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Evaluation Time
27
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The Composition
Process
The Process
Often the hardest part of writing a composition is working
out where to start. This process is different for everybody
but here are some basic steps you will need to go through
to create a piece.
Organise
Mess Around!
This is the most important bit. Start playing
or writing, whichever is your chosen creative
mode. Come up with ideas.
Record or write them down
Dont discard anything.
Melodic
Development.
Finished!
You have created your very own
masterpiece - well done!
Method
Record
Method
Elements
Chocolate,
banana, marble,
fruit cake, sponge etc
Style
Composition
Baking
Ingredients
Type
Cake
My Composition Plan
Thinking about your composition is one of the best things you can do to ensure you create a quality
product. This is a useful plan, one that you can add to and change as you go along.
Composition name or your task:
___________________________________________
Form:
Style:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Instrumentation:
Write some ideas for how your piece is going to create the following:
Mood
Climax
Unity
Impact
Stuff to do:
1. Use a brainstorming or graphic organisation tool that will work best for this form of
brainstorming. It needs to have mind mapping ability with ideas coming from other ideas.
2. Brainstorm some themes that you could use to create a piece of music. There are very
few rules to this and your ideas need to be highly varied. You can have anything from
emotions to nature, from space travel to pets.
3. Once you have produced your original concepts try and work with a few of them to come
up with musical ideas that might fit with each one.
Example:
Here is an example of how you can turn your theme ideas into music. You will see that the elements
of music are used to create the specific effects that are needed for this theme. You would never
use all of the ideas from your brainstorm so just go ahead and be free to write down anything that
comes to mind.
Theme: Rivers
Titles and associated words:
Running river, River flow, Waters flow, River deep, On the river, Trickle, Splash, Swirl, Wet.
Possible instrumentation:
Effects:
Arpeggios, Scales, Constantly moving melody never stops, Motion, Tempo changes for
swirls, repeated bass note to drive the feel.
Structure:
Through form? Keep momentum, develop ideas, changing, ABACA like the turns of the river.
Mood:
Calm yet energetic? Fast but relaxing Humm? Varied depending on place in the river
.
Other Ideas:
Maybe draw the river first with what is happening along it to give shape to the
composition?
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Now it is your turn. Select your two best ideas as a basis for your composition. Write down any
ideas the titles give that could help you develop that theme. Think about the instruments that
would best represent your theme and also what those instruments play to create a sound picture.
You can complete this below or on a separate program.
Theme 1:
Theme 2:
Instruments:
Instruments:
Effects:
Effects:
Structure:
Structure:
Mood:
Mood:
Other Ideas:
Other Ideas:
Stuff to do:
Here are some sets of topics or ideas for music. Some contrast and some are very similar - sound
wise.
Discuss the differences between the two in how they would sound.
How would you achieve this?
Space
and
Underwater
Vegetables
and
Salad
Wind
and
Rain
Peaceful
and
Upset
Sweet
and
Sour
Orange
and
Blue
Happy
and
Dancing
Autumn
and
Summer
Angry
and
Storm
The future
and
The past
A sequence using a fragment of the basic idea may look something like this:
This exercise is about pushing the boundaries to find out how much you can get away with.
Whether you succeed or not will be voted on by your classmates!
Stuff to do:
1. Firstly create a 2 bar riff or motif that will form the basis for your repetition and sequence.
You can use other material but remember the aim is to use repetition and sequence.
2. Now, use your motif to create a piece using as much repetition and sequence as you can.
The person who uses it the most without it driving listeners nuts - wins!
3. At the end have the class vote for the winner. This will be the most effective piece of music
that still uses these techniques. If necessary you may need to have a count of how often
they have used each technique!
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Scene One:
A woman is sitting reading a book under a tree and gradually puts the book down and stares out
into the distance. She tilts her head gently to the side
Scene Two:
A cat is stalking a bird in a comical way. The cat is trying very hard to catch the bird and taking itself
very seriously, but the bird is playing and manages to get away every time making a fool of the cat.
Scene Three:
A man with a knife is chasing another younger man around a sofa. One is trying to stab while the
other is trying to get away and escape. It is very scary.
Lastly:
The producer says Now that you have a good feel for the
film, describe the style of theme music you think would be
appropriate. Good luck!
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Job Specifications:
Must be twenty seconds in length exactly
Should have a short section that can be used separately as well as in the major commercial
About 4-7 seconds.
Must have words.
Must be catchy and very memorable.
Must be completely original (copyright issues)
Must be cheesy!
