Week 14 — Studio · "Fill hunt"

Course: MUS 156 Music Theory I · Kenosis College
Instructor: Professor Hemsworth
Unit: Learning Unit 14 of 16 (Week 14) · two sessions per week
Objectives: SLO 6 · SLO 7 (the spine: hear the fill → name the fill → write one that survives the check)
Studio 14 · 20 points · Studios group · In session, Week 14's second session · async make-up path below, full credit, submit by the end of Week 14
Format: a listening game that becomes a writing workshop. Professor Hemsworth plays melodies plain and decorated; you find every in-between note and label it — then your group adds its own fills to a two-voice frame and survives a peer inspection. Nothing to buy or download; hunt sheets are provided, and bring your instrument — Round 4 wants it.

Every content unit has a the second session studio. It's the week's payoff enacted: this week, the payoff is fills that are grammar, not luck.

Part 1 — The Big Picture

Session 1 named the six in-between notes — the fillers (PT, NT), the timing pair (SUS, ANT), the gesture pair (ET, APP) — plus the augmented-second trap and the one rule that keeps fills honest: dissonance travels on the offbeats; the frame owns the beats. Today the names go into your ears and your pencil at performance speed. Every round runs ear-first — hear it → find it → name it → write it — because that's the direction you'll use on a gig: somebody sings something gorgeous, and you catch what the move was so you can use it on purpose next time.

By the end of the session your group will have embellished a two-voice frame by ear, notated it, and passed another group's inspection — the exact workflow of arranging a harmony vocal.

Part 2 — The Task

The guiding question: When a melody does something expressive between the chord tones, can you name the move fast enough to steal it — and can you add your own without breaking the frame underneath?

No hypothesis to write today — your prediction instrument is your ear, and Round 1 warms it up before any labels appear.

Part 3 — Procedure (the five rounds + the critique)

You'll work on the hunt sheet in groups of 2–3 at the tables; the rounds also run fine solo. Keep your instrument out — Round 4 wants every group able to play its fills, not just write them.

Round 1 — Plain or decorated (≈8 min).
Professor Hemsworth plays six short phrases, each twice — once plain (chord tones only), once decorated — in a shuffled order. For each pair, on your sheet: circle which playing was the decorated one (first or second), and put an X on the beat-line where you heard a note lean. No labels yet — ears only, on purpose.

Round 2 — The fill hunt (≈15 min).
The sheet prints this melody with its chords named above the bars: G — D7 — C — D7 to G.

KEY: G major    METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| G4/q A4/q B4/q D5/q | D5/q E5/q D5/q C5/q | F4/q E4/q G4/q C5/q | A4/q F#4/q G4/q~ G4/q |

Four bars in G major, quarter notes throughout: bar 1 walks G4–A4–B4 and skips up to D5; bar 2 circles D5–E5–D5 and steps to C5; bar 3 drops to F4, settles to E4, then climbs G4 to C5; bar 4 walks A4–F♯4 into a G4 that arrives on beat 3 and ties into beat 4.

Your job: find every note that doesn't belong to the chord above it, circle it, and label it — PT, NT, SUS, ANT, ET, or APP — with the entrance-and-exit evidence in the margin ("step in, step out, same direction"). Careful: some leaps land on perfectly legal chord tones (a chord skip is not an NCT — that's part of the hunt). Check with a neighboring group after bar 2; disagreements are the useful part — resolve them by running the interview out loud.

Round 3 — The lean lab (≈12 min).
First, the room becomes a suspension: half the room holds a note while Professor Hemsworth changes the chord under you — hold… feel the lean… fall one step on cue. That's preparation–suspension–resolution, in your own body. Then six played suspensions: for each, Professor Hemsworth names the bass note aloud; you identify the figure family — 4-3, 7-6, or 9-8 — by hearing the lean's shelf above the bass. Answers on the sheet, hyphens and all. For reference while you listen, the classic 4-3:

KEY: C major    METER: 4/4    CLEF: grand
U: | A3/h F4/h~ | F4/h E4/h |
L: | F3/h D3/h | C3/h C3/h |

Two voices: F4 prepared over the D3 bass, held (the tie) while the bass moves to C3 — a fourth, leaning — then falling one step to E4, a third. Fourth becomes third: 4-3.

