GCSE Music PENTATONIC and HEXATONIC SCALES

This substantially resourced pack builds upon prior knowledge of intervals, major and minor scales, including the creation of triads, through a detailed study of the Pentatonic Scale and its modes, alongside the two most common Hexatonic Scales, the Whole Tone Scale and the Blues Scale. It is appropriate for all GCSE Music exam boards, AQA, Edexcel, OCR, and Eduqas, and should take about 2 hours to teach. It may also be used as a bridging topic for A Level Music.

Specifically, the pack includes the following high-quality materials: an original 6-page text-book style handout, with diagrams and annotations, covering the entire content of the topic; a 5-page worksheet containing written activities relating to the creation of the scales and their triads, and a listening activity relating to the recognition of Blues Scale, Pentatonic, and Whole Tone melodies; 10 x 30-second-long MP3 files for the listening activity (also embedded into the PowerPoint); 1 x 34-slide comprehensive and beautifully animated PowerPoint, with detailed teaching guidance notes for every single slide, making delivery of content an absolute breeze; 4-page answer sheet for the activities. Please note that the handout, activity sheet, and answer sheet are all on the same (15-page) PDF document.

The content in this topic will enable students to create Pentatonic, Blues, and Whole Tone Scales and triads, understand how the Pentatonic Scale is placed into modes to change its sound, and they will gain vital experience in hearing and distinguishing between melodies made from these scales. It will be invaluable for their composition work, increasing the scope of their imaginations with regard to tonality.

I take great care to ensure my resources are of the highest quality – both in content and in presentation – and I wholeheartedly recommend them to both you and your students. I welcome feedback and enquiries from my colleague-customers all over the world, and I can be contacted directly at rainynightmusic@hotmail.com. I would be delighted to hear from you, and I thank you for considering this resource for your classroom.