Year 9 - Music
Developing a bass line in a Brazilian song
Understanding samba
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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 pupils to Samba as a type of Brazilian dance and music, including batucada. They learn the context of the style and about the instruments, ensembles and features of the music, including polyrhythm and develop a Samba-style composition.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to create a syncopated bass line using chord tones and octaves.
Key Notes
- A bass line can be created using just the root note, or by adding additional notes, including octaves and chord tones.
- Chord tones are notes that are included in a chord.
- Octaves are different pitches of the same note (e.g. a low C and a higher C).
- These are not essential in a bass line, but they make it more interesting and complex than just using root notes.
Vocabulary To Learn
- root note: the root note is the main note of a chord and what the chord is named after
- octave: an octave is an interval of 8 notes (e.g. a C and the next highest C are an octave apart)
- chord tone: a chord tone is any note that is included in a chord (e.g. a C chord has the chord tones C, E and G)
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- The bass line must have a different rhythm from the chords and percussion parts.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
A bass line can be created using just the root note, or by adding additional notes, including octaves and chord tones. Chord tones are notes that are included in a chord.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'root note'
the root note is the main note of a chord and what the chord is named after.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: The bass line must have a different rhythm from the chords and percussion parts. Correction: It can be appropriate for the bass line to use the same rhythm as another part. If it sounds effective then it is fine.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 9 Music guide library.