Composing Your Own Music - From Breakfast to World Premiere - Flex Class

This course was created for middle school aged music students to be able to work independently on eight different fun composing assignments culminating in a final work they can perform for family and friends or even in public.  The budding composers will create small music projects each week using:
1. video units where I demonstrate games and techniques like using body percussion to understand meter and rhythm
2. PDF assignment sheets with specific tasks that build on work from the week before
3. weekly asynchronous "discussions" via Outschool's Learner Management System (where students can upload their work and contact me) inspired by a list of technical and philosophical questions and evaluation of the work-in-progress

Each week students will upload their completed audio recording, video, scan or screenshot of the assignment so we can do personalized analysis and in-depth discussion to evaluate their understanding and enjoyment of each compositional element.  There are a series of questions (not a quiz) each week designed to encourage students to think more deeply about their musical choices.  As the piece comes together, we'll also discuss things like identifying the emotional quality they want to create and how to prepare yourself for performance.  

The program is appropriate for middle school aged students on any instrument and any level of ability.  The first few units may be simplistic for advanced students, but I encourage everyone to do each step because it presents learning music differently than just learning to play an instrument.  The program offers the option to do the work with pencil and paper or using any online computer notation software, including free apps like MuseScore.  Students who don't have instruments can use notation software to perform their compositions.  We start out with a list of what they had for breakfast to create rhythm patterns with words, broken down into TA (long sounds) and ti (short sounds).  From there, each unit introduces additional basic components of music composition so students can see their work gradually get more complex and sophisticated.  Once they know the process, it can be done over and over again to create new music.  

Students will spend between 15 minutes to an hour or longer per week (longer for some of the later units) watching the videos and doing the assignments.  Here's a breakdown of the unit topics, homework and discussion questions for each unit:

WEEK 1 - Rhythm and Tempo- Learning to organize long and short sounds in your own way
Homework: Watch video. Review PDF handout.  Create a "TA" (long) and "ti" (short) rhythm using a breakfast menu, record yourself saying it or playing it on your instrument and submit for our discussion.  Bonus submission: Do your rhythm twice using two different tempos.  
Questions for Discussion: What was your breakfast phrase?  Did you change it to fit a rhythm you liked better?  What happens if you use only TA or only ti?  Do you like rhythms with more or less syllables?  Why?  How does your mood change when you change the tempo of your rhythm?  


WEEK 2 - Meter - finding strong and weak beat patterns to get a sense of flow
Homework: Watch video. Review PDF handout.  Arrange your rhythm into strong and weak beats as demonstrated in the video and worksheet.  Use repetition to make it last longer, record or video yourself using body percussion moves or playing it on your instrument and submit for our discussion.
Questions for Discussion: Did you try body rhythms for different word phrases?  Can you do body rhythms with other familiar tunes, like Happy Birthday or Twinkle Twinkle?  What happens when you try Happy Birthday with a 4/4 (strong weak strong weak) meter or Twinkle with a 3/4 (strong weak weak) meter?  How much repetition can you use with your rhythm before it gets predictable (hint: most composers think 3 times, but sometimes they go a whole lot longer--what's your limit?)


WEEK 3 - Rhythm Notation - translating TA and ti into the written language of music with hand-written and computer notation
Homework: Watch video. Review PDF handout.  Write out your rhythm in music notation on the PDF staff paper provided or in a notation app like MuseScore.  Practice drawing notes and rests on the page 2 worksheet.  Record yourself saying or playing your own rhythm while reading it in music notation and submit for our discussion.  Submit a screenshot, photo or scan of your handwritten notation.
Questions for Discussion: People have been using rhythm notation like ours for about 600 years.  What do you think rhythm notation will look like 600 years from now?  Can you make a different way to show how long and short sounds last?


WEEK 4 - Pitch Notation - pitch notation as a graph of highs and lows
Homework: Watch video.  Review PDF handouts.  Practice singing or playing the pitches on the worksheets (choose the worksheet that has your clef-treble, alto, bass).  Experiment with different tempos.  Add some pitches to the rhythm you created.  Write it out by hand or on an app.  Record yourself singing or playing it at two different tempos (fast and slow) and explain how it changes the mood. Submit for our discussion.  Submit a screenshot, photo or scan of your new melody written out in music notation.  
Questions for Discussion: Pitch notation is like a graph that shows how high or low a sound is.  Can you make a different way to show how high or low a sound is?  Bonus: write a melody in your new notation system and submit a recording.


WEEK 5 - Melodic Development - identifying a motif and building a longer melody by using repetition, diminution, augmentation and sequencing
Homework: Watch video.  Review vocabulary PDF.  Play your melody from memory, then experiment (on your instrument or on notation app) with each of the melodic development tools to see which you like best.  Write down your extended melody using your favorites.  You can use more than one.  Record yourself playing it or an mp3 from a notation app and submit.
Questions for Discussion: Can you find more than one motif out of your original melody?  We started out using words to make a rhythm.  Can you make a phrase of 3-4 words and apply some of our melodic development skills to it to make something that is sort of words and sort of something else?  Is it poetry?  Is it music?  Augmentation might be: Whaaaaat  iiiiiis   iiiiitt?


WEEK 6 - Phrases and ABA form - creating longer "sentences and paragraphs" and using an ABA form
Homework: (this unit will probably take extra time) Watch video.  Review the "question and answer" handout.  Complete the "question and answer" worksheet.  Apply "question and answer" techniques to your melody to make musical sentences and paragraphs.  Add a short contrasting section.  Write it out on paper or with notation software.  Record yourself playing it or an mp3 from your notation app and submit.  Submit a screenshot, photo or scan of the written out score.
Questions for Discussion: Can you think of 5 words and their contrasting quality (slow-fast, high-low)?  How many can you apply to music?  What concepts did you use to create your contrasting section?  How many contrasts can you describe in your piece?

WEEK 7 - Preparation and Revision - techniques to help practice and revise a new composition.  
Homework: Watch video.  Review PDF handouts.  Play through PDF example composition.  Practice playing your composition or listening to the notation app play it.  Practice some more.  Make changes to everything you want to change.  Submit your "dress rehearsal" video or mp3.  Submit a screenshot, photo or scan of your final score.
Questions for Discussion: In your opinion, how is practicing to perform a piece different than practicing to find changes in your composition?  What things did you think you liked and then didn't?  What things didn't you like and then did?  What did you decide to change after playing it a lot?


WEEK 8 - Performance - steps for preparing a performance 
Homework: Watch video.  Review PDF handouts and samples.  Practice final piece to get ready to perform.  Write a press release, concert program and composer bio.  Plan your world premiere (family concert) and share with fellow Outschool students, when possible.  Submit written work.  Record live performance video or audio or final mp3 and submit.  
Questions for Discussion: Why is it important for people to keep making and performing new music?  What would happen if nobody ever wrote anything new ever again?