Music Composition and Songwriting
Syllabus
Course Essential Questions
- How do individuals choose music to experience?
- How do musicians make meaningful connections through creating, performing, and responding to music?
- How do creators and performers communicate their expressive intent?
- How does context influence creators, performers, and the audience?
Course Learning Objectives
- Share live or recorded performances of works and explain how the elements of music are used to convey intent
- Analyze aurally and/or by reading the scores of musical works the elements of music (including form), compositional techniques and procedures, relating them to aesthetic effectiveness, style, mood, and context; and explain how the analysis provides models for personal growth as composer, performer, and/or listener.
- Describe the given context and performance medium for presenting personal works, and how they impact the final composition and presentation
- Describe the effectiveness of the technical and expressive aspects of selected music and performances, demonstrating understanding of fundamentals of music theory.
- Apply teacher-provided or personally-developed criteria to select music that expresses personal experiences and interests, moods, visual images, concepts, texts, or storylines in simple or moderately complex forms, and describe and defend the choices as models for composition
- Identify and implement strategies for improving the technical and expressive aspects of multiple works.
- Demonstrate how interests, knowledge, and skills relate to personal choices and intent when creating, performing, and responding to music.
- Share music through the use of notation, performance, or technology, and demonstrate how the elements of music have been employed to realize expressive intent.
Unit 1: Creating with Sound (Weeks 1-5)
Unit description
In this unit, students will learn about fundamental qualities of sound - pitch and duration - and how to communicate about these qualities through musical notation. They will use notation to express new musical ideas, manipulating features of pitch and duration to create musical spaces defined by meter, tonality, and chord structures.
Week 1: Begin with the Beat
Weekly Essential Questions
- What are the rules, policies, and expectations of this course?
- How do I want to be treated and how do I want to treat others as I interact with my teachers and classmates?
- How do musicians communicate?
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Understand the rules and policies of the course, and expectations of you as a contributing member of our learning community
- Begin to build community by sharing important information with your teacher and classmates about yourself and your school, and creating a social contract together for guidelines on interacting throughout the class
- Develop your skills for navigating the course environment and using the various course tools
- Demonstrate rhythm notation skills through rhythm composition
Week 2: improvisation
Weekly Essential Questions
- How do musicians generate musical ideas?
- How does the 12-bar blues support improvisation?
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Improvise and write melodies using a blues scale
- Discern between melody and harmony in musical compositions
- Notate pitches in the treble clef
Week 3: Major Scales and Keys
Weekly Essential Question
- How do pitch choices impact the sound of a composition?
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Notate scales and key signatures in major keys
- Compose major melodies in the call-and-response form
Week 4: Minor Scales and Keys
Weekly Essential Question
- How does tonality impact the sound of a composition?
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Notate scales and key signatures in minor keys
- Compose minor melodies in question-and-answer form
Week 5: Chords
Weekly Essential Question
- How do sounds combine to create harmony?
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Notate triads
- Analyze harmonies
- Compose a harmony based on a given chord progression and melody
Unit 2: Creating with Elements of Music (Weeks 6-10)
Unit description
In this unit, students will learn how composers manipulate the inherent qualities of sound to generate new ideas about the elements of music, including melody, harmony, form, timbre, and texture. They will practice using notation to create meaning through music, developing a unique perspective, message, or mood.
Week 6: Melody
Weekly Essential Question
- What makes a great melody?
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Analyze melodies through notation and aural analysis
- Compose a melody
Week 7: Harmony
Weekly Essential Question
- What makes a great harmony?
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Analyze chord progressions
- Compose a chord progression and harmony
Week 8: Timbre and Texture
Weekly Essential Question
- How do layers of sound interact in a composition?
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Analyze musical textures
- Identify diverse instrumentation choices
- Orchestrate a composition
Week 9: Text and Theme
Weekly Essential Question
- How do composers use words and ideas to give music meaning?
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Analyze themes and motifs in programmatic music
- Analyze lyrics
- Add lyrics or thematic motifs to a composition
Week 10: Form
Weekly Essential Question
- How do composers give shape and structure to music?
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Analyze musical form
- Identify musical symbols and expressive markings
- Compose music in a complete form with comprehensive markings
Unit 3: Capstone Composition (Weeks 11-15)
Unit description
In this unit, students will synthesize their learning about notation and the elements of music. They will develop a vision for an original composition, execute their vision, and provide feedback to classmates to develop and refine their work. Finally, they will consider composers’ decision-making when presenting their work to the public and share their work with their classmates.
Week 11: Plan
Weekly Essential Question
- What personal choices will I make about the elements of music in my composition?
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Plan a Capstone Composition
- Prepare a score for the Capstone Composition
- Communicate composer's intent to peers
Week 12: Create
Weekly Essential Question
- How will I use notation to communicate ideas about my musical choices?
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Notate rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic ideas within a planned musical form
- Integrate intended expressive elements of music into the Capstone Composition
Week 13: Refine
Weekly Essential Question
- How can I make my composition more musically expressive and make my intent more clear?
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Implement peer feedback to refine the Capstone Composition
- Finalize Capstone Composition
Week 14: Present
Weekly Essential Question
- How will I make choices about my composition's presentation that honor my creative intent?
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Choose a medium to present the Capstone Composition
- Make informed choices about intellectual property and publicity
Week 15: Reflect
Weekly Essential Question
- How have we communicated about musical ideas through composition?
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Respond to peers' compositions
- Reflect on musical growth