructor anthology here.
Discuss different strategies as a class (or in groups) for hearing the chord changes based on your discussion above. A few ideas include:
1) Listen to the bassline: If you hear Do, it's a I chord; if you hear Sol, it's a V chord. Try singing along with the bassline in the examples played.
2) Try the "Do-Ti Test." Sing Do and hold it while you listen. If Do seems to fit the harmony, it's a I chord. If you feel like you need to slide down to Ti to get the note you're singing to fit the chord, it's a V chord.
Improvisation Fill-in-the-Blank: Use the exercises from the reading to practice filling in the empty measures with improvisations on tonic and dominant.
Improvising Melody & Harmony Together: Open up the I-V-I-V chord grid to use as a visual. Treat each chord as 1 measure in length. Have your instructor or a classmate block each chord on the piano as the class improves. You may improvise melodies individually or everyone can sing together at the same time (or in smaller groups) to create harmony out of the layered melodies.
Rules for the game: You can start on any note. Move as smoothly as possible from one note to the next when moving between chords (e.g. Mi-Re, Do-Ti, Sol-Sol, but not Re-Sol). If you land on a triangle (Ti), your next note should follow the direction of the triangle (e.g. resolve up to Do). Everyone sings their independent melodic lines simultaneously in harmony.
The Variations:
Single Tone Improv: For each chord played, sing one note and sustain it.
Two-Note Improv: Skip between two different chord tones within each chord, using any rhythm you like. End with one chord tone in the final measure. Try this exercise in 2/4 or 4/4 first to give each note an equal rhythmic value, then try other meters and other rhythms.
Stepwise embellishment: Start on a chord tone then move by step to another chord tone during the same chord. As an example for the tonic, you might sing Do-Re-Mi, Mi-Re-Mi, or Sol-Fal-Mi in m. 1 before moving to the dominant. Try this exercise in 3/4 meter first to give each note one beat, then experiment with other meters and other rhythms.
Experiment with different accompaniment patterns (e.g. a waltz accompaniment or alberti bass) or have a few members of the class add a simple drum pattern during the performance or a repeated rhythmic pattern on the bass notes for each chord (Do and Sol).
Consider picking a few rhythmic patterns that you're working on this week to use as the rhythmic motive for your improvisation.
Call & Response over I & V: Using the chord grid from the activity above, each student takes a turn improvising a solo melody on a neutral syllables while the class sings the bass of each chord (Do and Sol). Everyone then sings back the melody they just heard using solfege syllables.
Listen for Cadences: Listen to examples from the repertoire and practice identifying cadences as authentic or half cadences (see the link to the anthology below). Discuss strategies for aurally differentiating between each type of cadence.
Sight Reading:
Rhythm: Subdivisions in compound time. No dotted 8ths.
Melody: Continued work with chromatic embellishing tones approached and left by step.
Critical Listening/Dictation:
Listen to examples played by your instructor that incorporate I and V chords.
Listen to excerpts from the repertoire and ID the cadence as authentic or half.
A different exploration on the nature of tonal tension in Western equal temperament from music theorists Lex Rozin & Mark Rimple