Students enjoy composing their own music. After the Retrograde lesson, students can learn ABA song form and expand their music selections. (Pictures of General MIDI sound list and Retro to ABA composition below.)
Lesson 004
All of our music compositions and studies are now created with Sibelius notation software. The same studies below can be used with any notation programs.
Objectives:
*Students will continue to expand their retrograde composition (and
change to ABA song form) using the notes in the C
Major Scale, and the keyboard and sequencing software on the computer
to playback the song.
*To
complete pp. 10-20 in the Alfred Basic Piano Library Level 1A
(varies based on student level).
*To complete one Lesson in Music Ace 1.
Materials:
Alfred 1A Piano Books,
keyboards and related equipment, computers, printer, Music Time
Deluxe and Music Ace 1 software and teacher's manual.
Procedures:
Students
should have prior knowledge of the definitions of MIDI, General
MIDI, and other keyboard / tech terms. Follow
this link to review brief definitions. Also, introduce
or examine the C
Major Scale for use in compositions.
After
the students have successfully completed the Retrograde Lesson,
students may extend or change the song using a song form, such
as ABA. ABA means that you will write one section of the composition
(Part A), then write something different than your first section
(Part B), then write the first section of your song again (Part
A). In other words, Part A 'repeats' or is played twice. Write
your composition using notes in the same octave starting with
Middle C, and use notes in the C Major Scale. We will continue
to have 2 staves or instrument voices playing. The students
should not try to write the longest song in the world. Ask
them to limit their composition, for now, to 32 measures.
Remind
students of the method of changing voices / instruments in
Music Time Deluxe. (Shortcut 'Control + ?') The Staff Sheet
will appear and students can change their instruments to one
of the 128 General MIDI voices on the computer. The students
should be reminded that the sounds on their Casio MIDI keyboards
will NOT sound the same as the 128 General MIDI computer voices
unless the sound is played back through the computer speakers.
Ask students to notice...
* Why do their songs sound different when playing the song through the MIDI
keyboard than it does when played through the computer speakers (General
MIDI sounds)?
* What types of instruments sound better when paired together (like a duet)?
* What types of patterns do you hear in your compositions? (Steps, skips,
repeats, leaps, etc.)
* Will your composition be something 'that you can sing to and remember'
like a song (does it have a melody that you can identify and remember)?
* Can you tell when your composition changes from Part A - to Part B - and
back to Part A?
* What are the main rhythms that you used in your composition (quarter notes,
half notes, etc.)?
* Would you make any changes to your composition if your fellow keyboard
students did not enjoy your song or would you keep the composition as you
had written the first time?
Music
Ace 1 - Students will continue to progress at their own pace
through the lessons on the computer. Teacher will assist with
students and their questions. Some students will have completed
Lesson 4 and 5 by this time.
Alfred
Basic Piano Book 1A - If time allows, students will work individually
on pages 10-20, with assistance and demonstration of notes
and technique by the teacher.
Extra Activities:
Work on musical skills through some of the quizzes and games on
the Music Tech Teacher Quizzes and Games pages. Choose games according to the skill
level of the students. There are several quizzes available
for studying lines and spaces, rhythms, and skips, steps, repeats.
If
students complete the Music Ace Lessons successfully, they
might work in the Doodle Pad section, learning to 'compose' their
own melodies. These melodies can be saved but not printed.
Post
student compositions on the 'Student
Work' pages of this site.
Evaluation:
*Students
will be able to successfully perform all of the exercises on
pp. 10-20 of the Piano Level 1A Lesson Book.
*Students
will be able to name and play the notes to the C Major Scale.
*Students
will successfully complete Lessons 4-5 in Music Ace 1, and
will print a Progress Report of their work to give to the teacher
and to their parents.
*Students
will complete a composition in ABA form, using 2 staves, the
General MIDI sound sheet, and notes from the C Major Scale,
no longer than 32 measures.
