LESSON PLAN: Mix and Match Chords
Objective
Students will make artistic choices about chord combinations in order to compose a song.
Resources
Pencil, Paper, Guitars, Keyboard.
Procedures
- Have the students write down all the chords they know. Hint: You can do this as a class with you writing them on each slip of paper or have the students do it.
- Pick one of the chords and play it using one of the rhythms that the class already knows. Repeat this step until you have (4) chords chosen.
- Once the students are comfortable with the chord pattern. Remove one of the chords and choose a new one.
- Have the students compare the new one to the old one and ask which they liked better. Will it sound better in another part of your song?
Extension
- Record the song using one of the devices available to you (i.e. Smartphone, PC or other recording device)
- Make the rhythms more complex by trying something new like the Reggae rhythm from the teacher manual.
National Core Arts Standards (Music)
National Core Arts Standards (Music) Anchor Standard 1: Generate and Conceptualize artistic ideas and work. Example: Harmonizing Instruments MU:Cr1.1.H.Ia (High School Proficient) Generate melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic ideas for improvisations, compositions (forms such as theme and variation or 12-bar blues), and three-or-more-chord accompaniments in a variety of patterns (such as arpeggio, country and gallop strumming, finger picking patterns).Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work. Example: Harmonizing Instruments MU:Cr2.1.H.5a (Novice) Select, develop, and use standard notation or audio/video recording to document melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic ideas for drafts of simple melodies (such as two-phrase) and chordal accompaniments for given melodies.Common Core Correlation: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.1.b Build on others’ talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges.