How To Teach Beginning String Students a Simple Melody and Bass Line in Approximately 10 Minutes

Time Approximated: 10 minutes

Lesson Objectives


Students Will Be Able To:

  • Memorize and perform a melody on 6 different pitches (D-B) in pizzicato style.
  • Memorize and perform a bass line to said melody in arco style
  • Play both melody and bass line together and separately as an ensemble.
  • Play in 3/4 time

Students Will Learn:

  • The cultural context and style of learned piece (style, composer, etc.)
  • What 3/4 time is and how to play in said meter
  • What ABA form is

Lesson Plan

  1. Introduce Piece (45 seconds) – Title and composer, Time Written, and Biographical Context
  2. Play Melody (45 seconds) – Play Arco; remind students to become familiar with pitches while melody is played. Explain afterwards that piece is in 3/4 time and is in ABA form.
  3. Learn Melody in Shorter Phrases (1 – 2 minutes) – Teach melody in 2-4 block chunks in order to most effectively use student’s working memory.
  4. Learn Melody in Longer Phrases (1 minute) – Combine various shorter phrases into longer phrases with goal of playing the melody continuously without stopping.
  5. Play Entire Melody Twice (1 minute) – First, students play melody alone in order to assess their individual performances. Second, students play with piano accompaniment so that richness is added to the melody.
  6. Learn Bass Line (2 minutes) – Repeat steps 1-3 when introducing the bass line. Process will be quicker as less notes will be needed to learn. Goal is to be able to play entire bass line pizzicato.
  7. Play Bass Line and Subsequent Melody (1.5 minutes) – Have students perform bass line alone. Instead of with piano accompaniment, have half of the students play the bass line pizzicato while the other half performs the melody in an arco style.