Harris AcademyMusic Department

Higher MusicComposing Mini Tasks

CONTENTS1. Scales: major, harmonic minor, melodic

minorDate completed:______________

Teacher initial:_____________

2. Intervals Date completed:______________

Teacher initial:_____________

3. Bass Clef Date completed:______________

Teacher initial:_____________

4. Chords Date completed:______________

Teacher initial:_____________

5. Cadences Date completed:______________

Teacher initial:_____________

6. Modulation Date completed:______________

Teacher initial:_____________

7. Ornaments Date completed:______________

Teacher initial:_____________

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Compositional device 1Scales

Introduction

Nearly all melodies and harmonies originate from scales. Even although melodies and harmonies come in all shapes and styles, they can usually be closely linked to a specific scale? For example, the chromatic scale contains every musical note. Therefore, even the most obscure sounding melody and harmony can be linked to that specific scale.

So what exactly is a scale?

A scale is simply the structure in which we organise notes. The specific type of scale is determined by the interval relationships (or distance) between the individual notes. The slightest adjustment of a note can change a happy sounding scale into a sad one. For example, a happy sounding major scale can be converted into a sad sounding minor scale simply by changing one note. Specific scales evoke specific emotions. Besides the happy sounding major scale and the sad sounding minor scale, there is the whole tone scale. This scale can create a sense of mystery. The diminished scale can also be used to suggest mystery, and the pentatonic scale has a light, clean feel. It is commonly found in Scottish music and the music of many other cultures.

In this unit, you will learn to analyse major and minor (harmonic and melodic) scales. The knowledge you gain from this analytical approach will provide you with a valuable tool for composing a melody, and will also provide the basis for understanding more about keys.

Composers very often make conscious choices about which scale they will use when composing a piece of music. It is important to keep this in mind as you work through the following activities.

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C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B

Constructing a MAJOR Scale

Here is the sequence of tones and semitones which form a major scale. The example shown is the G major scale, and the notes of the G major scale are shaded:

The notes of the scale are now written on the stave, numbered and the intervals between each note are identified.

Tone Tone Semitone Tone Tone Tone Semitone

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

G A B C D E F# G

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C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B

Task 1:You should now illustrate the scale of F Major using the method demonstrated in the example:

Tone Tone Semitone Tone Tone Tone Semitone 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8

Task 2:Now play the scale on your instrument.

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C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B

C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B

Constructing a MINOR ScaleHere is the sequence of tones and semitones which form the harmonic minor scale. The example is the scale of A harmonic minor.

Tone Semitone Tone Tone Semitone 1 ½ S/tones Semitone

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Task 3:You should now illustrate the scale of D Harmonic minor using the method demonstrated in the example:

Tone Semitone Tone Tone Semitone 1 ½ S/tones Semitone

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Task 4:

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C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B

C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B

Now play the scale on your instrument.

Here is the sequence of tones and semitones which form a melodic minor scale ascending. The example on this page is the A melodic minor scale (ascending):

Tone Semitone Tone Tone Tone Tone Semitone

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Here is the sequence of tones and semitones which form a melodic minor scale descending. The example on this page is the A melodic minor scale (descending):

Tone Tone Semitone Tone Tone Semitone Tone

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E F G

C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B

Task 5:You should now illustrate the scale of E Melodic minor using the method demonstrated in the example:

Tone Semitone Tone Tone Tone Tone Semitone

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Tone Semitone Tone Tone Semitone Tone Tone

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Task 6:Now play the scale on your instrument.

Mini composition task

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1. Play each of the 3 types of scale on your instrument. This is a really important part of the process because by playing the scales you will become familiar with their sound. If you are familar with their sound you can make an informed choice when you compose.

2. Which one do you like best? Give a reason for your answer

__________________________________________________________________________

3. Which one do you like least? Give a reason for your answer

__________________________________________________________________________

.

4. Choose one of the scales and try improvising with it. See if you can perfom a 4 or 8 bar melody. Write your melody down in your manuscript book if you find improvising difficult.

Personal Assessment Record Pupil Teacher

Date LI Success criteria

RED AMBER GREEN REDAMBE

R GREEN

Dem

onst

rte

unde

rsta

ndin

g of

spec

ific

scal

es th

roug

h im

prov

isati

on

1 Identify a major and harmonic/melodic minor scale

2 Create (by improvising) an effective melody using a specific scale

3 Perform melody on instrument

4 Check my own and other people’s work and give constructive feedback.

RED I need to spend more time on thisAMBER I am beginning to do this wellGREEN I am confident at doing this

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Scales revision - Minor ScalesAdd the missing notes to these harmonic and melodic minor scales. Add accidentals where necessary.

a) E harmonic minor

b) A harmonic minor

c) D harmonic minor

d) E melodic minor

e) A melodic minor

f) D harmonic minor

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Compositional device 2

IntervalsInterval - Any two notes that sound together or one after the other form an interval.

