DANCE MUSIC

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Scheme of Work

Dance Music – Scheme of Work page 1

 Dance Music
 A scheme of work of 6-8 lessons for Years 7-9 including complete lesson plans and a 12-page pupil
workbook
 Listen to dances from Renaissance pavane to contemporary dubstep
 Perform a disco song (solo and ensemble) using voices, keyboards and percussion
 Compose an electronic dance track using online sequencer
 Learn about time signatures, instruments and the 'circle progression' of chords

 To differentiate between examples dance music through time, from the Renaissance pavane to present-
day dubstep
 To learn to play the ‘circle progression’ Am-Dm-G-C-F-B dim-E in ‘I Will Survive’
 To participate in a group performance of ‘I Will Survive’
 To compose a club dance track using www.soundation.com

 Lesson 1: Metre
 Lesson 2: Instruments
 Lesson 3: Disco
 Lesson 4: Listening/Solo Performing Assessment
 Lesson 5-6, 7 or 8: Performing/Composing projects

 Periods, dances, time signatures and instrumentation:

o Renaissance – pavane (2/2) – viols, crumhorns and side drums
o Baroque – gigue (6/8) – oboes, trumpets, timpani, strings
o Classical – minuet (3/4) – double woodwind, horns, trumpets, timpani, strings
o Romantic – waltz (3/4) – double/triple woodwind, full brass, harp, strings
o Modern – disco (4/4) – electric/bass guitars, drum kit, piano, strings
o Contemporary – dubstep (4/4) – electronic drum machine, samplers, synths

 Performing - ‘I Will Survive’ (ensemble)

 Composing – electronic dance track (online sequencer)
 Listening – six dances from different periods of music history

Dance Music – Scheme of Work page 2

 To differentiate between common time signatures in performing and listening
 To associate six periods in Music History with their typical dances

 Dance Music workbooks

 YouTube videos for listening exercise (the first four all show the instruments as well):
o 16th c. Renaissance – Susato’s Pavane ‘La Bataille’ –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts8vhusJOBo
o 17th c. Baroque – Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3: Gigue –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k73xKG4pn8
o 18th c. Classical – Haydn’s London Symphony: Minuet –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaEJ7dGZsec
o 19th c. Romantic – Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers from the Nutcracker
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwgOWDUlDgY
o 20th c. Modern (Disco) – Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBR2G-iI3-I
o 21st c. Contemporary (Dubstep) - Stepcat’s ‘The Jitterbug EP’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI7Cod-0ORs&list=PLqweH_Szu3vV-QZH3LaJk85vaa-
EFQ_nd

 Teacher distributes workbooks (one per pupil)

 Pupils listen to six excerpts of dance music, one from each of the last six centuries, but in a random
order. For each excerpt, write the century (16th-21st) and the period of music history

 Learn to clap dance rhythms on front page of workbook, discussing differences in time signature.
 Discuss the increasing use of syncopation as time progresses, particularly in modern and contemporary
dance music.
 Copy teacher sitting on chair and playing imaginary bass drum with right foot (heel on floor), stamping
on four beats in a bar (‘four-one-the-floor’)
 Copy teacher continuing the ‘four-one-the-floor’ while clapping on the second and fourth beats of each
bar. Alternatively, an imaginary snare drum can be played by slapping right thigh with left hand.
 Copy teacher continuing the ‘four-one-the-floor’ while tapping a variety of hi-hat rhythms on the left
thigh: continuous quavers or (more difficult) off-beat quavers with the right hand only, or (more
difficult) continuous semiquavers with both hands.

