Controlled coursework - Composition unit 4 Churchill academy music department

Danse Macabre - H Cazalis (Dance of Death) Zig, Zig, Zig, Death in cadence, Striking with his heel a tomb, Death at midnight plays a dance-tune, Zig, Zig, Zig, on his violin.

The winter wind blows and the night is dark; Moans are heard in the linden-trees.
AoS 3 - Texture & Melody. Needs very little comment.
Plan your melodic phrases using a clear interesting rhythm and DEVELOP throughout. You will need several catchy melodies for the different sections. Texture - vary this through the piece. Use imitation between the instruments. Pass the melody around. Use at least 4 different textures. You will need to think about what instrumentation you are going to use. Think about the string quartet - 1 part on the melody, 1 part on the bass and 2 parts filling out the chord notes. (Melody dominated HOMOPHONY)

Through the gloom, white skeletons pass, Running and leaping in their shrouds.

Zig, Zig, Zig, each one is frisking. The bones of the dancers are heard to crack But hist! of a sudden they quit the round, They push forward, they fly; the cock has crowed.

AoS 4 - Timbre and Dynamics Think about the different

ways of playing the instruments you use. Dynamics will affect mood! One easy way to exploit the timbre would be to record the poem and use the same techniques we used in CUBSE on Dance like no-ones watching . Make it evocative of the scene!

AoS 5 - Structure and Form

Plan this at the start of the composing process. Here are some examples to use AABA - section A, repeat, section B, section A (TERNARY Form) ABACADA - RONDO form. Section A keeps returning between new episodes. Strophic Song Form - verse and chorus Through Composed Song Form - new music used for each line of text (very little repetition) Sonata Form (research this if you are an A* student - very challenging

AoS 2 - Harmony & Tonality. Make sure you are clear on the keys/ chords that you are going to use - use the cycle of 5ths to make connections (or avoid connections). Avoid consonant harmony for at least part of the piece. These 2 whole tone scales are good examples for this piece.
Combine notes together to create interesting chords such as augmented chords (5,5) Whole Tone Scale notes are (C - D - E - F# - G# - A# - C) (B - Db - Eb - F - G - A - B)

AoS 1 - Rhythm & Metre Dance like in nature - a typical gigue rhythm works well

Use academy a triple metre in compound time (6/8 or 3/8) for one of your Churchill music department sections/your main melody to make it dance like

Controlled coursework - Composition unit 4 Churchill academy music department

Danse Macabre - H Cazalis (Dance of Death)
Zig et zig et zag, la mort en cadence Frappant une tombe avec son talon, La mort minuit joue un air de danse, Zig et zig et zag, sur son violon. Le vent d'hiver souffle, et la nuit est sombre, Des gmissements sortent des tilleuls ; Les squelettes blancs vont travers l'ombre Courant et sautant sous leurs grands linceuls, Zig et zig et zag, chacun se trmousse, On entend claquer les os des danseurs, Un couple lascif s'assoit sur la mousse Comme pour goter d'anciennes douceurs.

This composition must be between 2:30 and 3:00 minutes long Plan your structure before you start and plan out what will happen broadly in each section You can use any combination of instruments and voices Please do not give up when you feel you have hit a brick wall - composition is all about problem solving. If you start again it is because you cannot solve the problem - the problem will happen with the new piece. PERSEVERE Stick with your chosen composition platform - most should use music tech

Zig et zig et zag, la mort continue De racler sans fin son aigre instrument. Un voile est tomb ! La danseuse est nue ! Son danseur la serre amoureusement. La dame est, dit-on, marquise ou baronne. Et le vert galant un pauvre charron Horreur ! Et voil qu'elle s'abandonne Comme si le rustre tait un baron ! Zig et zig et zig, quelle sarabande! Quels cercles de morts se donnant la main ! Zig et zig et zag, on voit dans la bande Le roi gambader auprs du vilain! Mais psit ! tout coup on quitte la ronde, On se pousse, on fuit, le coq a chant Oh ! La belle nuit pour le pauvre monde ! Et vive la mort et l'galit !

Use ALL of the stimulus to help you - the pictures/poems are there to inspire you - study them in depth Be as creative as you can - use imagination in your initial planning and write all ideas down - you may use the idea - you might not - you may use the idea much later Fall back on what we have learnt so far 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. How to create any chord (major, minor, augmented, diminished, sus2, sus 4, 7th etc) Developing ideas - so many different ways to do it! Cycle of 5ths to help you make connections between chords and keys Writing a chord progression for string quartet (and in fact any group of 4 instruments) Writing a chord progression or harmonic progression

Churchill academy music department

Using sound in an interesting way - vocal audio editing from year 10