Year 8 - Music
Learning the middle section of Fur Elise
Minor, major and developing keyboard skills
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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 introduces major and minor scales and explores what makes music distinctive and memorable. Pupils develop keyboard technique and rehearsal strateiges, learning more complex melodic lines with accidentals and varied articulation.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to play an extended phrase of a melody which uses the black notes and moves out of position.
Key Notes
- Using carefully chosen dynamics, rubato and emphasising the first beat of the bar can add expression to a performance
- Finding patterns in music can help in learning it more quickly
- The Fur Elise melody is in an ABA structure and the middle section uses a descending sequence
- Playing the middle section of Fur Elise in a legato style
Vocabulary To Learn
- legato: when the movement between each note is smooth
- ABA structure: a musical structure with three sections, where the first and last section are the same and the middle section is different
- sequence: a short melodic idea that is repeated in steps either rising or falling
- rubato: a slight speeding up and slowing down of the tempo to show expression
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- The more rubato you use the more expressive the performance
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Using carefully chosen dynamics, rubato and emphasising the first beat of the bar can add expression to a performance. Finding patterns in music can help in learning it more quickly.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'legato'
when the movement between each note is smooth.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: The more rubato you use the more expressive the performance. Correction: Rubato affects the tempo and pulse of a piece so needs to be used with subtlety. Show various examples of how Fur Elise might be played by different performers so pupils can see the variety of ways rubato can be used.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 8 Music guide library.