Round 4 — Add your own (≈25 min) — instruments out.
The sheet prints a fresh two-voice frame, clean and check-passing:

KEY: G major    METER: 4/4    CLEF: grand
U: | G4/h A4/h | B4/h G4/h | A4/h A4/h | G4/w |
L: | G2/h C3/h | D3/h E3/h | C3/h D3/h | G2/w |

Four bars in G major: the upper voice arches G4 up to B4 and settles home; the lower voice strides G2 up through C3, D3, E3, back through C3 and D3 to G2. Octaves at the ends, tenths and thirteenths inside, one fifth on the way — every unit-13 check passes.

1. By ear first: play or sing the frame as written (split the voices across your group). Then improvise fills in the upper voice — at least three NCTs of at least two different types — until the group likes what it hears.
2. Notate your embellished upper voice on the blank staff, labeling each added note.
3. The frame check (the inspection): swap sheets with another group. Hunt their fills for the two killers — created parallels (did a fill land on a beat and turn a clean pair into fifth-to-fifth or octave-to-octave?) and the augmented second (any minor-flavored moment walking ^6 into a raised ^7?). Mark anything suspicious; return the sheet; fix what's real. Professor Hemsworth runs the master check on each group's final version — the same rules the course checker enforces.

Round 5 — The trap (≈8 min).
The sheet prints one climbing line in A minor:

```music counterexample
KEY: a minor METER: 4/4 CLEF: treble
| A3/q B3/q C4/q D4/q | E4/q F4/q G#4/q A4/q |

Two bars, quarter notes, climbing la to la — but one melodic move in bar 2 is the trap this unit warned about, and this printed version is deliberately wrong. Find it, name the interval exactly, and write **both** fixes: the one-accidental fix and the reshape fix. (Hint from unit 5: the climb you end up writing has a name, and you've sung it.)

**Fallback (no piano hearing needed):** if you can't hear the piano well from your seat, or you're doing the make-up path, every round works with a free keyboard app or your own instrument — the make-up section below prints every prompt so you can produce the sounds yourself.

## Part 4 — The Scaffold (complete during the rounds)

*Table 1 captures Round 1 — one row per played pair.*

| Pair | Decorated playing (1st or 2nd) | Where it leaned (beat) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ______ | ______ |
| 2 | ______ | ______ |
| 3 | ______ | ______ |
| 4 | ______ | ______ |
| 5 | ______ | ______ |
| 6 | ______ | ______ |

*Table 2 captures Round 2 — one row per circled note.*

| Bar · beat | Note | Label (PT/NT/SUS/ANT/ET/APP) | Evidence (entrance / exit) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |

*Table 3 captures Round 3 — the six played suspensions.*

| # | Bass note (given aloud) | Figure family (4-3 / 7-6 / 9-8) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ______ | ______ |
| 2 | ______ | ______ |
| 3 | ______ | ______ |
| 4 | ______ | ______ |
| 5 | ______ | ______ |
| 6 | ______ | ______ |

## Part 5 — Analysis Questions (short answers on the sheet, ≈5 min)

1. In Round 1 your ear caught the lean before you had any labels. Which NCT turned out to be easiest to *hear*, and which was hardest to *name*? One sentence each.
2. In Round 2, one leap in bar 1 was legal and one landing in bar 4 wasn't in its chord. Explain the difference between a chord skip and an anticipation to a bandmate in two sentences.
3. Round 4's inspection: what did the other group catch in your fills (or you in theirs)? If nothing — what did you check *first*, and why that?
4. The suspension has three phases. Which phase did your body feel most strongly in Round 3's hold-and-lean — and what would the move be called if the preparation were missing?
5. Name one fill from a song you actually play that you can now label. Which of the six is it?

## Part 6 — AI-Critique Moment (≈4 min, phones out — or on the projector if the room prefers)

Type into your chatbot: *"In A minor my melody walks F4 up to G#4. Is that OK in a vocal line? One sentence."* Judge the reply against Round 5. The classic failures to hunt: it says "fine — that's just a minor third" (an augmented second is *not* a minor third — same sound, different spelling, different legality), or it "fixes" the line by lowering G♯ to G (destroying the leading tone unit 11's V chord depends on). Write **2–3 sentences** on your sheet: what the tool said, what you verified or corrected, and the fix you'd actually use. The habit all term: **the tool drafts, you judge.**

