Teacher orientation
This week asks: Why does minor have several common scale forms, and what musical problems does each solve? The three meetings move from shared experience to explicit theory and then transfer. Require students to predict before measuring or labeling; use performance and explanation together as evidence.
Minor always sounds sad; three scale forms are three separate keys; relative and parallel mean the same thing.
Three-meeting sequence
Relative minor
Construct natural, harmonic, and melodic minor
Hear C major and A minor over contrasting tonic drones.
Derive natural minor and locate relative minor a minor third below major tonic. Separate shared collection from tonal center.
Sort melodies by tonic evidence; construct natural minor scales from signatures.
How can C major and A minor use the same notes but sound different?
Label scale degrees in two relative-key melodies.
Raised seventh
Relate relative and parallel keys
Compare dominant-to-tonic motion with G and G♯ in A minor.
Show harmonic minor as a functional alteration creating a leading tone; address the augmented second.
Compose and perform cadential bass/melody pairs in minor, choosing scale degree 7 intentionally.
Why raise 7 in harmonic minor?
Write four harmonic minor scales.
Melodic flexibility
Identify minor key signatures
Sing an ascending and descending minor line and test alternate sixth/seventh degrees.
Present melodic minor as common-practice voice-leading behavior, not an immutable rule in all styles.
Analyze minor excerpts, mark altered 6 and 7, and infer melodic direction or harmonic purpose.
Which minor form best describes the excerpt, and why?
Compare parallel major and minor in a short paragraph.
Student synthesis task
Claim–evidence–application: Students submit one notated or analytical artifact from the week, a 150–250 word explanation using at least four vocabulary terms, and a brief performance, recording, or demonstration. The explanation must identify a decision, cite musical evidence, and connect the idea to unfamiliar material.
Assessment and answer guidance
| Prompt | Value |
|---|---|
| 1. What is the relative minor of E♭ major? | 2 points |
| 2. Why does harmonic minor raise scale degree 7? | 3 points |
| 3. Are melodic-minor alterations identical in every style? | 3 points |
| 4. Apply the week’s central idea to a new four-to-eight-measure example and explain the reasoning. | 7 points |
Teacher answer guidance
1. C minor.
2. To create a leading tone and strengthen dominant–tonic motion.
3. No; the textbook ascending/descending form summarizes common-practice tendencies, while real music varies.
4. Award 2 points for accurate identification or construction, 2 for correct notation/terminology, 2 for evidence tied to the example, and 1 for a clear conclusion. Accept alternate solutions when the musical reasoning is defensible.
Access, differentiation, and extension
Support without lowering the target
Anchor every form to natural minor and mark only changed degrees. Preteach vocabulary, model one complete think-aloud, reduce the number of simultaneous variables, and allow a second attempt after feedback.
Extension
Compare classical melodic minor with jazz melodic minor.
Evidence to retain
Keep the exit tickets, synthesis artifact, and scored application prompt. Together they show factual fluency, transfer, and the student’s ability to explain music—not only select an answer.