Ice Cream Changes

(The chord sequence I, vi, IV, V7)

Students will:

·  Understand the elements of music through focussed listening, identifying and describing (PK)

·  investigate characteristics of pop music from 1950’s on (UC)

·  recognise and understand notes on treble and bass clef (PK)

·  prepare, rehearse, present and evaluate (tempo, accuracy, technique, articulation, style) short pieces of music (PK, CI)

·  recognise chord changes (PK)

Learning Activities:

·  Get a couple of student volunteers to play Heart and Soul on the piano. Discuss the concept of Ostinato. (See Music: A Practical Teaching Guide – Hodge, Pollak and Dunbar-Hall publ. Science Press p.17 for another activity using this piece)

·  Play the “Ice Cream Changes” chord sequence to them (C, am, F, G) discuss the concepts and sounds of major and minor triads. Have them identify major and minor chords that you play on piano and / or guitar. There are lots of 50’s songs that use the sequence that you can play.

·  Teach them how to play the chords C, amin, F and G (or G7) on keyboard or guitar.

·  Listen to Those Magic Changes from Grease which uses this chord sequence.

·  Students play the chords along with the recording.

·  Listen to Superman; It’s Not Easy by the band Five For Fighting. This song uses the same chords but in a different order. (C, G, amin, F) Students can play along with the recording until they work out this progression.

·  Play classroom arrangement of Superman; It’s Not Easy as a whole class.

·  Set up some listening questions and listen to Lonely by Akon. This song has recently been released and uses a variation on Ice Cream Changes (in this case C, em, F, G – the students can play along and figure out which chord is different and what chord it is) You could get the students to discuss the 1950’s influences you can hear in this song: chord progression, string bass, speeded up “chipmunk” sounding vocals – like we used to do with records. They might also look at the elements that make it clearly a 2005 work: hip-hop style vocals…

Extention Ideas:

·  Extend knowledge of ostinato by playing arrangement of Pachelbel’s Canon.

·  Move into work on 12 bar blues.