Melody and Harmony

The following activity facilitates the comprehension of harmony and melody.

Concept: Melody and Harmony

Description: This activity uses the Colombian song “Jugando al Eco” to explore concepts of melody and harmony through a call-and-response format.

Quién está en la ventana (ana, na) (Who is at the window (Ana, na))

Que hace clodomira (mira, mira) (What is Clodomira doing (looking, looking))

Qué toma Camilo (milo, milo) (What does Camilo drink (milo, milo))

Quién está estrenando (nando, nando) (Who is debuting (Nando, Nando))

Cómo hace mi burra (urra, urra) (How does my donkey do (urra, urra))

Como es un chancho (ancho, ancho) (What is a pig like (wide, wide))

Quién tiene la peste (este, este) (Who has the plague (this, this))

Qué soy si me aburro (burro, burro) (What am I if I get bored (donkey, donkey))

Quién es mi amada (ada, ada) (Who is my beloved (Ada, Ada)

Cómo es su cabello (bello, bello) (What is her hair like (beautiful, beautiful))

Ven y dame un beso (eso, eso) (Come and give me a kiss (that, that))

Qué quiere Tomás (mas, mas, mas) (What does Tomas want (more, more, more))

One by one, students will repeat the last two syllables of the phrase, completing the harmony and melody of the phase.

Relation to Concept:

Melody: The song features a clear and repetitive melody, which helps students practice recognizing and reproducing melodic patterns. By engaging with the melody through the call-and-response structure, students develop a better grasp of melodic contour and sequence.
Harmony: The song exemplifies a simple harmonic pattern between the tonic (I) and dominant (V) chords. This basic harmonic structure is an excellent way to introduce students to the concept of harmonic tension and resolution.

Supplemental material