 Listen to the to six excerpts of dance music again, this time in chronological order, writing the period of
music history, the type of dance, and the time signature.
 Pupils who play instruments should bring them to the next lesson

Dance Music – Scheme of Work page 3

 To differentiate between common time signatures while performing and listening
 To associate six periods in Music History with their typical dances

 Pupils’ instruments (if applicable)

 Dance Music workbooks
 YouTube videos for listening exercise (the first four all show the instruments as well):
o 16th c. Renaissance – Susato’s Pavane ‘La Bataille’ –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts8vhusJOBo
o 17th c. Baroque – Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3: Gigue –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k73xKG4pn8
o 18th c. Classical – Haydn’s London Symphony: Minuet –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaEJ7dGZsec
o 19th c. Romantic – Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers from the Nutcracker
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwgOWDUlDgY
o 20th c. Modern (Disco) – Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBR2G-iI3-I
o 21st c. Contemporary (Dubstep) - Stepcat’s ‘The Jitterbug EP’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI7Cod-0ORs&list=PLqweH_Szu3vV-QZH3LaJk85vaa-
EFQ_nd

 Listen to the six excerpts in chronological order and tick the instruments.
 Discuss the answers, noting how the instrumental groups become larger until the Romantic period.
Electric instruments emerge in the modern period, while the contemporary dubstep is completely
electronic (albeit using samples of instruments such as the clarinet):
o Renaissance – pavane (2/2) – viols, crumhorns and side drums
o Baroque – gigue (6/8) – oboes, trumpets, timpani, strings
o Classical – minuet (3/4) – double woodwind, horns, trumpets, timpani, strings
o Romantic – waltz (3/4) – double/triple woodwind, full brass, harp, strings
o Modern – disco (4/4) – electric/bass guitars, drum kit, piano, strings
o Contemporary – dubstep (4/4) – electronic drum machine, samplers, synths

 Assign parts and rehearse classroom performance of Susato’s Pavane ‘La Bataille’

 Perform and record classroom performance of Susato’s Pavane ‘La Bataille’

 Listen to and discuss recording

Dance Music – Scheme of Work page 4

 To discover the musical features of Disco music
 To learn the melody and chord sequence for the disco song ‘I Will Survive’

 Dance music workbook: pages 4-5 (Disco/I Will Survive)

 YouTube videos for listening exercise:
o Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBR2G-iI3-I
o Bee Gees’ ‘Staying Alive’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa9n7GirhsI
o Rose Royce’s ‘Car Wash’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFVcqVM9vhw
 Keyboards and headphones

 Listen to the three Disco songs and answer the questions on worksheet:

1. How many beats in a bar are there? 4

2. Roughly how many beats per minute (bpm) are there? 120
3. Which high plucked string instrument is playing? Electric guitar
4. Which low plucked string instrument is playing? (Electric) bass (guitar)
5. Which high bowed string instrument is playing? Violin
6. Which low-pitched drum in the drum kit plays on all of these beats? Bass drum
7. Which higher-pitched drum in the drum kit plays on the 2nd and 4th beats? Snare drum
8. Which cymbal in the drum kit plays on the offbeat quavers (half-beat notes)? Hi-hat

 Distribute worksheets (one per pupil) and learn to sing, phrase by phrase, ‘I Will Survive’ from sheet
music; perform the song as a class
 ‘I Will Survive’ is based on a chord sequence known as a ‘circle’ progression (because it comes full
circle). the worksheet, complete the notes and diagrams for the chords Am, Dm, G, C, F, B dim and E
 As a class, play the ‘circle’ progression from the worksheet: Am-Dm-G-C-F-B dim-E-E
 In pairs on keyboards, learn to play the ‘circle’ progression with the right hand, keeping a steady sense
of the four beats in each bar. This task can be differentiated as follows:
o Less able pupils only play the bass line (i.e. the first note/root of each chord)
o more able pupils have a keyboard to themselves and play with both hands

 Some or all pupils play their work-in-progress to the rest of the class (try to show the range of
differentiated tasks above)
 During next lesson, all pupils will be assessed on:
o Performing on the keyboard
o Listening to the six dances/periods studied

Dance Music – Scheme of Work page 5

 To demonstrate understanding of the six dances/periods studied
 To perform the ‘circle progression’ on the keyboard

 Pupil’s workbook
 YouTube links for six dances (see Lesson 1)
 Keyboards and headphones

–
 Pupils complete Listening Assessment on back of workbook (page 12) – workbooks must not be
opened during assessment
 Pupils listen to the six dances in a random order and identify the following for each one:
o Century [1]
o Period of Music History [1]
o Name of dance [1]
o Time Signature [1]
o Three instruments [3]
–
 Pupils demonstrates the ‘circle’ progression (as used in ‘I Will Survive’), differentiated as follows:
o Less able pupils only play the bass line (i.e. the first note/root of each chord)
o more able pupils have a keyboard to themselves and play with both hands
 Pupils practise the ‘circle’ progression, differentiated as above.
 Any pupils who do not wish to perform in front of the class should be assessed before the plenary.

