Chrome Music Lab 1-2: Chord Progressions #1

About this resource

What's inside this resource

Chrome Music Lab 1-2: Chord Progressions #1 is an interactive music lesson for middle school students to explore chord progressions. Students will receive step-by-step directions to guide them through this Chrome-based music lab. Educators can implement this as an whole group activity projected on a smartboard, a center-based small group activity, or an individual assignment for students to complete independently. This music lab focuses on actively engaging students to apply their knowledge of chords and chord progressions. Learners will experiment with combining different chords together to create simple chord progressions. This hands-on and technology-integrated lesson allows students to develop a deeper understanding of how chords and progressions work together to build the foundation of a song.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Use Chrome Music Lab's Song Maker interface to build a four-bar chord progression, one chord per bar.
Apply a given Roman-numeral chord progression pattern (e.g., I-IV-V7-I) to its corresponding notes.
Create a rhythm and a percussion part to accompany an original chord progression.

Teaching tips

Walk through the settings steps as a class the first time (one-octave range, 4 bars, major scale, 4 beats per bar) so every student's Song Maker screen matches before independent work begins.
Point out that a chord is defined in the document as three or more notes played together, since students need that definition to build their own progression correctly.
Remind students that the two provided example links are for reference only — the task requires an original progression, rhythm, and percussion part.

Skills covered

Chord construction — students select one of ten given progressions and translate Roman-numeral chords (e.g., I, IV, V7) into their note combinations.
Digital music composition — students use Chrome Music Lab's Song Maker to place notes, rhythm, and percussion on a timeline.
Rhythm creation — students design a rhythm pattern to pair with their chosen chord progression.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

What exactly counts as a 'chord' for this task?

The guide defines it directly: three or more notes playing together that sound pleasing to the ear, which is why each progression option lists three-note groupings like CEG or FAC.

What are the two provided Song Maker links for?

They're worked examples of finished chord progressions (I-IV-ii-V7 and I-IV-V7-I) for students to study before building their own original progression, rhythm, and percussion part.

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Resource details

Concepts & topics

Core concepts

chord progressions
digital music composition
rhythm
major scale

Topics

distance learning

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Categories this resource belongs to

Music Activities 6th Grade Activities 8th Grade Activities 7th Grade Activities Middle School Activities Activities

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