Class: Senior Secondary School 2 (SS2 / SSS 2)
Term: 1st Term
Week: 3
Age: 16 years
Duration: 45 minutes
Subject: Music
Curriculum Theme: Music Theory
Previous Lesson: Triads: Meaning and Secondary Triads.
Topic: Harmony with (cadences). Elementary harmony.
Subject Matter: Meaning of harmony and cadences, identifying and writing roots of triads, rules of harmony, harmonizing a passage.

Specific Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to:

Cognitive Domain:

Define harmony and cadences.
Identify the roots of triads in a given musical passage.
State three basic rules of harmony.

Affective Domain:

Appreciate the importance of harmony in creating musical structure.
Develop an interest in understanding musical composition.

Psychomotor Domain:

Write the roots of triads accurately.
Harmonize a short musical passage using indicated triads.

Collaborate with peers to analyze musical examples.
Participate actively in class discussions on harmony.

Reference Materials

The following resources were used in planning this lesson:

Senior Secondary Schools Education Curriculum
State Unified Scheme of Work
New System Music for Senior Secondary Schools, Book 2

Instructional Materials

The teacher will teach this lesson with the aid of:

Keyboard
Printed score excerpts
Manuscript paper
Chord chart
Staff board

Rationale for the Lesson

This lesson helps pupils understand how musical notes are combined to create rich sounds and how musical phrases are brought to a close. Understanding harmony and cadences is important for appreciating and creating structured music.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Pupils should have basic knowledge of musical notes, scales, and chords.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

Harmony and Cadences

Meaning of Harmony

Harmony is the combination of different musical notes sounded simultaneously to produce a pleasing and structured sound. It provides support and richness to a melody.

Meaning of Cadences

A cadence is a sequence of chords that brings a musical phrase or section to a feeling of conclusion or pause. Cadences act like musical punctuation marks.

Common types of cadences include:

Perfect Cadence (V-I): Sounds final and conclusive.
Imperfect Cadence (I-V, IV-V, ii-V): Sounds like a pause, not a full stop.
Plagal Cadence (IV-I): Often used for “Amen” in hymns, sounds gentle.
Interrupted Cadence (V-VI): Unexpected ending, creating a surprise.

Identifying and Writing Roots of Triads

A triad is a chord consisting of three notes: a root, a third, and a fifth. The root is the foundational note from which the triad is built.

To identify the root of a triad:

Arrange the notes of the chord into thirds (stack them up).
The lowest note of the stacked chord is the root.

Example: For the chord C-E-G, C is the root.

Basic Rules of Harmony (Voice Leading)

Harmonizing involves combining different melodic lines (voices) to create chords. The following are basic rules for good voice leading:

Smooth Movement: Each voice should move to the nearest possible chord tone, minimizing large leaps.
Avoid Parallel Fifths and Octaves: Two voices moving in the same direction, maintaining the interval of a perfect fifth or octave, should be avoided as they weaken the independence of the voices.
Doubling: In major and minor triads, the root is usually doubled. The third and fifth can also be doubled, but the leading tone should not be doubled.
Range of Voices: Keep each voice (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass) within its comfortable singing range.
Chord Connection: Common tones between chords should be held in the same voice if possible.

Harmonizing a Passage

To harmonize a given melody using indicated triads:

Analyze the melody and identify suitable chord progressions based on the indicated triads.
Write the bass line, ensuring it supports the harmony.
Fill in the inner voices (alto and tenor) following the rules of harmony (voice leading, avoiding parallels).
Ensure each chord has its root, third, and fifth (or a doubled note) and that the voice ranges are appropriate.

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

Discussion, Lecture, Demonstration, Question and Answer, Visual Aids

Instructional Procedures

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 5 minutes
Teaching Skill: Set Induction
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher greets the pupils, reviews the previous lesson on basic chords, and introduces the new topic of harmony and cadences.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond to greetings, recall previous knowledge, and listen attentively to the introduction.
Learning Point: Pupils connect the new lesson to their prior knowledge of music fundamentals.

Step 2: Explanation of Harmony and Cadences

Time: 10 minutes
Teaching Skill: Explanation/Demonstration
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explains harmony as the combination of notes for rich sound and cadences as musical endings, using keyboard examples to illustrate.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen, observe the keyboard demonstrations, and ask questions for clarification.
Learning Point: Pupils understand the basic concepts of harmony and cadences.

Step 3: Identifying Roots of Triads

Time: 8 minutes
Teaching Skill: Guided Practice
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher guides pupils on how to identify and write the roots of triads in a short musical passage provided on the staff board.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils practice identifying and writing the roots of triads as guided by the teacher on manuscript paper.
Learning Point: Pupils can identify the foundational note of a triad.

Step 4: Rules of Harmony

Time: 7 minutes
Teaching Skill: Discussion/Instruction
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher discusses and writes the three basic rules of harmony (smooth movement, avoiding parallel 5ths/8ths, doubling) on the board.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen, take notes on the rules, and ask for clarifications where needed.
Learning Point: Pupils learn important guidelines for good voice leading in harmony.

Step 5: Harmonizing a Passage

Time: 10 minutes
Teaching Skill: Practical Application
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher guides pupils through harmonizing a simple melody using indicated triads, checking for correct chord placement and adherence to voice leading rules.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils attempt to harmonize the given melody on manuscript paper, applying the rules of harmony.
Learning Point: Pupils gain practical experience in applying harmony rules to a musical passage.

Step 6: Class Discussion and Correction

Time: 3 minutes
Teaching Skill: Feedback/Correction
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher reviews pupils’ harmonized passages, offering corrections and constructive feedback to improve their understanding.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils discuss their work, make necessary corrections, and ask further questions about the harmonization process.
Learning Point: Reinforces understanding and corrects misconceptions regarding harmonization.

Step 7: Evaluation/Review

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Questioning/Assessment

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher evaluates the learning by asking the following questions:

What is harmony in music?
Explain what a musical cadence is.
State two basic rules of harmony.
How do you identify the root of a triad?

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils answer orally and in writing.

Learning Point: Pupils demonstrate understanding of the lesson.

Step 8: Conclusion

Time: 2 minutes
Teaching Skill: Summarization
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher summarizes the key points of the lesson on harmony and cadences and assigns homework.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen, ask final questions, and note down the homework assignment.
Learning Point: Consolidates learning and prepares pupils for independent practice.

Lesson Keywords

Harmony – The combination of different musical notes sounded simultaneously.
Cadence – A sequence of chords that brings a musical phrase to a conclusion.
Triad – A chord consisting of three notes: a root, a third, and a fifth.
Root – The foundational note of a chord.
Voice leading – The movement of individual melodic lines within a harmonic progression.
Parallel fifths – Two voices moving in the same direction, maintaining the interval of a perfect fifth.
Parallel octaves – Two voices moving in the same direction, maintaining the interval of an octave.

Differentiation

For struggling learners, the teacher will provide simpler passages for identification and harmonization, offering more direct guidance. For advanced learners, the teacher will encourage them to harmonize more complex melodies or analyze harmony in real musical excerpts.

Note for teachers using this lesson plan

Emphasize practical examples on the keyboard to illustrate harmony and cadences. Encourage active listening and hands-on practice with manuscript paper for identifying roots and harmonizing passages. Ensure pupils understand the importance of each rule of harmony.