## Part 7 — What to Submit

Hand in **before you leave**: the hunt sheet (Tables 1–3 + your group's embellished frame with labels + the Round 5 fixes + analysis answers + AI-critique sentences). **20 points**, graded on the rubric below.

**Async make-up path — full credit, submit by the end of Week 14.** Life happens; missing the studio costs you nothing but the room. Do the same tasks alone: (1) Round 1 — play each printed pair below yourself (keyboard app or your instrument) and honestly mark which version leans and where; (2) Round 2 — the hunt line is printed above; hunt it; (3) Round 3 — play the three printed suspensions below and name each figure family; (4) Round 4 — embellish the printed frame yourself (at least three NCTs, two types), then run your own frame check for created parallels and augmented seconds, in writing; (5) Round 5 + the AI-critique step as printed. Submit: **phone photos of your completed sheet**, plus a **short recording** (a minute is plenty — voice memo or video) of you playing or singing your embellished upper voice against the frame's lower voice (a friend, a looper, or a keyboard app can hold the lower line). Same rubric, same 20 points, no penalty.

*Make-up prompt list: Round 1 pairs — play bar 1 of the hunt line with and without the A4; bar 2 with and without the E5; the 4-3 fence with and without the tie (strike F4 fresh on the downbeat instead — hear how the lean weakens). Round 3 suspensions — (a) hold F4 over a C3 bass, resolve to E4; (b) hold C4 over a D3 bass, resolve to B3; (c) hold G4 over an F3 bass, resolve to F4. Name each family.*

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## Instructor key — **REMOVE BEFORE PUBLISHING TO STUDENTS**

**Round 1 pairs (play deliberately; shuffle plain/decorated order per pair and mark your own order before class):** (1) hunt-line bar 1 with/without the A4 — lean on beat 2 · (2) hunt-line bar 2 with/without the E5 — lean on beat 2 · (3) the 4-3 fence as written vs. with the F4 restruck and no tie — the *held* version leans harder; either honest answer about "where" earns the point if the downbeat is marked · (4) frame bar 1–2 plain vs. with a passing A4 between G4 and B4 — offbeat lean · (5) the 7-6 move: hold C4 over E3, bass steps to D3, resolve B3 — lean at the bass change · (6) hunt-line bar 4 with/without the early G4 — the "lean" here is an early landing on beat 3. Grade for honest marks, not perfect beat precision.

**Round 2 — hunt line key (chords G · D7 · C · D7→G):**

| Bar · beat | Note | Label | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · 2 | A4 | **PT** | step in from G4, step out to B4, same direction — fills the G-chord third |
| 1 · 4 | D5 | **not an NCT** — chord skip | leap B4→D5, but D5 is the fifth of G; legal |
| 2 · 2 | E5 | **NT** (upper) | step up from D5, step back to D5 |
| 2 · 4 | C5 | **not an NCT** | C5 is the seventh of D7; chord tone (Week 10 alumni) |
| 3 · 1 | F4 | **APP** | LEAP in (down from C5), step out (to E4), accented — the lean |
| 4 · 3 | G4 | **ANT** | arrives on do while D7 still sounds, ties into the real G chord on beat 4 |

Expect "PT" written on the D5 or C5 — that's the chord-skip trap doing its teaching job; send disputants to spell the chord aloud (G–B–D; D–F♯–A–C). Verified spellings: G major I = G–B–D; V7 = D–F♯–A–C; IV = C–E–G; G major signature = one sharp, F♯.

**Round 3 — played suspensions and vetted answers (name the bass aloud each time):** (1) hold F4 over C3 → E4: fourth becomes third — **4-3** · (2) hold C4 over D3 → B3: seventh becomes sixth — **7-6** · (3) hold G4 over F3 → F4: ninth becomes octave — **9-8** · (4) hold E4 over B2 → D4: fourth becomes third — **4-3** · (5) hold D4 over E3 → C4: seventh becomes sixth — **7-6** · (6) hold A4 over G3 → G4: ninth becomes octave — **9-8**. Full credit = family named with the hyphen written correctly; a student who writes "4/3" gets the point *only after* fixing the symbol — make the fix out loud, it's the week's flag.

**Round 4 — frame check master key.