Major and Minor Triads: Build the Chords

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Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir)
SP-MUS-012 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 2
Major and Minor Triads: Build the Chords
Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir) · Grades 9-12 · 50 minutes
Time needed
50 minutes (one class period)
Prep
Copy the 2-page worksheet (one per student). Write the 12-note list on the board.
Technology
None.
Student
independence
High. Students work alone, then compare with a partner.
Copies to make
One 2-page worksheet per student
Materials
Pencils, Worksheet, Whiteboard or chalkboard
Goal for today: Students will build major and minor triads by counting half steps above a root and will spell the
chords in a four-chord progression.
Before the bell
☐ Copy the worksheet, one per student (2 pages).
☐ Write on the board: C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B (then C again).
☐ Write on the board: MAJOR triad = root, then up 4 half steps, then up 3 more. MINOR triad = root, then up 3
half steps, then up 4 more.
☐ Keep the answer key on your desk. No music knowledge is needed.
Say this to start
Today you will build chords on paper. A chord is three or more notes sounding together, and the most common kind is
a triad: three notes stacked at set distances. You will follow a counting rule to build major and minor triads, then write
out the chords of a simple chord progression. Everything you need is on the worksheet and the board. No instruments
or singing today.

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Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir)
SP-MUS-012 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 3
Run of show
Minutes
What you do
What students do
0–5
Take attendance. Hand out the worksheet and have
students read the passage.
Read the passage silently.
5–14
Work the example row (C major) on the board: C up 4 half
steps = E (C, C#, D, D#, E), then up 3 more = G (F, F#, G).
Do one more together: D minor. Up 3 from D is F, then up 4
from F is A.
Follow along and write the notes for D
minor.
14–30
Tell students to finish the table. Walk the room and point
confused students back to the counting rule on the board.
Count half steps to build each triad and
write the two missing notes.
30–42
Tell students to complete questions 1–12. Partners may
compare quietly on the matching section.
Match chord symbols, answer true or false
and multiple choice, then spell the
progression.
42–47
Read the table answers and questions 1–10 aloud from the
key. Students mark each right or wrong.
Check their work and fix mistakes.
47–50
Collect all worksheets and stack them for the teacher.
Finish questions 11–12 if needed and hand
in the worksheet.
If things go wrong
• If students count one note too far, have them start on the root and count the half steps by touching each
name on the board list as they say it.
• If someone says they cannot hear the difference between major and minor, tell them that is fine. Today is
about building chords on paper.
• If students ask about flats, tell them to use the sharp names on the board list for every answer today.
• If a student finishes very early, check the table, then use the early finisher ideas.
Early finishers
• Build the A major triad (A C# E) and the A minor triad (A C E). Write what is different between them.
• Write the notes of the chords C, Am, F and G in a row. Which notes appear in more than one chord?
• Write a short description of a movie scene where music with minor chords would fit, and one where major
chords would fit.
Support and challenge
• Support: Let students complete the first four unfinished rows in the table and use the board list while working.
• Challenge: Ask students to find the chord that has the notes G A# D and tell whether it is major or minor, with
the half-step counts as proof.

SubstitutePlans.com
Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir)
SP-MUS-012 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 4
Notes for the teacher (you fill this in)
Jot a few lines before you leave. A full Daily Sub Report is in the free Sub Survival Kit at SubstitutePlans.com.
How far the class got / what to pick up next:
Students who were especially helpful:
Anything the teacher should know: