Unit Plan 12 (Grade 3 Music): Major & Minor Sounds
Grade 3 music unit: students create major/minor melodies, then use listening, tempo, and dynamics to shape mood and explain expressive intent.
Focus: Create and identify melodies in major and minor tonalities, exploring how tonality and expressive qualities (tempo, dynamics, mood) work together to show expressive intent.
Grade Level: 3
Subject Area: Music (Melody • Tonality • Expression)
Total Unit Duration: 1–3 sessions (3+ weeks), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this unit, students explore how music can sound bright, calm, mysterious, or serious by listening to and creating melodies in major and minor tonalities. Through singing, movement, and simple instruments, they compare the “flavor” of major vs. minor sounds and notice how performers use expressive qualities (tempo, dynamics, articulation) to shape the mood. Students then generate short melodies in a chosen tonality and explain how their musical choices match a specific feeling, character, or story idea.
Essential Questions
- How do major and minor tonalities sound different, and how can we tell them apart?
- How can we use melody, tempo, and dynamics to show a certain mood or character in music?
- How do performers change expressive qualities to match their expressive intent?
- How can I create my own melody in a given tonality and explain why it fits a chosen feeling or story?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Distinguish between major and minor tonalities in short listening examples using descriptive words (e.g., bright, calm, serious, mysterious).
- Generate short melodic ideas (4–8 beats) in a given tonality (major or minor) using voice, instruments, or solfege.
- Choose expressive qualities (tempo, dynamics) that support the mood of their major or minor melody.
- Describe how performers’ choices of tonality and expression (tempo, dynamics, articulation) shape the mood of a piece.
- Share and reflect on their own melodies, explaining how the tonality and expressive choices connect to a specific purpose or context (story, scene, character).
Standards Alignment — Grade 3 Music (NAfME-Aligned)
- MU:Cr1.1.3b — Generate musical ideas (such as rhythms and melodies) within a given tonality and/or meter.
- Example: Writing a short melody in duple meter using a limited pitch set.
- MU:Re8.1.3a — Demonstrate and describe how expressive qualities are used in performers’ interpretations to reflect expressive intent.
- Example: Identifying how tempo creates tension.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can tell if a short piece sounds more like major or minor and describe how it feels (e.g., bright, calm, serious).
- I can create a short melody that clearly sounds major or minor using voice or instruments.
- I can choose tempo and dynamics that match the feeling I want my melody to show.
- I can explain how a performer’s choices (fast/slow, loud/soft, smooth/bouncy) change the mood of the music.
- I can talk about my own melody and say how its tonality and expression fit a story, picture, or character.