Long-Term Planning Calendar: Music
Teacher: Daniel Vega
Grade/Class/Ensemble: High School Theory Class
Unit’s Main Objective: Students will write a simple harmony for a given bass line.
Monday
3 4
Main Obj: Understand intervals
of whole and half steps.
Activity 1: Teacher will
demonstrate what whole and
half steps look like on the
piano. Students will be able to
see piano through projector.
Activity 2: Teacher will
demonstrate whole and half
steps on the staff. Students will
then be responsible for writing
the correct interval on their staff
paper, depending on the
interval teacher asks them for.
10
Main Obj: Students will learn
difference between a major and
a minor third
Activity 1: Teacher will play
major and minor thirds on a
piano and have students sing
them back using hand signs.
Activity 2: Teacher will have a
camera on his piano and will
put paper circles on notes and
have students respond whether
it’s a major or minor third.
17
Main Obj: Learn how roman
numerals work in music.
Activity 1: Write a scale on the
board with roman numeral
analysis underneath and
analyze with the class.
Tuesday
Main Obj: Learn formula for a
major scale.
Activity 1: Students will use the
major scale formula to create 5
major scales on staff paper.
Activity 2: Students will play
those major scales on a piano.
11
Main Obj: Students will learn
the interval of a perfect fifth.
Activity 1: Teacher will play
perfect fifth intervals on a piano
and students will sing them
back using solfege and hand
signs.
Activity 2: Students will use a
piano to identify/play perfect
fifth intervals.
18
Main Obj: Students will
understand how to write/play
inverted chords and how to
label them
Activity 1: Teacher will have
multiple chords on the board
and will he will go over how the
1st, 2nd, and 3rd inversions look
like on the staff
Wednesday
5 6
Main Obj: Learn solfege and
hand signs.
Activity : Students will learn
about solfege and will apply it
to the 5 major scales they
created the day before.
Activity 2: Class will sing the 5
major scales using solfege.
12
Main Obj: Distinguish between
major and minor chords by
listening.
Activity 1: Teacher will play
musical examples and have
students describe the pieces as
sad or happy (this is to practice
hearing major vs minor sound)
Activity 2: Play chords and
piano and have students sing
the notes of the chord and
describe the as major or minor
(sad vs happy).
19
Main Obj: Students will review
inversions to show complete
understanding.
Activity 1: Students will receive
a handout with multiple chords
written in all inversions and
they will be responsible for
labeling all of them as root
position, 6/3, or 6/4.
Thursday
Main Obj: Continue developing
solfege.
Activity 1: Students will sing
common folk songs in solfege
using hand signs.
Activity 2: Students will learn
about scale degrees and will
apply it to their 5 major scales
from the past 2 days.
13
Main Obj: Identify major vs
minor chords in sheet music.
Activity 1: Students will get a
simple piece and they will have
to read the notes and label the
chords as major or minor.
Activity 2: Students will play the
chords they labeled on a piano
as they listening for the quality
of the chord.
20
Main Obj: Students will learn
the interval of a major and
minor 7th.
Activity 1: Students will receive
a handout with single notes on
them and they will write major
and minor seventh intervals
above the given note.
Friday
7
Main Obj: Students will sing
different intervals using solfege
and hand signs.
Activity 1: Students will review
by singing their 5 major scales
with solfege and hand signs.
Activity 2: Teacher will play
different intervals on the piano
and students will sing them
back using hand signs.
14
Main Obj: Identity which chords
in a major scale are major vs
minor.
Activity 1: Students will receive
a handout with the notes of a
major scale with the
appropriate triads. Students will
have to look at the chords and
determine their quality.
Activity 2: Teacher will play the
chords of a major scale with
some errors and students will
be responsible for identifying
them
21
Main Obj: Review roman
numerals and inversions
Activity 1: Students will choose
three scales. They will write the
correct triads and roman
numeral analysis.
Activity 2: Students will do
roman numeral analysis for 2 of
their 5 major scales.
24
Main Obj: Students will learn
about cadences and how to
identify them
Activity 1: Teacher will play
short chord progressions on a
piano identifying where the
cadences occur, training the
students to listen for that
resolution.
Activity 2: Students will listen to
classical pieces which have
clear cadential points and will
be responsible for identifying
them.
Notes: Some of these lessons might take one or two extra days, depending on your class. This might extend this unit plan a few days but the end goal should be reached in
approximately one month.
Activity 2: Students will join
teacher in playi a chord in its
root, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd inversion
on a piano.
25
Main Obj: Students will practice
writing cadences on staff
paper.
Activity 1: Students will write a
short I-V7-I chord progression
in 5 different keys and label
them with roman numerals.
Activity 2: The teacher will play
some of the students’
progressions and have the
class listen and identify if it
sounds correct.
Activity 2: Students will play all
of the versions of those chords
on a piano.
26
Main Obj: Students will learn
about leading tone and chordal
7th resolution
Activity 1: Teacher will go over
the concept of the leading tone
and chordal 7th resolution on
the board with different
examples.
Activity 2: Students will then
receive a handout to complete
and resolutions on their own.
Activity 2: Students will write
down a scale with it’s
corresponding triads and then
add a seventh to all of those
chords.
27
Main Obj: Students will fill in
the notes to complete the
chords of a bass line with
roman numerals provided to
them.
Activity 1: The entire class will
work together to fill in the notes
on a bass line with roman
numerals on the board. This
progression should have at
least one inversion and a
cadence.
Activity 2: Students will receive
a new progression and they will
write their own harmony with
roman numerals, at least one
inversion, and a cademce.
Activity 2: Students will then
add a minor 7th to V chord and
will change two of the scale’s
chords to an inversion. They
will then edit their roman
numeral analysis to fit the
changes they made.
28
Main Obj: Students will be able
to proficiently write a simple
harmony to a bass line given.
Activity 1: Students will receive
a handout with several bass
lines and they will fill in the
notes to complete a chord
progression with at least one
inversion and one cadence.
Activity 2: Students will come
up to the board to write in on
the board. The teacher will play
it on a piano and the class will
decide if it follows all the rules
of the assignment.