Year 9 - Music
Adding triadic melody to ground bass
Harmonic progressions and bass lines
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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 pupils extend their understanding of harmonic progressions, learning about ground bass and triadic harmony.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to develop a melody line from triadic harmony using passing notes, and considering rhythmic, textural and structural elements.
Key Notes
- Triadic harmony can be used to build a melody by using one or two of the triad notes and the other in the bass.
- Melodies are often higher in the scoring so we can play them up the octave.
- We can develop the structure of a piece by adding in and taking out parts.
- One way to do this is to start with a monophonic texture and build to a homophonic texture.
- Adding passing notes to a melody adds interest and creates a smooth melodic shape.
Vocabulary To Learn
- harmony: the notes or chords that accompany the melody of a piece of music
- octave: an interval of eight notes, eg. C to the next C is an octave
- passing note: a melodic note not from the chord, linking two chord tones
- monophonic: a texture that consists of a single line of music
- homophonic: a texture that consists of two or more musical lines moving at the same time (with the same rhythm)
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- An interval of a 3rd is three tones higher or lower than the first note.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Triadic harmony can be used to build a melody by using one or two of the triad notes and the other in the bass. Melodies are often higher in the scoring so we can play them up the octave.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'harmony'
the notes or chords that accompany the melody of a piece of music.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: An interval of a 3rd is three tones higher or lower than the first note. Correction: In C major (where pupils are counting the white keys), they should count the starting note and final note, plus any in between. So an interval of a 3rd is actually two tones higher or lower than the first note. An octave would be seven notes higher.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 9 Music guide library.