When introducing the major triads I like to use some food analogies to help my students remember what they look like on the keys.
For example:
"The Vanillas" are C, G & F - all white keys, like a triple decker vanilla cone
"The Hamburgers" are D, A & E - white on the outside and black in the middle, like a hamburger
"The Oreos" are E-flat, A-flat & D-flat - black on the outside and white in the middle, like an oreo
"The Oddballs" B, B-flat & F# are just odd, they don't fit in with any of the other triads
For a group lesson I had my students cut & paste small pictures of ice cream cones, hamburgers, oreos and draw their own oddballs on a Circle of 5ths chart. They especially enjoyed designing their own oddballs:). I find this activity especially helpful for students who are visual learners. A few times I've even rewarded the students at the end of their lesson with an oreo when they can play all of their "oreo triads."
Love it! You are so creative. I would like to add links to some of your blog posts in our "Helpful Resources" section on The Teaching Studio, if you don't mind!
ReplyDeleteOh, VERY cute! I have used the hamburger and oddballs, but with other names for the vanillas and oreos. I like yours better since they're all the same kind of thing, food. And fun food at that!
ReplyDelete