Teaching and Learning Composition

Teaching and Learning Composition.

•Why should we give children opportunities to compose?

•Signposts for the way forward in composition
Composition in
Music at •Routes into composition | Meaningful opportunities
KS 1 and 2
•Resources and ideas to teach composition and find
opportunities to scaffold creative thinking

Note
This PowerPoint is a collection of
resources for the delivery of
composition across KS 1 and 2, but is
by no means exhaustive,
chronological or progressive in
nature.

www.worldbeat-media.com

Why should we give children
opportunities to compose?
Music is a powerful, unique form of communication that can
change the way pupils feel, think and act. It brings together
intellect and feeling and enables personal expression, reflection
and emotional development.
Coverage:
Teaching should ensure that listening, and applying knowledge
and understanding, interrelated skills of performing, composing
and appraising are developed through the interrelated skills of
performing, composing and appraising.
Programme of Study 1999


More children will experience a combination of classroom
teaching, instrumental and vocal tuition, opportunities to play in
ensembles and the chance to learn from professional musicians.
Hubs will provide opportunities that reach beyond school
boundaries and draw-in the expertise of a range of education
and arts partners.
National Music Plan (2011)


What this means for teaching
148. The evidence suggests that for children to get the most from
music education, it needs to be enjoyable, challenging and also
achievable. It needs to be supportive and provide space for
children to be creative, and include group activity to help build
social skills.

149. Music is a valuable academic subject, as well as being
important for the wider benefits outlined above, for those who
will go on to have careers in music and for those who pursue it
for enjoyment.


Elements of Music

Sound quality

High or low sounds

How many sounds?

Fast or slow?

Long or short?

The musical plan

Loud or quiet?


Scaffolding the Creative Process for Composition A Sequence for…

Experiences of
‘Creative Curriculum’
Immersion in… Vocabulary opportunities recording /
experiences to talk
-Idea writing down

-Story
-Theme Practice
-Image Scaffolding and Structure
• Graphic Scores • • Motif / Themes Performance
-Music Verbal
• Soundscapes • Notation
-Poem • Story Boards • Thinking Maps
Reflection

-Game • Maps • Real Melodies Evaluation –
• Rhythm Strips • Real lyrics
-Video what criteria?

-Surroundings
Related
Instrumental
listening
experiences
experiences


Flow Chart of events in ‘The Snow
Dragon’ so far.

In the beginning: Snow dragons and
fire dragons lived peacefully
And separately. Twolegs lived
between them.

The First Happening: Book told the
most royal of fire dragon that a
twoleg would destroy all fire dragons
– book was banished

All twolegs driven underground to
hide
Snow dragons almost wiped out,
thought extinct.


What is a Graphic Score?
• A graphic score is a way in which a composer can
compose a piece without using common music notation.
• Once you have chosen your symbols, you will need to
put your symbols into a score

Triangle Bells Drum

You’re a Firework G
Do you ever feel like a plastic bag Strings
Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin G C E A
Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?

Do you ever feel already buried deep?
Six feet under screams but no one seems to hear a thing Am
Do you know that there's still a chance for you
'Cause there's a spark in you?

You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July
Other Melody
Em
'Cause baby, you're a firework B DD BB AAA GG
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, oh oh oh
GG A GG GGG A BB
As you shoot across the sky - y (G)

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go, oh oh oh C
You're gonna leave 'em falling down Boomwhackers
GGGG AAAA EEEE CCCC
BBBB CCCC GGGG EEEE
DDDD EEEE BBBB GGGG
(D)

Descriptive writing
and observational
drawing

Comparing
Instruments Concept Mapping
in preparation for
writing

Organising / Sorting
Instruments by
chosen criteria


Peter and the Wolf L en t t piece ofmusicalt w yt ough. Tyt mach a instumentt ea
ist o he l he a hr r o t n r o ch
By chaa er
r ct .
Prokofiev Does t pitch a timbre oft instumentmach t chaa erw l
he nd he r t he r ct el?
Ca you ident t instument fr t pict es?
n ify he r s om hese ur

Clarinet

Timpani Strings

Oboe

Flute
French Horn Bassoon www.worldbeat-media.com

Composing Using a Pentatonic Scale
We are going to explore pentatonic music.
“Penta” means five, as in pentagon.
Pentatonic music is made up of five different notes.

We are going to learn a
simple pentatonic scale: C
These five note scales are the basis of many C, D, E, G, A.
forms of music.
They use the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th notes of the
scale, for example:


INDEX


Teaching and Learning Composition

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