Assessment for Learning - Creating/Composition
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Transcript of Assessment for Learning - Creating/Composition
Assessment for Learning -Creating/Composition
byDr Joshua Chan
Department of MusicUniversity of Hong Kong
Assessment Criteria (page 1 of 2)
Exhibits originality and innovation in the presentation of ideas and materials, with a strong sense of purpose
Uses outstanding developmental processes to extend and connect ideas, and shows a strong grasp across a wide range of techniques
Assessment Criteria (page 2 of 2)
Exhibits demonstrates inventiveness and originality in the treatment of musical materials to achieve convincing formal coherency
Displays excellent idiomatic writing; having the characteristics and potentials of the performing medium thoroughly explored, with accomplished scoring to represent the intended music effectively
Major Learning Areas
Various Composition Techniques Musical Ideas & Development Characteristics of Performing Media Structure & Musical Form Musical Notation Self Appraisal
Melody & Rhythmic Organisation Expression & Articulation Harmony & Pitch Organisation Texture & Counterpoint Timbre & Instrumentation Variation, Development & Arrangement Form & Structure Notation Solo & Ensemble Writing MIDI Sequencing & Recording Programme Notes & Reflective Report
Key Learning Items
Suggested Topics (page 1 of 4)
Melodic contour Voice: range, characteristics, form vs tessitura Melodic writing for solo voice Flute and clarinet: range, characteristics,
articulation Rhythmic organisation vs notation Melodic writing for solo wind Violin and cello: range, characteristics, bowing Melodic writing for solo string Piano: range, characteristics, articulation
Suggested Topics (page 2 of 4)
Counterpoint: setting a bass line against a simple melody
Harmony: harmonizing a simple melody with chords Piano accompaniment: melodic elements in chordal
texture Musical phrasing: cadence and barring Musical form: standard pop songs Musical form: sense of direction, textural variety Variations of a simple motif Musical form: development, unity vs variety Arranging a simple melody for piano
Suggested Topics (page 3 of 4)
Contrapuntal writing for two parts Arranging a simple melody for violin and piano Percussion: timbral exploration Drum patterns in rock music: percussion as a textural
provider Adding percussion to an existing ensemble piece Brass instruments: range, characteristics, articulation Chinese plucked-string instruments: range,
characteristics, articulation Contemporary techniques: new modes/scales, rational
pitch organisation Contemporary techniques: creative harmonic
experimentation
Suggested Topics (page 4 of 4)
Contemporary techniques: atonal & arrhythmic Extended instrumentation techniques on
various media Large scale formal structure Creative sound project Creative ensemble writing Synthesizer and electronic instruments MIDI sequencing Mixing and recording Programme notes and reflective report
Melodic Contour
Whether it is a good combination of stepwise and disjunct movements
A good mixture of upward and downward movements
comprehensibility and spontaneity
Voice: range, characteristics,form vs tessitura Whether the melody is suitable for singing Whether the rhythmic setting of the lyrics are
appropriate Whether different sections of a song highlight
different tessitura, so as to maximize the effectiveness of the voice in terms of dynamics/expression
Flute and Clarinet:range, characteristics, articulation Whether the piece is idiomatically written for a
specific wind instrument Whether the piece utilizes the full pitch range
of the instrument, so as to explore the timbral, dynamic varieties on different tessitura
Whether the piece employs various kinds of articulations/tonguing and effects
Violin and Cello:range, characteristics, articulation Whether the piece is idiomatically written for a
specific string instrument Whether the piece employs articulation/
bowing markings (i.e. slurs), and performing techniques (e.g., pizz.)