–
 Pupils perform ‘circle’ progression to the rest of the class, assessed by teacher.

 Pupils should bring their instruments next lesson if they would like to play them in a group
performance of ‘I Will Survive’.

Dance Music – Scheme of Work page 6

N.B. The whole scheme of work would need to last for 7 or 8 lessons to give both of these projects sufficient
time. Either the performing or the composing project could be completed in a total of 6 lessons.

 To participate in a group performance of ‘I Will Survive’

 To compose a club dance track using www.soundation.com

 Dance workbook
 Practice rooms
 Instruments as necessary (see below)
 Laptops with access to www.soundation.com (sequencing website)

 The class is divided into groups of 4-6, made up as follows:

o One or two pupils (depending on their confidence and ability) singing the melody
o Two pupils (or one more able pupil) play the ‘circle’ progression on the keyboard :
 One (less able) pupil plays the bass line A-D-G-C-F-B-E-E
 One pupil plays the chord sequence Am-Dm-G-C-F-B dim-E-E
o Between one and three pupils sharing the drum kit rhythm, depending on ability:
 One pupil plays the ‘four-one-the-floor’ beat on a tom tom (doubling for bass drum with
a large, soft beater
 One pupil plays the snare drum on the second and fourth beats of the bar
 One pupil plays the hi-hat rhythm (continuous quavers, offbeat quavers or continuous
semiquavers)
o One or more pupils playing the bass line on their own instrument (e.g. cello)

–
 The groups go to practice rooms and other breakout areas to practise ‘I Will Survive’, monitored by the
teacher.
–
 Teacher goes through composing project.
 Teacher explains that the pupils have three or four more lessons to complete both projects before
the exams.
 Roughly half the class practise their performance in groups while the other half compose
individually; swap halfway through the lesson.

Dance Music – Scheme of Work page 7

N.B. The whole scheme of work would need to last for 7 or 8 lessons to give both of these projects sufficient
time. Either the performing or the composing project could be completed in a total of 6 lessons.

 To participate in a group performance of ‘I Will Survive’

 To compose a club dance track using www.soundation.com

 Dance workbook
 Practice rooms
 Instruments as necessary (see below)
 Laptops with access to www.soundation.com (sequencing website)

 Roughly half the class practise their performance in groups while the other half compose
individually; swap halfway through the lesson.

 Teacher demonstrates how to complete Sessioneof the composing task using www.soundation.com
(sequencing website)
 Main - performing
 Using laptop, pupils compose their drum rhythm

 The groups practise ‘I Will Survive’ as follows:

o One or two pupils (depending on their confidence and ability) singing the melody
o Two pupils (or one more able pupil) play the ‘circle’ progression on the keyboard :
 One (less able) pupil plays the bass line A-D-G-C-F-B-E-E
 One pupil plays the chord sequence Am-Dm-G-C-F-B dim-E-E
o Between one and three pupils sharing the drum kit rhythm, depending on ability:
 One pupil plays the ‘four-one-the-floor’ beat on a tom tom (doubling for bass drum with
a large, soft beater
 One pupil plays the snare drum on the second and fourth beats of the bar
 One pupil plays the hi-hat rhythm (continuous quavers, offbeat quavers or continuous
semiquavers)
o One or more pupils playing the bass line on their own instrument (e.g. cello)

Dance Music – Scheme of Work page 8

 Name Form

DANCE MUSIC

Image: Creative Commons Licence free for commercial use https://pixabay.com/p-254494

Pupil Workbook

Dance Music – Pupil Workbook page 1

 DANCE MUSIC
Listen to six excerpts of dance music, one from each of the last six centuries, but in a random order.

Write the century (16th-21st) you think each excerpt comes from.

