String Pedagogy Notebook

Develop Melodies Out of Harmonic Formula

Have a student make up a simple tune based on a given chord progression. At first, these tunes will be made up only of chord tones.As students become more advanced, passing tones and non-chord tones may be added.

Accompany Melodies with Appropriate Harmonic Accompaniment

After a tune has been composed by a student, have the rest of class accompany them using notes from the given chord progression. A sample chord progression may look like this:

G: I-VI-II-V Demonstrate different possible rhythmic ideas students can use in accompanying, and also different bowing techniques, or combining arco and pizz. Tell the students that they can also use rests.

Other possibilities include arpeggiating harmonic functions, adding neighboring tones, and adding color tones like the 9th, 11th, and 13th.

Accompany After One Hearing

Eventually, after listening to a tune one time through, the students will be able to spontaneously create an appropriate harmonic accompaniment.

PREV |1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | NEXT