As string instruments cover wide pitch ranges, a piece shall avoid focusing only on a narrow tessitura of the instrument
Counterpoint: setting a bass line against a simple melody Whether the student is able to reduce the
melody into a skeleton of pitch movement It is a basic training of two-part one-to-one
counterpoint Whether the vertical intervals as well as the
horizontal intervals are satisfactory
Harmonizing a simple melody
Whether the bass line works with the melodic skeleton satisfactorily in one-to-one counterpoint
Whether the bass notes support the right chord positions (i.e., different positions have different meanings in functional harmony)
Whether the choice of vertical sonority is satisfactory
Whether the voice-leadings from one chord to the next are satisfactory
Piano Accompaniment:melodic elements in chordal texture Whether the accompaniment is simply a
straightforward, square presentation of a chord progression
Whether the upper part or an inner part provides some melodic interest
Whether the accompaniment is also appealing on its own
Musical Phrasing: cadence & barring
Whether the materials are grouped in a two-bar unit, four-bar phrase, eight-bar phrase, or one with an unusual length
Whether a phrase is marked by a cadence and/or rhythmic devices
Since bar lines are places where chord changes, does the harmonic rhythm and cadence reinforce the phrasing
Arranging a melody for piano
A simple melody, especially a slow one, played on the piano by the right hand alone is not very idiomatic
Whether the student can provide extra notes to harmonize the melody
Are there any textural varieties Are there extra parts to play against the
melody Is the melody presented in various octaves
with idiomatic figurations
Contrapuntal Writing for Two Parts
Whether the two parts move independently Whether they combine to outline a harmonic
progression Whether they have individual characters Whether the rhythmic activities appear
spontaneously or in a square manner Whether the rhythmic unison they play at
some points provides a good textural variety
Arranging a simple melodyfor violin and piano Whether the three parts (violin, piano right
hand & left hand) overlap with each other Whether one part carries the melody while
the other parts not interfering Whether the chord spacing is satisfactory Whether timbral differences are taken into
account Whether different roles are given to the two
instruments at different places
Percussion: timbral exploration
Do we expect percussion to provide extra chord notes, highlight the rhythmic writing, reinforce the loud parts, supply a fuller texture, or simply provide new sounds/timbre
Does musical notation for percussion indicate the sounds or the performing actions/manner
Whether one uses the percussion economically (i.e., not asking for many instruments but having each playing one or a few notes in the whole piece, etc.)
Drum Patterns in Rock Music
Percussion as a textural provider How many layers are in the drum part Whether there is timbral variety within each
layer (i.e., snare - hand clap - rim shot; hi-hat - tambourine, etc.)
Whether the fill-in bar is interesting enough to break the monotony of the repetitive bars
Whether additional percussion is added in selected places
Brass instruments:range, characteristics, articulation Whether one contrasts trumpet-trombone
family with horn-tuba family Whether the written pitches are reasonably
not so high One may consider introducing the issue of
harmonic series in the discussion of pitch production in brass
Whether the music comes with precise articulation markings (e.g., tonguing, etc.)
Chinese Plucked-String Instruments
Sound envelope: fast attack and fast decay Various ways in producing sustained notes
(i.e., different types of tremolos) Whether the characteristic sounds of pitch
sliding are featured in the writing
Contemporary Techniques:new modes, rational pitch organisation Does one use the standard scales (diatonic
or chromatic), modes (early music, non-Western), or artificial scales
Does one use twelve-tone serialism, x-tone serialism, limited intervallic patterns, etc.
Does one generate pitches according to some systems of thought
Does the rational pitch organisation make any sense in aural effects
Contemporary Techniques:creative harmonic experimentation Does one treat dissonance as important as
consonance Whether one defines further various degrees
of dissonance Does the new harmony focus on vertical
intervallic relationships Whether there are any special features in the
ways how an unusual chord is presented
Contemporary Techniques:atonal & arrhythmic Whether there is any governing principle
behind the pitch organisation of atonal music Whether the composer aims to present free
atonality or well-organised pitch architecture Whether one looks for unpredictable rhythmic
writing or great rhythmic variety Whether the flexible rhythms help shaping the
music into comprehensible units or phrases
Extended Instrumentation Techniques on Various Media Thoroughly explore the potentials and
characteristics of a the voice, acoustic or electronic instruments
Not avoiding the limitations, but featuring noises as well as standard sounds
Whether the unusual sounds are incorporated into the piece in some meaningful ways; do they appears just for the sake of having them
Large Scale Formal Structure
A logical structure requires a good balance between variety (changed) and coherence (unchanged)
Does the form features the contrast between tension and relaxation
Does one achieve this in careful control of timing and proportion (e.g., whether the climax is longer enough or appears at the right moment, etc.)
Creative Sound Project
As a composition of sounds rather than pitches, one shall focus its creativity on the rhythm, phrasing, dynamics, timbre, texture and structure
All kinds of sounds can be used, not limited to the percussion, but sounds from any everyday objects (newspapers, plastic bags, food, etc.) or toys
May use stories, poems, pictures as the source of inspiration
Synthesizers and Electronic Resources If one uses synthesizers, electronic
equipment, MIDI sequencing or computer-aided sound synthesis, one shall feature the unique aspects of these media (rather than using them as a substitution of acoustic instruments, for example)
Unlike the reference recording for compositions written for acoustic instruments/ voices, the recording quality for pieces written for electronics weights highly
Programme Notes andReflective Report Besides explaining the use of music elements
and compositional devices in their compositions, one may highlight specific issues (e.g., formal structure, programmatic association) which the examiner may overlook
One may also mention the limitations and difficulties of the composition, and explain why these things can’t be overcome (a good way to show the candidate is fully aware of the nature of music composition)