Year 3 - Music
Rehearsing songs with layers of instrumental accompaniments
Playing together: building texture with melody, drone and ostinato
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, we build the texture in our songs by adding a drone and melodic ostinato. Our focus is on how we rehearse and play together as an ensemble. The songs and instrumental accompaniments are taught through listening, practising and memorising.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to rehearse, sing and play as part of an ensemble performance.
Key Notes
- We can layer a drone, rhythmic ostinati, melodic ostinati, and vocal parts and work together as an ensemble.
- Following a conductor can help keep us in time.
- The more layers of sound we add, the thicker the texture becomes.
- Rehearsal helps us to improve by focusing on listening, pulse, following a conductor, and our playing technique.
- Accompaniments to songs support the main melody and therefore are played a bit quieter to allow the lyrics to be heard.
Vocabulary To Learn
- rehearse: to practise in order to improve and prepare for performance
- ensemble: a group of people who perform together
- texture: the combination of different layers of sounds
- conductor: a person who directs musicians or singers
- tempo: how fast or slow the music is played
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- We can play at our own tempo without listening to the other groups.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
We can layer a drone, rhythmic ostinati, melodic ostinati, and vocal parts and work together as an ensemble. Following a conductor can help keep us in time.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'rehearse'
to practise in order to improve and prepare for performance.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: We can play at our own tempo without listening to the other groups. Correction: The songs we are layering are all played at different tempi. Feeling the steady pulse and following a conductor, as well as listening to the playing of all groups will help the class to play to the same steady pulse.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Drone accompaniments to songs Study Guide
- Identifying different layers of accompaniment within a piece of music Study Guide
- Layering simple accompaniments to create a thicker texture Study Guide
- Melodic ostinato accompaniments to songs Study Guide
- Playing a melodic ostinato and singing simultaneously Study Guide
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