Students will compose a piece of “body music*” (Keith Terry, Crosspulse). They will name their compositions, and practice and perform the composition with an optional additional accompaniment (self-composed or backtrack). Templates, graphic organizers, composition plan included. Objectives Within 2-4 lessons, students will compose a piece of music inspired by body percussion. In the process the student will: • Acquire knowledge of the basic formal structure of a composition • Learn and memorize through practice to write a rhythmic motif • Learn, review and practice basic compositional techniques such as repetition and/or fragmentation • Practice short rhythmic fragments • Explore basic techniques of extending a composition • Acquire, review or practice basic rhythm notation • Acquire, review or practice concepts of meter, time signature, beat, pulse and rhythm.

Music Composition and Technology lesson plan: Ringtones II for Advanced. Students will compose or generate a ringtone, save it as a file, and upload to their cellphone/mobile. This lesson is for more advanced groups using the class set of iPads or their personal iPad or cellphone/mobile. The GarageBand app would need to be installed on the device. • Acquire a knowledge of how to compose a ringtone using GarageBand • Save the newly created composition in GarageBand and export as a ringtone • Find the ringtone on your phone’s settings and set as new ringtone Concepts • Ringtones • Composition length • Loop • Instrument • Timbre Included: screen shots for setting up the ringtone and student assignment sheet.

Students will compose a piece of music that is inspired by a short narrative. This lesson is aimed at the piano studio, but works equally well for the general music class. Objectives Within 2-4 lessons, students will compose a piece of music based on a narrative. In the process the student will: • Acquire knowledge of how to characterize sound to be descriptive • Learn more about descriptive/program music • Learn, review and practice basic note values • Learn how to use basic notes and rhythms to produce a particular mood or character • Practice short melodic patterns on an instrument • Explore basic techniques of creating mood, character and description in a composition • Acquire, review or practice basic staff notation Included: sample composition and 9 short sample narratives to use

Aleatoric (Chance Music) Composition lesson for kids: Students will compose a melody using a random selector for pitch (paper pinwheel spinner) to generate pitches for a melody. Within one to four lessons, students will compose a melody and expand it to a larger piece. In the process the students will: • Explore the steps of a scale • Explore pitch • Explore rhythms as per your curriculum guide • Understand functional concepts about tones within the scale: home note/tonic (tonal center) • Learn, review and practice basic compositional techniques such as repetition, sequence and/or fragmentation if the melody is used to extend into a larger piece • Explore basic techniques of extending a composition • Acquire, review or practice basic staff notation or solfege writing

Students will compose a vocal or instrumental piece using a melodic contour as guide. They will design and plot a contour with string, identify sound, select timbre, plan and write a melodic line in notation or graphic score, name the composition, and practice and perform the composition. This lesson is aimed at: Elementary School, whole group, general music instruction: Use basic, single line patterns transcribe to simple line and space note pieces. Middle School, whole group, general music or choral performance group: Use melodic contours as vocal warm up exercises, pitch/ range exercises, voice leading illustrations and two- or multi-part singing exercises. Objectives Within 1 to 2 lessons, students will compose a piece of music using a melodic contour. In the process the student will: • Analyze a visual image of melodic contour • Make connections between visual contour lines on the music staff and high/low sound production • Analyze how melodic contour and sound reflect each other • Explore improvisatory techniques • Explore basic music notation • Explore new writing and playing techniques to accommodate composition • Explore melodic contour as compositional device • Explore melodies as sound layers: monophonic, polyphonic

Students will compose a short composition based on math principles using Google Song Maker and save it as a file. This lesson is for all age groups using the class set of iPads or their personal iPad or cell phone. Within 2 - 3 lessons, students will compose a short piece of music. • Acquire a knowledge of how to compose a 4-bar melody (for younger students) or multiple bar melody (older students) • Use math skills of number knowledge: even numbers, odd numbers, prime numbers, square numbers • Make musical decisions on timbre, rhythm, pitch patterns • Save the newly created composition

This lesson is aimed at the more advanced general music class or the piano studio. Music Composition Intermediate 2 - 4 lessons Students will arrange/compose a piece of music based on medley techniques: link together well-known melodies following a step- by-step guide to compose a medley. Within 2-4 lessons students will prepare a medley. In the process the student will: • Acquire knowledge of the different ways in which pieces may be linked. • Analyze the various parameters that should be considered to comfortably link different pieces, e.g., metre, key, rhythm, melody, etc. • Plan the structure of a composition. • Focus on the interplay between recognizable melodic material and linking material. • Learn, review and practice basic compositional techniques such as repetition, sequence and/or ornamentation to compose links. • Explore basic techniques of extending a composition. • Acquire, review or practice melodic and rhythmic staff notation. Included: 6 step guide handout for students, Merry Medley sample composition and audio file

Students will compose a piece of music by using chord cards to form triads to create a melody and/or accompaniment. Objectives Within 2-4 lessons, students will compose a piece of music based on the three notes of a triad. In the process the student will: • Explore the concept “triad” and “chord”. • Explore thirds and how they form melody fragments, melodies and chords. • Write triads in root position. • Explore “block” and “broken” chords. • Write a melody or accompaniment pattern based on triad manipulation. Sample composition included.

