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neurologyYou need to know

• A chord is three or more different pitches sounded together; in this unit chords are mainly triads.
• A triad is built from the root, third, and fifth of a scale; in root position the root is the lowest note.
• A major triad contains a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth; a minor triad contains a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth.
• The root note gives a chord its name (e.g., the root of Am is A), and a root bassline uses these root notes beneath the chords.
• Chords may include major or minor triads, sus2 or sus4 chords, and seventh chords.
• To change a triad into a sus2 or sus4 chord, you suspend the third and replace it with the second or fourth.
• A seventh chord contains a root, third, fifth, and seventh.
• A major seventh chord contains a major triad and a major seventh above the root; a minor seventh chord contains a minor triad and a minor seventh above the root; and a dominant seventh chord contains a major triad and a minor seventh above the root.
• A key signature establishes the main collection of pitches used in a piece by indicating which notes are normally sharpened or flattened.
• Diatonic triads are formed on each degree of a chosen key's scale using only notes from that scale.
• Tonic chords, such as I, create stability; predominant chords, such as ii and IV, move the harmony towards the dominant; and dominant chords, such as V, create tension that often resolves to the tonic.
• A chord sequence (chord progression) is a repeated pattern of chords that underpins the harmony of a section or song.
• Composing means to write your own original music.
• A melody is a single-line tune that is usually the main musical idea, while chords provide harmony underneath the melody.
• A melody and chord sequence usually work together in the same key, although chromatic or other non-diatonic notes from outside the key can be used purposefully.
• Four-bar phrasing is common in Western popular music, meaning that melodic phrases are often, but not always, four bars long.
• A musical count-in sets the tempo and beat placement; for 4/4 a standard count-in is '1, 2, 3, 4' rather than '3-2-1-go'.

• Analyse, with specific reference to a range of the DR SMITH musical elements, a range of popular music that experiments with genre, style, and convention.
• Write a short melody that is harmonically accompanied by a chord sequence.
• Experiment with triads, inversions, sus2 and sus4 chords, and seventh chords when composing a chord sequence.
• Give a clear musical count-in and maintain tempo, subdividing beats using '1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and' to place melodic phrases and chord changes precisely.
• Sing or play a melody over the chord sequence, aligning syllables or notes to beats and bars and correcting pitch where accidentals are indicated.
• Practise effectively using block practice and reverse practice: isolate a bar or pair of bars, repeat slowly under tempo, then chain sections together only when error-free.
• Perform an arrangement of an original song.
• Evaluate and refine a performance by diagnosing issues in timing, fingering, balance, or counting and applying targeted fixes (e.g., slower tempo, clearer count-in, re-fingering).