Music Cryptography: Hidden Messages in Music

Week One: Students will be introduced to the idea of hidden codes in music. We will learn about the most well-known codes that have been employed in music and listen to examples of music by classical composers such as Bach, Brahms, Shostakovitch, and others. This focus will be on musical "signatures" using note names. Students will learn the French and German methods of music cryptograms, which were the most common.

Week Two: We will learn the basics and history of Morse Code. Also discussed will be the Beethoven Symphony 5 theme as it relates to the "V for Victory" campaign during the world war. We will practice writing our own names in Morse Code, then converting it into different methods of musical notation. After class, students will be assigned the task of creating their own musical motif or theme based on either Morse code, or French/German cryptograms. Before the final class, students can send me their motif (either a picture of the handwritten project or a Noteflight/Musescore link). Completed projects can be between anywhere between 15 seconds to 8 minutes in length, for any instrumentation. 

Week Three: Students will share their favorite parts of the class, what was most memorable to them. Then, each student will share their motif with the class. I will have audio playbacks of their motif prepared from when they submitted their project. The class will guess to see if they can crack the code, and the student composers with reveal their answers.