Words:
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Mood Music
Music is very good at portraying moods and feelings. As composers we need to be able to express
emotion and moods within our pieces. You may like to research some tunes that are based on the
moods below and see how other composers have depicted mood in their compositions.
Choose a mood from the following selection and create a composition that conveys that mood to
your listeners.
Ideas Brainstorm:
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Job Specifications:
Must be at least 1 minute long
Must have words
Must be memorable
Must be completely original (copyright issues)
Must be very gooey and romantic
Words:
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Pentatonic Pop
A pentatonic scale only uses 5 notes and is an easy way to start composing. Your mission is to write
a piece of music using the notes from the scale below. These notes can be used in any order or
any octave. You can either use an acoustic instrument or a computer program/ website to create
your composition. This is not just an exercise, there are many pieces in the world that have the
pentatonic scale as their basis.
Job Specifications:
Must be at least 1 minute long
Use only the five notes of the pentatonic scale
Must be memorable
Must have an original title
C D E
G A
The Scale:
Title: ____________________________
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Job Specifications:
A formal march will be slower than normal - about 90 bpm
Needs to be in 2/4 time
This task should be completed using a program that allows you to compose using appropriate
instruments.
It needs to be quite repetitive as it will have to keep going until the last member of the
procession is in place
Must not have words
Must be formal and stately
Must be completely original
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Job Specifications:
You can only use any keyboards to complete this composition
Choose an appropriate timbre (instrument sound) for your composition
You can use sound effects (squeaky doors etc) but only if they are part of the music
Use the record button to record your piece
It should be about 1 minute long
Choose from the following titles:
Vigilante Vampires
The Haunting
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Baroque Suite
You are going to compose a movement of a baroque dance suite for Flute, Strings and Continuo.
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List special things specific to your instrument. Example: Trombone plays glissandos.
List the styles of music your instrument often plays well. Example: The Guitar - Rock
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C Major Melodies
Use the rhythms provided to compose your own short melody using the C major scale.
Rules:
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Antici-pation
Music has an amazing ability to build tension, suspense or drama. That is why it is used with good
effect in so many horror and drama movies. There are certain compositional techniques that
will help to create this feeling in your piece. One of the most successful pieces of all time to build
tension is the theme from Jaws by John Williams. Have a proper listen to this piece and work out
why you think it was so successful.
Stuff to do:
1. In small groups come up with 6 ways that you can use to build tension and suspense in a
composition.
a)_________________________________________________________
b)_________________________________________________________
c)_________________________________________________________
d)_________________________________________________________
e)_________________________________________________________
f)_________________________________________________________
2. Choose two of the best ideas from above and explain why you think they would be the most
effective at creating the feeling of anticipation.
3. In your group, practise and demonstrate your best 2 ideas to the class.
4. Create of a suitable title for a piece of music that could use the
ideas you have come up with.
__________________________________________
5. Compose and perform this piece to your class.
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Animal Crackers
Your task is to write a piece of music based on an animal. It is to be played to small children. It will
need to capture the childrens imagination as well as the characteristics of the animal you choose.
Stuff to do:
1. Which animal would you like your piece to be about?
________________________________________________________
2. Why did you choose that animal?
________________________________________________________
3. Name 3 features about that animal that you will need to include in your composition. For
example - the elephant would need to be slow and solid.
a) ________________________________________________________
b) ________________________________________________________
c) ________________________________________________________
4. Below are a list of words. Which ones best describe what your animal composition should sound
like based on the animal you have chosen? Make a list of the ones you think would best suit your
animal and come up with another four words of your own.
Fast,
Medium tempo,
Smooth,
Slow,
Changeable,
Loud,
Soft,
Cheeky,
Changing volumes,
Big intervals,
Spikey,
High,
Low,
Long notes,
Step by step,
On the beat,
Dotted rhythms,
Drawn out.
Off beats,
Quick,
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Gaming Music
Gaming continues to grow with games now being marketed to young and old. As every game
comes with its own theme tune, some of which have become quite famous in their own right, it has
become a fast and lucrative market for young composers.
Features:
The music is usually fairly repetitive so that it doesnt matter where you get to in the game,
you can always start again without noticing the change in music.
It also needs to be catchy as the aim is to add to the players gaming experience, so that they
play more.
It needs to be memorable without driving everybody nuts! Some games fail at this!
Stuff to do:
1. Listen to at least 3 different game theme tunes on You Tube. Choose two and explain why you
think that each is a successful gaming piece and any compositional features you noticed.
a) Piece: __________________________________________________
b) Piece: ___________________________________________________
2. Create your own piece of game music. Spend some time coming up with the type of game it
would be for and some of the important features you would like to have in your piece.