The 4th, 5th and octave are perfect

The tritone is made up of 3 tones

Minor intervals are a semitone smaller than major intervals

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Perfect 8ve

Minor 2ndMajor 2ndMinor 3rdMajor 3rd

Major 7thMinor 7thMajor 6thMinor 6th

Perfect 4th

Perfect 5thTRITONE

Unison

The first two notes of the songs listed below demonstrate the ASCENDING interval

8ve Somewhere over the RainbowMajor 7th Take on me by Aha (chorus)Minor 7th Startrek theme/somewhere from west side storyMajor 6th Chick chick chickenMinor 6th Close every door to mePerfect 5th ET Theme/Star Wars themeTritone The Simpsons (vocal intro)Perfect 4th Auld Lang SyneMajor 3rd The Simpsons (Instrumental)Minor 3rd GreensleevesMajor 2nd Happy BirthdayMinor 2nd Jaws theme

Task 1:Play these intervals on your instrument, sing them or play them on a kazoo! Becoming familiar with their distinctive sounds will help you make informed choices when you compose music.

Task 2:

Which interval do you think is the most dramatic?______________________________

Why do you think the composer used this interval _____________________________

Which interval(s) is most commonly used by composers?___________________

Why do you think this is?________________________________________________

Can you think of any other songs that start with this interval?____________________

Task 3:Look at the pieces you are currently performing on your instruments. Identify the first interval of one of your pieces. Why not change it to a different interval. Does this change the piece dramatically?

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Task 4:Add a second note to each bar to form the intervals described.

Example Interval described:

Minor 3rd

You find the second note

Given note.

Second note ?

Perfect 5th Minor 3rd

Major 6th Perfect 5th

Major 2nd Major 3rd

Major 7th Perfect octave

Tritone Perfect 4th

Mini composition task:

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In your manuscript book, compose an 8 bar melody in the key of G major. The end of bar 4 should sound unfinished and the end of bar 8 should end with a finished. You should include the following intervals:

OctaveTritoneMajor 6th

Minor 6th

Perfect 5th

Major 2nd

Personal Assessment Record Pupil Teacher

Date LI Success criteria RED AMBER GREEN RED AMBER GREEN

Dem

onst

rate

ude

rsta

ndin

g of

spec

ific

inte

rval

s thr

ough

com

posi

tion

of a

n 8

bar m

elod

y

1 Compose an 8 bar melody in the key of G

2 The end of bar 4 should sound unfinished, the end of bar 8 should sound finished

3 Melody includes specified intervals

4 Check my own and other people’s work and give constructive feedback.

RED I need to spend more time on thisAMBER I am beginning to do this wellGREEN I am confident at doing this

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Composition Device 3THE BASS CLEF

The Bass Clef is used in music for instruments which are lower in pitch, e.g. tuba or double bass.Just like the Treble Clef the Bass Clef has 5 lines and 4 spaces however they are slightly different. Below is a rhyme to help you remember.

Fill in the note names underneath the stave below.

Fill in the missing notes to find out the words.

***Remember*** Ledger lines are notes which appear above or below the

stave.

Fill in the ledger lines below.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Fill in the missing notes to find out the words.

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C E A C

C E G (A)

Composition device 4

ChordsIn this section, you will learn about four chords:

Major, including added 6th and Dominant 7th Minor Augmented Diminished

Before learning about these chords it is important to understand the major and the minor 3rd intervals.

Major Third has Two TonesMinor Third has One Tone and a semi-tone

Major 3rd – 2 tones Minor 3rd – one and a half tones

Major Chord

As in all chords, a MAJOR chord has a root, third and fifth. A major chord consists of the intervals of a major third and a minor third.Sometimes other notes are added. In the C Major chord example above a 6th (A) has been added. This additional note changes the sound of the chord significantly.

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Bb

C E G

E G B

Task 1:Which notes are in the following chords?

C added 6 ___ ___ ___ ___

F added 6 ___ ___ ___ ___

G added 6 ___ ___ ___ ___

Dominant 7th chords

A dominant seventh chord is a chord composed of a root, major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh. It can be also viewed as a major triad with an additional minor seventh. It is denoted in popular music by adding a 7 after the letter designating the

chord root.

C7

Minor Chords

Em

Minor chord differs from a major chord in that it consists of the intervals of a minor third and a major third. It is denoted in popular music by adding a lower case m after the letter designating the chord

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G#

C E

root.

