We warmed up our voices by singing the ‘Cowboy song’, a call-and-response song that uses the pentatonic scale C-D-E-G-A.
We then watched a video of Bobby McFerrin. The performance showcased the power of the pentatonic scale and allowed for us to see how the pitch can move higher and lower, ascending and descending in scale. We talked about how moving between notes can also mean moving in and out of order, as long as the notes used are within the correct pentatonic scale.
To put this knowledge into practise, we began to improvise melodies within the pentatonic scale C-D-E-G-A on the glockenspiel. Working with a partner, we identified how the shape of the pitch moved up and down. We then played a game of ‘copy me’ where one partner had to create a short pattern using the notes from the pentatonic scale, the other partner had to listen and the repeat the pattern back before swapping.