** The printed frame passes clean (verified: the upper voice reaches both final octaves by step, and the one fifth — D3 under A4 in bar 3 — is left by contrary motion). The two failure modes to hunt in student fills: **(a) created parallels and direct perfects** — a fill that lands ON a beat where the bass moves, or that makes the upper voice **leap into the final octave**. The worked case to show the room if it comes up: turn bar 3's upper voice into A4–B4 (the B4 landing on beat 3 over D3 — a thirteenth, fine so far), and the voice now *leaps down* from B4 into the final G4 while the bass also falls — similar motion, leap in the upper voice, into a perfect octave: the checker flags it as a **direct (hidden) octave** the plain frame never had. The repair is this week's rule: keep the fill off the beat, or step (not leap) into the final octave. **(b) augmented seconds** — rare in G major fills, but watch any group that borrows chromatic color (a chromatic lower neighbor like D♯4→E4 is legal; a line walking a lowered ^6 into a raised ^7 is not). Grade the *method*: at least three NCTs, two types, labels with evidence, and a genuine inspection performed on the swapped sheet. A caught-and-fixed error is full-credit work — that's the assignment functioning.

**Round 5 — vetted key:** the trap is **F4 → G♯4, an augmented second** (three half steps written as a second — it *sounds* like F4→A♭4, a minor third, and is not one on paper). Fix 1 (one accidental): raise ^6 — **F♯4 → G♯4**, a major second; the resulting climb A3–B3–C4–D4–E4–F♯4–G♯4–A4 is the **A melodic minor scale, ascending** — say so, it's the unit-5 callback landing. Fix 2 (reshape): approach G♯4 from above (…E4–A4–G♯4–A4) or let the line descend through natural minor (G♮, F♮) instead of climbing. **Not a fix:** lowering G♯ to G — it repairs the melody by breaking the dominant.

**AI-critique full credit:** names a specific claim checked, with either a caught error (most common: "it's fine — just a minor third," or the G-natural "fix") or a real verification ("it flagged the augmented second AND kept the leading tone — I checked its fix against melodic minor"). "The AI said it was fine" with no checking shown earns the partial band.

**Where students collect their own responses** (Round 1 marks, their own fills, the analysis answers), grade the *method* — honest marks, labels carrying entrance/exit evidence, a real inspection — never agreement with one "right" fill.

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## Grading rubric — 20 points

*The rubric below maps the studio's parts to points; bands are full / partial / none. The async make-up path uses the identical rubric.*

| Criterion | Full | Partial | None |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Round 1 — plain-or-decorated** completed honestly, all six pairs marked with a lean location (**3**) | 3 | 2 | 0–1 |
| **Round 2 — the fill hunt**: all four NCTs found and labeled with evidence; chord skips left uncircled (**5**) | 5 | 3–4 (labels right, evidence thin; or one miss/one false circle) | 0–2 |
| **Round 3 — the lean lab**: ≥4 of 6 figure families right, hyphens written correctly (**3**) | 3 | 2 | 0–1 |
| **Round 4 — add your own + frame check**: ≥3 NCTs of ≥2 types, labeled; genuine inspection given and received; real errors fixed (**5**) | 5 | 3–4 (fills present, inspection thin) | 0–2 |
| **Round 5 — the trap**: interval named exactly (augmented second) + both fixes written (**2**) | 2 | 1 (found it, one fix) | 0 |
| **AI-critique**: 2–3 sentences with a specific catch or a real verification (**2**) | 2 | 1 | 0 |

**Quality gate (self-checked):** every printed fence re-verified against the course theory reference (hunt-line chords G–B–D / D–F♯–A–C / C–E–G; the 4-3's fourth-to-third over C3; the frame's intervals; the trap's F4→G♯4 augmented second and the F♯4 fix; all bars sum to 4/4; the two deliberately wrong examples are tagged as counterexamples and genuinely fail); rubric sums 3+5+3+5+2+2 = **20**; no purchased or downloaded materials; make-up path requires no partner. ✓

## Canvas placement block

canvas_object = Assignment
title = "Week 14 Studio — Fill hunt"
assignment_group = "Studios"
points_possible = 20
grading_type = points
submission_types = [on_paper] # in session; async make-up: online_upload (photos + short recording)
due = in session, Week 14's second session; make-up by the end of Week 14
published = true
```