Task 2:Shade three notes in this diagram to form the chord of Cm

Augmented Chords

An Augmented chord is a triad consisting of 2 MAJOR THIRDS stacked on top of each other. The word augment means to increase, so if we turn a major chord into an augmented one, we are increasing the distance between the third and fifth of the chord. It is denoted in popular music by adding a + after the letter designating the chord root.Here is the chord of C+:

Task 3:Shade the notes on this diagram which form a D+ chord.

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Bb

E G

Diminished ChordsA diminished chord is a triad consisting of 2 MINOR THIRDS stacked on top of each other. The word diminish means to decrease, so if we turn a major chord into an diminished one, we are decreasing the distance between the root and the third and the third and the fifth of the chord. It is denoted in popular music by adding a ᵒ after the letter designating the chord root.

Eᵒ

Task 4:Shade the notes on this diagram which form a C diminished chord.

Task 5:What notes would you find in the following chords?

C ___ ___ ___

Am ___ ___ ___

D+ ___ ___ ___

B+ ___ ___ ___

Dᵒ ___ ___ ___

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Eᵒ ___ ___ ___

Bm ___ ___ __

F7 ___ ___ ___ __

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Task 6:Work out the names of the chords below:

1.

Chord _______________

2.

Chord_______________

3.

Chord _______________

4.

Chord _______________

5.

Chord _______________

6.

Chord _______________

7.

Chord _______________

Compositional device 5

Cadences

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Personal Assessment Record

Pupil

Teacher

Date LI

Success criteria

RED

AMBER

GREEN

RED

AMBER

GREEN

Iden

tify

maj

or a

nd m

inor

chor

ds b

y lis

teni

ng, p

layi

ng a

nd a

naly

sing 1 Understand

the intervals that form specific chords

2 Identify individual chords, such as major (including added 6th and 7th chords), minor, augmented and diminished.

3 I can play the range of chords on my instrument

4 Check my own and other people’s work and give constructive feedback.

G Major

Perfect cadence

C Major

Perfect cadence

Perfect Cadence

A minorF Major

Most Western European music (up until 1900, at least) along with most pop and rock music, is based around chords. In the same way that words make up a sentence, chords make up a ‘chord sequence’ or ‘chord progression’. How the sequence ends is very important. This is called a cadence.

The 4 endings, or cadences are:

Perfect (Chord 5-1) - sounds like it has returned ‘home’

Imperfect (Chord 1-5) - sounds unfinished

Interrupted (Chord 5-6) - sounds unexpected

Plagal (Chord 4 -1) - sounds like the end of a hymn (“Amen”)

Task 1: Illustrate the following cadences

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A minorF Major

G Major

A minorF Major

C Major

Plagal Cadence

G Major

Plagal cadence

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A minorF Major

G Major

Interrupted cadence

C Major

Interrupted Cadence

A minorF Major

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A minorF Major

G Major

Imperfect Cadence

C Major

Imperfect Cadence

A MinorF Major

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A MinorF Major

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Task 2:Look at the piece of music on the next page. What key is this music in? _________________

Identify the four cadences:-1

2

3

4

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Hint….you will need to identify the following chords:

Chord I =

Chord IV =

Chord V =

Chord VI =

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Mini composition taskUsing the cadences you have written in the exercises above, compose a 4 bar chord sequence in your manuscript book. You should include one 7th chord and one added 6th chord:

1. In the key of G ending with a Perfect cadence

2. In the key of C ending with an Imperfect cadence

3. In the key of F ending with a Plagal cadence

4. In the key of C ending with an Interrupted cadence

Personal Assessment Record Pupil TeacherDate LI

Success criteriaRED AMBER GREEN RED AMBER GREEN

Dem

onst

rate

und

erst

andi

ng o

f cad

ence

s by

com

posi

ng fo

ur

diffe

red

cade

nces

in d

iffer

ed k

eys

1 Compose a cadence in the key of G ending with a Perfect cadence

2 Compose a cadence in the key of C ending with an Imperfect cadence

3 Compose a cadence in the key of F ending with a Plagal cadence

4 Compose a cadence in the key of C ending with an Interrupted cadence

5 Check my own and other people’s work and give constructive feedback.

RED I need to spend more time on thisAMBER I am beginning to do this wellGREEN I am confident at doing this

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Composition device 6

ModulationModulation means to change key during a composition. In simple pieces there may be no modulation e.g. a piece may begin, continue, and end in C major. This is fine for short pieces. In longer pieces, the audience’s interest needs to be sustained. This can be done through modulating.Even pop songs tend to modulate towards the end for a climatic effect.