Choose a period of music history from the following list:

Contemporary Baroque Modern Romantic Classical Renaissance

Excerpt Century Period of Music History

16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th or 21st

Dance Rhythms

Dance Music – Pupil Workbook page 2

 Types of Dance
Listen to the to six excerpts of dance music again, this time in chronological order, writing the period of
music history, the type of dance, and the time signature. The first one is done for you.

Excerpt Century Period of Music History Type of Dance Time signature

Number

1 16th Renaissance Pavane 2

2

2 17th

3 18th

4 19th

5 20th

6 21st

Instruments
Listen to the six excerpts in chronological order and tick the instruments you hear.

Percussion Strings Woodwind Percussion Electronic

Drum machine
Electric Guitar
Bowed strings
Snare drum

Synthesiser
Trombones
Bass Guitar

Crumhorns
Bass drum
Side drum

Trumpets
Bassoons
Clarinets

Sampler
Timpani

Horns
Oboes
Hi-hat

Flutes
Harp

Dance Music – Pupil Workbook page 3

Pavane ‘La Bataille’

Dance Music – Pupil Workbook page 4

 Disco

Image: Creative Commons Licence free for commercial use https://pixabay.com/en/disco-dancing-dance-party-music-303352/

Answer the questions for all three songs to explore the musical features of disco.

1. How many beats in a bar are there?........................

2. Roughly how many beats per minute (bpm) are there?............... (Count the beats for one second,
and multiply the result by 60.)
3. Which high plucked string instrument is playing?.................................
4. Which low plucked string instrument is playing? .................................
5. Which high bowed string instrument is playing? .................................
6. Which low-pitched drum in the drum kit plays on all of these beats? .................................
7. Which higher-pitched drum in the drum kit plays on the 2nd and 4th beats? .............................
8. Which cymbal in the drum kit plays on the offbeat quavers (half-beat notes)? .................................

DRUM KIT

1. Crash cymbal
2. Floor tom
3. Tom toms
4. Bass drum
5. Snare drum
6. Hi-hat

Image: Creative Commons Licence free for commercial use https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Drum_set.png

Dance Music – Pupil Workbook page 5

 I Will Survive
Lyrics available from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/gloriagaynor/iwillsurvive.html

Dance Music – Pupil Workbook page 6

The ‘Circle’ Progression
Complete the notes and diagrams for the following chords. The first one is done for you.

Am
Notes in chord: A, C, E

Dm
Notes in chord: ….. , ….. , …..

G
Notes in chord: ….. , ….. , …..

C
Notes in chord: ….. , ….. , …..

F
Notes in chord: ….. , ….. , …..

B dim
Notes in chord: ….. , ….. , …..

E
Notes in chord: ….. , ….. , …..

Keyboard images by author

Dance Music – Pupil Workbook page 7

 Composing Project
Brief: compose an electronic dance track (lasting between 30 and 60 seconds) using a drum loop, 4-bar
bass/synth riff, bass and samples. The piece should add the layers one at a time at the beginning and take
them away one at a time at the end.

–
 Using Internet Explorer (not Google Chrome), go to www.soundation.com
 Create a free Soundation account with your school e-mail address
 Click LAUNCH THE STUDIO
 Before you begin, save your work and continue to do so at frequent intervals
 On Channel 5 (MIDI channel), change ‘Simple’ to ‘Drum machine’ and cancel the window that pops up
 Double-click at the beginning of Bar 1 of Channel 5
 The ‘Edit Note Clip’ window pops up – this divides the bar into four beats and each beat into four
semiquavers
 Click the loop symbol at the bottom and make sure the orange bar is above Bar 1 at the top
 Press play to hear your drum loop as you compose it
 On the row marked C3 (bass drum) double-click the beginning of each of the four beats to create a
‘four-on-the-floor’ bass drum rhythm
 On C#3 (the row above C3) for the snare drum or D3 (two rows above C3) for the hand clap, double-
click the beginning of the second and fourth beats to create a ‘backbeat’
 On the two rows above that (D#3 and E3) are the closed and open hi-hat respectively – create a pattern
using continuous or offbeat quavers or continuous semiquavers
 Copy (ctrl+C) and paste (ctrl+V) your drum loop onto Bar 2, 3 and 4 of Channel 5

