Harmony
What will we learn?
Today we will focus on what harmony is and how it makes a good song a great song.
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This can take 20 minutes to complete but we recommend spending around 30-35 minutes on it.
What is harmony?
A harmony works alongside the melody and it is when two or more notes are played or sang at the same time.
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Theses notes might be of a high or low pitch and help create the mood of the song.
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Most harmonies are made up of chords. For example, the chord of C is created by playing the notes of C, E and G together and this creates a bright sounding major harmony but the chord of A Minor (using the notes A, C and E) creates a gloomy sounding minor harmony.
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QUICK ACTIVITY!
Watch the video below to hear about different major and minor chords can change the mood of a song:
If you get a
song stuck in your head, this is probably because it has a catchy melody or tune!
QUICK ACTIVITY!
Think of the following feelings, do you think they'd have a major harmony or a minor harmony?
- excited?
- tired?
- sad?
- angry?
- pleased?
- hurt?
- proud?
Now let's think about some songs...
Which of the clips below are major and bright or minor and gloomy? Are some a mixture of all of them? What are the different voices doing?
#LoveToLearn challenge:
Using the last video of Feed the Birds, can you create a timeline of when different voices are doing different things and where it changes from a minor to a major harmony? How does this change the mood?
Can you...
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Say what harmony is?
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Tell the difference between major and minor harmonies?
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Tell how harmony changes the mood of a piece of music?
Are you ready to learn about texture?
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