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The Show:
So, Jessica Fletcher was a nice woman who lived in a sleepy little town called Cabot Cove, Maine in
America. They had a nice, but a slightly dopey sheriff who did his best and solved most cases with
Jessicas help. So you get the picture - it was nice - except for all those unfortunate murders. There
was nothing very scary but Jessica always solved the crime, which was always reassuring.
Stuff to do:
Your theme needs to reflect the niceness of the place while still remembering the murder bit. It
was also for prime time television so was watched by a large, mostly older female audience.
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Stuff to do:
1. Write down your postcode.
___
___
___
___
1
C
2
D
3
Eb
4
E
5
F
6
G
7
A
8
Bb
9
B
3. Work out your postcode motif and write the letter names below
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Job Specifications:
Write a jingle with words and music that will be used for radio advertising.
Must be between 28 - 30 seconds long
Must be catchy and easy to remember
Must include all the important information (from above)
as well as the main message.
Must be recorded.
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Ostinato
An ostinato is a repeated phrase that is played over and over again throughout a piece of
music. It comes from the Italian term for Stubborn. Below are 3 examples of Ostinato for you
to play and create melodies over. You will need to repeat them several times.
Stuff to do:
Create your own melody to go over each ostinato
Get into pairs so one can play the ostinato and one can play the melody
Create your own ostinato!
Swap over and play each others melodies
A great way to use ostinatos is to:
A -play the original melody again, with the ostinato going throughout.
Ostinato 1:
Ostinato 2:
Ostinato 3:
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Using Arpeggios
Arpeggios are sometimes called broken chords. As that is exactly what they are. If you
imagine a guitar and instead of strumming a chord, the guitarist picks out each note in order
bottom to top - and/or down again. If you play a C major chord on the piano it is normally
played together like this:
If it is played as an arpeggio
or broken chord then it is
played like this:
Arpeggios are really handy for creating a composition as you can string them together to
create the underlying pattern for your piece.
Stuff to do:
Choose 3 chords.
Work out which notes are in them
Write them out or enter them. One bar each and return to your first chord for the last bar,
then repeat. You can use any rhythm that you like but it should probably be fairly consistent.
Learn to play your notes or play them back so you can hear them.
Compose your melody to go over your arpeggio bass line.
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Stuff to do:
1. First create your descending bass line - probably 2 bars long.
2. If you are having trouble the easiest one is:
3. The next step is to create a piece using your bass line as your repeated pattern (ostinato)
underneath. Between 8 -16 bars would be great. You will need to start with one of you playing
the bass line and the other improvising over the top. Remember that you eventually do need
to create a melody not just a solo.
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Am
G7
Stuff to do:
1. Learn to play or record the riff above. You might like to work together so one person can
play the changes while you compose.
2. Write your own Rock n Roll piece to go with the chord changes above.
3. Record or perform your piece.
4. Give your piece a truly Rock n Roll title
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Over 3
In this exercise you get to choose any 3 notes, but only 3 notes, that you will use as your bass
line. They can be any notes but you need to use them in the same order each time. You can
however repeat notes as often as you like. Once you have chosen your 3 bass notes write their
names in the order you want to use them here.
The next step is for you to write a composition using only your three notes in the bass. You
can use any notes in the treble. The aim is to make fabulous music, not something that sounds
weird. Remember you can repeat your notes as much as you like and you can even use them to
make chords if you are being very creative. Good Luck!!
NB - Try to be creative here and not simply use I IV V chords - be adventurous.
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Evaluation Time
34
Evaluation Sheet
Self Evaluation
Title:
Composer:
Task/Topic:
Start:
Best bit:
Shape:
Best bit:
Variety:
Best bit:
Melody:
Best bit:
Mood and
character:
Best bit:
Climax:
Best bit:
Overall:
Best bit:
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Evaluation Sheet
Peer Evaluation
Title:
Composer:
Task/Topic:
Initial Reaction:
Great
Frightening
Interesting
OK
Awesome
Different
Rocks
Boring
Fits title
Weird
Good in parts
Suggestions:
Tune/Melody
Catchy
Bizarre
Wasnt one
Dull
Good
Unique
Hard to remember
Suggestions:
Shape Form:
Weak build up
Good use of shape
Great build up
No shape
Sections didnt go
Unusual/ Different
Sort of there
Suggestions:
Overall Reaction:
Great
Liked it
Awesome
To be improved
Heard it before
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Reflection Activity
a) Outline the process you used to create your composition:
c) Where did you go/could you go for assistance when you got stuck?
___________________________