High+School+Music+Theory

This is a lesson on modes for a high school theory course. This lesson can easily be expanded into an entire unit, or modified for other grade levels, if desired.

The primary objective is for students to gain a full understanding of modal scales and how they are built, focusing in on major (Ionian) and minor (Aeolian), then going briefly over the other modes. By incorporating audio examples, some of which involving changing the mode/key of familiar pieces, students can get an understanding of why different keys exist. The lesson begins with explaining how a major scale is built using whole steps and half steps, then shows how changing the order of the whole steps and half steps affects the scale, and affects how the scale sounds.

Your students will need to have heard major scales prior to this lesson. I would recommend having students going into this lesson familiar with basic major scales, chords and chord progressions, and key signatures. This lesson transitions well into a unit/lesson about modulations, advanced scales (octatonic, pentatonic), and especially works well with a unit on composition.

Provided for you is a lesson plan, an in-depth explanation of the sequence, a review sheet, and a document containing a list of usable song examples. Please edit them as needed to fit the needs or desires of your class. Do not be afraid to simplify or add complexity to the lesson based on the age or knowledge level of your class.


 * ATTACHED IS A LESSON PLAN (MUSIC THEORY SAMPLE LESSON.PDF), AN EXPANDED EXPLANATION OF THE SEQUENCE, THE REVIEW SHEET (MODES QUICK-SHEET.DOCX), AND A LIST OF SONG MATERIALS (SONG EXAMPLES LIST.DOCX). YOU MAY ALSO SEARCH FOR THEM UNDER THE TAG (MUSIC THEORY).**

As stated in the plans, I highly recommend creating a play list on services like YouTube or Spotify where you can either save them off-line or have them opened and loaded ahead of time to reduce a break in class flow.

Have fun with this lesson! My students, usually fairly disengaged with the theory seemed to be brimming with interest and excitement when the song examples were played, especially with the examples where the piece was modulated into a different mode.

Andrew Peters