Finding Notes on a Keyboard

Mark Wagner
[email protected]
Manheim Township High School

TI:ME Technology Areas Addressed:

Electronic Musical Instruments
Notation Software

Level:

High School

Class:

Music Technology

Equipment:

Computer with Finale 2006 and an attached MIDI keyboard

Duration:

10 Minutes

Prior Knowledge and Skills:

Students should have completed keyboard instruction covering literature which has included pitches from G2 through E5.

MENC Standards Addressed:

MENC 2: Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
MENC 5: Reading and notating music.

Materials:

Computer with Finale 2006 and an attached MIDI keyboard (plus the attached Finale file)

Objectives:

Beginning musicians in high school keyboard classes often struggle to keep up with more experienced musicians. The objective of this lesson is to give these students additional practice at finding pitches at the keyboard

Procedures:

1. Open the attached Finale document on a computer station in your teaching space.
2. Make sure that the document is set to appear in page view.
3. You may wish to set the document to appear at 200% to make it easier for your students to complete the assignment.
4. Assign one student at a time to the computer station until they have completed this practice activity.
5. All student directions appear within the attached document.
6. Most students will need between five and ten minutes to complete this activity.

Evaluation:

As the student plays each pitch they see, the pitch they play at the keyboard will appear in color on the attached document. If they play the note correctly, their colored note will match the given notation. If they play an incorrect pitch, their colored note will not match the original notation. The student then has the opportunity to press “delete” and try again.

Follow Up:

Students can repeat this practice session on subsequent days as needed.