Year 7 - Music
Composing a pentatonic melody
Folk songs from around the world
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit explores folk music from around the world, with detailed looks at sea shanties and Russian folk dance. Pupils are exposed to a diverse array of folk music, exploring characteristics that are typical of folk traditions, composing simple melodies, singing and performing using keyboards.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to compose a simple pentatonic melody with lyrics.
Key Notes
- Many folk melodies are based on pentatonic scales such as the G major pentatonic scale.
- The melodies usually have a small range and are conjunct, which makes them easier to sing and memorise.
- When writing a melody, we should consider those features.
- We can set lyrics to a melody, adjusting the rhythm to fit with the natural rhythm of the words.
Vocabulary To Learn
- G major pentatonic scale: a pentatonic scale consisting of the notes G, A, B, D and E
- phrase: a short section of a melody, normally lasting 1, 2 or 4 bars
- ABAC structure: structure in music is how the different phrases or sections of music are organised; ABAC is three different sections of music (A B and C), with the first section (A) repeated after the B section
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- You can fit any lyrics to a melody.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Many folk melodies are based on pentatonic scales such as the G major pentatonic scale. The melodies usually have a small range and are conjunct, which makes them easier to sing and memorise.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'G major pentatonic scale'
a pentatonic scale consisting of the notes G, A, B, D and E.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: You can fit any lyrics to a melody. Correction: Lyrics or melody often have to be adjusted to fit each other. This can be because there are too many or too few words to fit in a phrase, or there are too many or too few notes to fit with the words. Trial and error is the best way to address this.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 7 Music guide library.