1. If you want to gain better marks in your composition, you need to modulate somewhere.2. A piece may be presented to you in your listening exam and you need to identify that it has modulated.

How does a piece of music modulate?

Pieces of music always modulate to closely related keys.You will remember that the primary chords in any key are I, IV, V. The first, fourth, and fifth degrees of a scale have other names as well:

I TonicIV SubdominantV Dominant

Therefore, if we are in ‘C Major’ we can modulate to the subdominant, dominant or relative minor of C major.

Task 1:Fill in the following table.

C major

Can modulate

to.....Dominant Subdominant Relative minor

Key ?

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When I have decided what key to modulate to, how do I go about it?

1. Start by using notes that belong to the key you want to modulate to. It is a good idea to use the notes that don’t belong to the key you started in.

2. Play a perfect cadence in the new key.

If your piece started in G major, what would the keys be that you could modulate to?

Task 2:Fill in the table below, also fill in the notes you would have to begin adding (or taking away) and the chords of the cadence you would need to use to establish the new key.

Related Keys

Notes to be added/ taken away

Cadence Chords

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Task 3: Listen to the following piece of music

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1. What period of music is it from? Give a reason for your answer.

2. What key is the piece in at the beginning?

3. What bar does the music begin to modulate?

4. What note is introduced to begin the modulation?

5. What key is the music modulating to at this point?

6. The piece modulates again towards the end. Which bar sees the beginning of this modulation?

7. What key is the piece in by bar 32?

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Task 4:

1. Listen to Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and Penny Lane by the Beatles.

2. Can you identify where in each song the modulation occurs? In your answer, state the section of the song as well as the point in the lyrics.

Lucy in the Sky___________________________________________________

Penny Lane _____________________________________________________

3. What effect does the modulation have on the overall song?

_________________________________________________________________

4. Do you think the song sounds better with the modulation?

__________________________________________________________________

Personal Assessment Record Pupil Teacher

Date LI Success criteria

RED AMBER GREEN REDAMBE

R GREEN

Beco

me

fam

iliar

with

rela

ted

keys

an

d ho

w m

usic

mod

ulat

es w

ithin

th

ese

keys

1 Understand the terms: dominant, subdominant, relative major/minor

2 Identify modulation both by listening and studying a score.

3 Reflect on how a modulation can enhance a piece of music.

4 Check my own and other people’s work and give constructive feedback.

RED I need to spend more time on this

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AMBER I am beginning to do this wellGREEN I am confident at doing this

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Composition device 7Ornaments

Ornaments are "frills" or embellishments made on notes. An ornament is basically a historic shorthand method of indicating how a single note can be made more interesting. Ornaments first started to be used at the beginning of the 17th century, but the methods used to notate them varied quite a lot, and in some cases they were not indicated at all, but just assumed. Their use became much less common towards the end of the 18th century, and the notation for those that were used became reasonably standardised.

Those which are seen in works of this period include:

1. Trill - a rapid shake between an added note and the main note2. Mordent - a single movement from the main note then down or up then back to the main note3. Grace note or acciaccatura (pronounced atch-ack-a-too-ra) - a quick movement from an unaccented added note to the main note4. Appoggiatura (pronounced appog-a-too-ra) - a slower movement from an accented added note to the main note5. Arpeggio - a spread chord, so playing the notes of a chord rapidly after each other, usually starting at the bottom6. Turn - a quick movement around a note, usually up, down and up again

The following (unrealistic) example shows all six ornaments in the same order as listed above. The stave below shows approximately how it should be played.

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Here is the music for Twinkle Twinkle Little star. You will be able to play this easily on your instrument.

Task 1:See if you can play it with some of the ornaments.

Of all the ornaments, the Grace note is the one used most often in Scottish music.

Task 2:Try playing this very simple Scottish tune. Add some grace notes to your performance to make it more interesting and stylish.

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Task 3 – revisiting cadences:

Play the tune with chords. Work with a partner if you do not play a chordal instrument.Mark the cadences in the tune. Can you change one of the cadences without altering the melody?

Personal Assessment Record Pupil Teacher

Date LI Success criteria RED AMBER GREEN RED AMBER GREEN

Stud

y a

rang

e of

orn

amen

ts u

sed

to d

ecor

ate

a m

elod

y, a

nd le

arn

to

iden

tify

indi

vidu

al o

rnam

ents

1 Identify symbols that represent different ornaments

2 Describe the process of performing specific ornaments

3 Performing ornaments in a piece of music

4 Check my own and other people’s work and give constructive feedback.

RED I need to spend more time on thisAMBER I am beginning to do this wellGREEN I am confident at doing this

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