Students will compose a melody using a question-answer design on a template for pitch, but within certain structural and tonal parameters. They will practice and perform the melody. Objectives Within one lesson, students will compose a question-answer melody. In the process the student will: • Explore rhythms as per their curriculum guide • Explore pitch as per their curriculum guide • Explore the steps of a scale • Learn question-answer motivic use • Learn, review and practice basic compositional techniques such as repetition, sequence and/or fragmentation if the melody is used to extend into a larger piece • Explore basic techniques of extending a composition • Acquire, review or practice basic staff notation Included: Composition template as a handout work sheet

This lesson is aimed at the general music or chorus class. Students will compose a piece of music by generating tongue twister lyrics based on digraphs, trigraphs, alliteration and assonance following a step-by-step guide to set it to rhythm and then to a melody. Objectives Within 2-4 lessons students will prepare a tongue twister song. In the process the students will: • Acquire knowledge of the different ways in which catchy tongue twister lyrics may be generated. • Scan the tongue twister sentence or phrase for strong syllables. • Set to a beat and rhythm. • Plan the structure of a composition. • Analyze the lyrics for melodic suggestion/word painting. • Learn, review and practice basic compositional techniques such as repetition, sequence and/or ornamentation. • Explore basic techniques of extending a composition. • Acquire, review or practice melodic and rhythmic staff notation. Included: Graphic organizer to generate digraphs, trigraphs, alliterations and assonance with examples.

Students will compose a piece of music using a melodic technique that illustrates the meaning of words. Objectives Within 2-3 lessons, students will compose a piece of music inspired by a rhyme, poem or text. In the process the student will: • Analyze a text • Identify and define descriptive elements of the text • Make connections between text and music • Analyze how textual image and sound image are similar and different • Explore new writing and playing techniques to accommodate musical word painting • Explore word painting as compositional device Included: Graphic organizer for text analysis and sample Word Painting composition

Students will compose a piece of music directed by a set of graphic notation sound tiles which they will use to write a short narrative or poem and perform as multimedia orchestrated work for narration, sound effects, instrumental parts and/or images. Within 2-4 lessons, students will compose a piece of music based on a set of sound tiles. In the process the student will: • Acquire a knowledge of graphic notation • Experiment with texture, timbre and tone • Integrate language arts skills in writing a narrative or poem • Experiment with sound effects • Acquire a knowledge of storyline/program in music • Tell a story in sound Included: Sample Sound Tiles and Sample Narratives

Students will compose a leading motif (leitmotif) that illustrates a feature of the character to be represented. Within 2-3 lessons, students will compose a leading motif inspired by a character from a story, poem or movie. In the process the student will: • Analyze a character for specific features • Identify and define descriptive elements of the character • Make connections between character and music • Analyze how visual image and sound image are similar and different • Explore new writing and playing techniques to accommodate musical characterization • Explore leitmotif as compositional device Includes: Aslan from The Chronicles of Narnia leitmotif graphic organizer example, and a template to generate musical features ideas for the leitmotif. Adaptable for all grade levels. Particularly popular for generating leitmotifs for Disney movie characters or superhero movie characters.

Students will compose a piece of music that is inspired by emoji. They will use the emoji as visual cue to generate short 4-bar phrases. They will link the phrases to form a larger piece, name their compositions, practice and perform the composition. Included: Composition template and emoji graphic organizer for planning the composition. Objectives Within 2-4 lessons, students will compose a piece of music based on the emotion suggested by an emoji. In the process the student will: • Acquire knowledge of music elements: melody, harmony, timbre, rhythm • Acquire knowledge of performance directions that suggest emotion: tempo, dynamics, and articulation. • Learn and memorize through practice to write the musical letters on the treble staff • Learn, review and practice basic note values • Practice short melodic fragments on a melodic instrument • Explore basic techniques of extending a composition by linking short 4-bar phrases • Acquire, review or practice basic staff notation • Make creative decisions on the overall plan of a composition