3.1 Chord Basics DEMO

VIDEO CHAPTERS

• Description & Objectives

  Description:
  Students will create an eight bar chord part using the chord trigger tool in Soundtrap and add layers to a pre-existing drum track.

  Musical Objectives:
  Learn the major and minor tonalities and how they affect emotion.
  Create a chord progression with intention.

  Technical Objectives:
  Use Soundtrap’s chord trigger tool to trial sounds.
  Add chords to a project timeline.
  Merge regions.
  Duplicate tracks.

• Teacher Prep & Materials

  Prep:
  Practice using the chord trigger tool to create your own chord progressions. Find a chord and lyrics chart of a song you like and try to recreate some of the chord parts using the triggers. Look through the class Spotify or Youtube playlists and find examples of songs that have clear chord progressions that demonstrate major and minor. Practice playing parallel major and minor (C major, C minor) on the piano keyboard to use for demonstration.
  Copy the template for the project to your Soundtrap account, create an assignment, and share the link with students with your LMS.

  Materials:
  3.1 Project Rubric
  SOUNDTRAP TEMPLATE

• Procedure

  As a Class:

  1. Watch the top video and discuss what a chord is, how chord qualities change the listener’s feelings, and how progressions can convey emotion.

  2. Complete some of the connection activities to build confidence and understanding of the material.

  3. Watch the longer step-by-step videos and create a chord progression with layers together using the teacher’s device connected to a projector.

  Individual:

  1. Instruct students to copy and paste the assignment URL from their LMS to open the Soundtrap Assignment on their own devices.

  2. Have students watch the short step-by-step videos to create their own chord progression with layers. Encourage them to create with intention during this step.

  3. Remind students to check their work by viewing the checklist.

  4. When students are done, they can show each other their chord progressions, create more progressions, and/or learn about inversions and voice leading by accessing the enrichment page for the project.

• Assessment

  LINK TO RUBRIC
  Informal Assessment:

  • Check for understanding by asking questions during the class viewing of the step-by-step videos.

  • Walk around the room while students are completing the individual portion of their projects to check if they understand the technical objectives like adding chords to the timeline, merging regions, and duplicating tracks.

  Formal Assessment:

  • The completed chord progression projects can be graded by the instructor against the rubric.

  • Students can also present their chord progressions to each other in small groups or to the entire class.

• Connection Activities

  Chord Quality Guessing Game:
  Using the chord trigger tool at the teacher’s computer, play a basic chord quality (major, minor, or diminished) and have students guess the quality. Points can be awarded to students who guess the chord quality correctly. This game can be played as a class or in partners using headphone splitters. More advanced students can try some of the more advanced chord qualities by changing the quality sets. As an extension of the activity, play a chord from a student or teacher-selected song and have students use their ears to determine the quality.

  Chord Quality Scavenger Hunt:
  Have students find three examples of major and minor chords in a song of their choosing. This is great to do in small groups and to have students share their songs with the class, creating an SEL connection to the student’s interests.

  Chord Progression Direction Guided Listening:
  Play a sequence of chords using the chord trigger tool at the teacher’s station. Have students identify the direction between the chords by showing the direction with their fingers (point up if the chord went up and point down if the chord went down) and the quality by showing the mood on their face (happy faces for major and sad faces for minor). Start with chord progressions that use parallel motion (where letters are next to each other) and gradually move to progressions that use more leaps between chords. Have students identify if the motion is a step or a leap by having them move their direction finger up or down by a small or large amount.

  Cover Song:
  Find the chord progression to a student or teacher-selected song by typing the title of the song in a search engine followed by the words “chords and lyrics.” Use the chord tool to create a cover of the chord progression as a class. The students can also play the chord progression together by using the chord triggers like an instrument. Give them time to practice their progression playing, play it as a class, and have individuals play it. Encourage students to complete the same exercise to cover songs they want to do themselves after they have completed their project.

• Differentiation

  Enrichment:
  If students have an understanding of the material and you would like them to access the enrichment page, enter the password 88tg88tg. The enrichment page covers how to invert chords in the piano roll to create smooth voice leading. It is possible for students to mistakenly move notes to wrong locations while inverting chords. Ask students who are completing the enrichment to listen back to their chord progressions closely to make sure that all the notes have been moved correctly.

  Remediation:
  If students are having trouble with the technical or musical elements of the lesson, partner them up with students who have a firm grasp of the topic. Remove the expectation of creating layers for students who are having trouble understanding the chord trigger tool.

• Notes

  I encourage my students to keep a log of chord progressions that they like. If they write one using the chord trigger tool, I have them write it down in a journal. If they work on this skill in addition to classwide ear training using the triggers, they will begin to develop an ear for chord qualities and progression. The ultimate goal is for students to hear a chord progression in a song that they know and to have them identify it by ear. The creative application of this is to be able to hear a chord progression in their head and quickly find it using the chord trigger tool. You can help this process along by doing chord trigger ear training as bell ringer type activities.
  Make sure that students use the same chord progression for the different layers in their project. I’ve seen students who write many chord progressions in the different layers and while it can lead to some more complex voicings, it often results in unwanted dissonance.

• Standards & Pathways

  Core Arts Standards

  1. Creating:

     • Anchor Standard 1 (Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work): Learn the major and minor tonalities and their emotional effects.

     • Anchor Standard 2 (Organize and develop artistic ideas and work): Use Soundtrap’s chord trigger tool to trial sounds and create a chord progression.

     • Anchor Standard 3 (Refine and complete artistic work): Add chords to a project timeline, merge regions, and duplicate tracks.

  2. Performing:

     • Anchor Standard 4 (Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation): Create chord progressions with layers as a class using a projector.

  3. Responding:

     • Anchor Standard 7 (Perceive and analyze artistic work): Check for understanding by asking questions during class activities.

     • Anchor Standard 8 (Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work): Present chord progressions to peers and discuss the emotional impact.

  4. Connecting:

     • Anchor Standard 11 (Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding): Connect chord progressions to real-world music applications.

  Technology Literacy Standards

  1. Empowered Learner (ISTE Standard 1):

     • Use Soundtrap’s chord trigger tool to experiment with chord progressions and track learning progress.

  2. Creative Communicator (ISTE Standard 6):

     • Experiment with creating chord progressions and presenting them digitally.

  Career Readiness

  • Music Production: Skills in creating and arranging chord progressions.

  • Sound Engineering: Understanding technical aspects of chord progressions.

  • Broadcasting and DJing: Ability to create and analyze chord progressions for performances.

  Multimedia Production: Integrating chord progressions into various projects.