Images on pages 8-10: screenshots taken by author

Dance Music – Pupil Workbook page 8

 –
 Load up your drum loop from the last session (it should be on Channel 5)
 Create another MIDI channel (Channel 6) by pressing the button
 Double-click at the beginning of Bar 1 of Channel 6
 The ‘Edit Note Clip’ window pops up again
 Create a synth/bass riff based on the chord of C major, using some syncopated (off-beat) rhythms
 Copy (ctrl+C) and paste (ctrl+V) your riff onto Bar 2 of Channel 6
 In the ‘Edit Note Clip’ window, press ctrl+A to select all the bass and chord notes
 Using the up arrow key, raise all the bass and chord notes to the next chord
 If you’re not sure what chord to use, try one of the ones from ‘I Will Survive’
 Repeat the last three steps two more times to create a four-bar chord sequence
 If you’re using a minor chord, you have to lower the middle notes by one semitone

–
 Load up your drum loop and synth/bass riff from the last session (on Channels 5 and 6)
 Preview samples by double-clicking them on the right-hand menu (Electronica>Xtra Diverse)
 Choose a short sample, avoiding pitched samples that will clash with your synth/bass riff
 Structure your track by copying, pasting and moving your drum loop, synth/bass riff and sample
 Make sure you paste right on the bar line, otherwise the patterns will get out-of-sync
 Start with only one of these three patterns, then add the second, then add the third
 Finish your track by taking away one pattern at a time
 If you have time, you can add effects. Click FX on the channel and experiment.

Dance Music – Pupil Workbook page 9

Here is an example of a finished club dance track. Notice the looping and layering of the three channels.

When you have finished your track, Export .wav file into the common folder.

Composing Assessment
To be completed by teacher

Track lasts between 30 and 60 seconds

Bass drum plays on all four beats of the bar (‘four-on-the-floor’)
Snare drum plays (or handclaps) on second and fourth beats of the bar (‘backbeat’)
Hi-hat plays continuous quavers, offbeat quavers or continuous semiquavers
Repeating 4-bar chord riff on synth
Syncopated rhythm in synth riff
Bass line matches chord riff
Layers added one at a time at beginning
Layers taken away one at a time at the end
Audio sample used effectively
All the channels stay in sync during the track
Track is musically satisfying to listen to

TOTAL out of 12

Dance Music – Pupil Workbook page 10

 Performing Assessment
Your teacher will complete ONE of the following grids, depending on what you do in your ensemble.

Performs with confidence and style Sings the whole of one verse accurately

Listens to the rest of the ensemble Sings two different verses accurately

Sings the correct melodic shapes Sings from memory

Sings the correct rhythms Sings with good intonation

Sings with attention to detail Sings with consistent quality across range

Performs with confidence and style Plays in a syncopated rhythm

Listens to the rest of the ensemble Maintains a steady pulse

Plays single bass notes Can play all of the different bass notes/
chords in the correct sequence
Plays chords (broken or block chords) Plays the whole piece

Plays a pattern with rhythmic variety Plays correct notes throughout

Performs with confidence and style Plays a syncopated rhythm

Listens to the rest of the ensemble Plays at a dynamic level suitable

for accompanying the group
Bass drum (or similar) plays on all four beats of the bar Maintains a steady pulse
(‘four-on-the-floor’)
Snare drum (or similar) plays on second and fourth beats Plays the whole piece
of the bar (‘backbeat’)
Hi-hat (or similar) plays continuous quavers, offbeat Occasional rhythmic variety (e.g. fills)
quavers or continuous semiquavers

TOTAL out of 10

Dance Music – Pupil Workbook page 11

 Listening Assessment
Listen to the six dances in a random order and identify the following for each one:

o Century [1]
o Period of Music History [1]
o Name of dance [1]
o Time Signature [1]
o Three instruments [3]

The first one is done for you.

Century Period Dance Time sig. 3 Instruments

A 16th Renaissance Pavane 2 Viols

2 Crumhorns
Side Drum
B

TOTAL out of 35

Dance Music – Pupil Workbook page 12