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Lesson 009
Students enjoy listening to holiday music in December. Many of the students can play some of the easier songs in the Alfred 1A books, but they also would like to play some of the songs in more difficult books. This lesson was used to teach the students the chord feature on our Casio keyboards and may be applied to other keyboards.
Objectives:
*Students will learn to identify the B Flat, C, D, F, and G chords on the keyboard, with help from the chord setting.
*Students will accompany the teacher in class, playing the chords on the keyboard as stated by the teacher.
*To continue working on pp. 22-35 or more in the Alfred Basic Piano Library Level 1A (varies based on student level).
*To complete one or more Lessons in Music Ace 1.
*To complete one or more quizzes on our web site and report scores to the teacher.

Materials:
Alfred 1A Piano Books, keyboards and related equipment, computers (with or without Internet access), printer, Music Time Deluxe and Music Ace 1 software and teacher's manual, holiday piano books.
Procedures:  All keyboard headphones should be unplugged. Teach the students how to identify the chords on the Casio keyboard. Change the power button from Normal to Chord. Students should be able to identify the notes B Flat, C, D, F, and G in the bass clef octaves on the keyboard. Students should notice the entire chord played when they press one note (press C, keyboard plays C E G). This can also be viewed on the keyboard screen. Call out the note names and have students play them until they are familiar with the notes / chords. Students should release the note after playing each one, otherwise, the chords may sound minor instead of major. The teacher will then play several melodies of holiday songs from a piano book (we used 'Electronic Keyboard Series Christmas', 1988 Karamar Publishing and 'Swing Into Christmas' by Carl Strommen, 2002 Carl Fischer Publishing). As the teacher plays, chord names are stated and the students respond by playing that chord on the keyboard. When the students successfully play the chords in accompaniment to the teacher, we will add the percussion / rhythm section of the keyboard and play the songs again in a medium tempo. Our young students love doing this activity and they feel like they are playing the more difficult music with the teacher. Most of the students' fingers are not quite long enough to play the 3-note chords yet, but this gives them the knowledge of playing chords to accompany their music, and they learn the notes that build each major chord in B Flat, C, D, F, and G. (Minor chords have not been taught, but students should be told the difference Gm = g minor, G = G Major.)
Ask students to notice...
-What is a chord? What notes make up each major chord that we are learning?
-Does your keyboard sound differently when playing the chords and rhythms than it does when playing the chords alone?
-Can you play all 3 notes in the chord at the same time?
-What rhythm do you like the best when using rhythms to accompany your chords?
-Look at the chords listed above the staff. Name all of the major chords listed in each song.
-When you look at the chords above the staff, would you play Gm the same as G? (No, Gm is a minor chord, not major)
-What happens on the keyboard if you press more than one fingered chord note down at once? (It could become a minor or other chord, it is no longer a major chord.)

Compositions:
Students may start working on their second compositions in ABA song form (discussed in previous lessons). The composition should have notes in the treble clef starting with Middle C or higher, using notes in the F Major Scale, 3 staves and 32 or more measures. We will add a percussion part in the bass clef or percussion staff for this composition. Students may use half, quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes in the rhythm section. Students will be taught, after completing this composition, how to make dynamic changes in the song. If a student already has an understanding of how to use chords, they may use the F, C, and G major chords in their song. This will be done after the composition is complete.
Music Ace 1 - Students will continue to progress at their own pace through the lessons on the computer. Teacher will assist with students and their questions. Some students will have completed Lesson 7 or higher by this time. Worksheets and lesson benchmarks are listed in the Teacher's Manual for the Music Ace software.
Alfred Basic Piano Book 1A - If time allows, students will work individually on pages 22-35, with assistance and demonstration of notes and technique by the teacher. The teacher will follow the lesson goals and procedures as outlined in the teacher's manual for the Lesson books.
Extra Activities:
Work on musical skills through some of the quizzes and games on the Music Tech Teacher Quizzes and Games pages. Choose games according to the skill level of the students.
Post student compositions (in MIDI or Scorch (Sibelius) form on the 'Student Work' pages of this site.)
Evaluation:
*Students will be able to successfully perform all of the exercises on pp. 22-35 of the Piano Level 1A Lesson Book.
*Students will begin work on their second music composition in ABA form, using the treble clef and notes of the F Major Scale, 3 staves - one being percussion, the General MIDI sound sheet, no longer than 32-60 measures. Additional evaluation will be conducted after students learn how to write percussion parts, and make dynamic changes using the computer.
*Students will successfully complete Lesson 7 or higher in Music Ace 1, and will print a Progress Report of their work to give to the teacher and to their parents.
*Students will be able to identify the notes in the B Flat, C, D, F, and G Major chords and use the 'Chord' setting on the keyboard to accompany the teacher playing melodies on the keyboard in a group setting.

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