Hello, and welcome to today's music lesson.

I'm Ms. Mansell and I'm gonna be your teacher for today.

Let's get started.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can analyze how a composition creates a balanced structure by using repetition and contrast, and can apply these principles to my own composition.

Let's take a look at some keywords for today's lesson.

Melodic shape, the shape of a melody, including how it ascends or descends and uses conjunct or disjunct movement.

Phrase, a short section of a melody, normally lasting 1, 2 or 4 bars.

Cadence, the chord pattern at the end of a section or piece, for example, perfect cadence, chords V and then I.

Today's lesson on using repetition and contrast in a section has two parts.

So part one is analyzing repetition and contrast, and part two is repetition and contrast in your own composition.

So let's get started with part one, analyzing repetition and contrast.

Creating a structure that balances repetition and contrast is key to creating an effective composition.

If you have too much repetition, it can make a piece uninteresting.

If you have too much contrast and variety, the piece can sound disjointed.

Let's analyze an example to see how we can find this balance.

Have a listen to the opening section of this composition for violin and piano.

Focus on the melody.

How has the composer used repetition to give this section a sense of unity?

Have a listen to this now and follow along with the score.

You might have noticed that the first and third phrases are identical to each other, so you can have a listen to that first phrase and see that the third phrase is a repetition of it.

You also should have spotted that the fourth phrase starts the same as the second, and these phrases use almost identical rhythms.

So they're very similar.

They're not identical, but they're very similar.

You can have a listen to that second phrase.

And now have a listen to that fourth phrase.

The composer also uses some repeated rhythms and melodic shapes within those phrases.

Where is the repeated rhythm and melodic shape in the first phrase?

Why don't you have another listen to it, and you can have a look at the score there.

Did you spot the repeated rhythm and melodic shape?

It's here.

So you can see that repeated rhythm.

You can see the minimum tied to the quaver and the three additional quavers repeated, and the melody is in a sequence.

How does the accompaniment use repetition to create a sense of unity?

You can see the score there and have a listen to that accompaniment.

I hope you noticed that it uses a similar broken chord shape and rhythm throughout the whole section.

So you can see those held semibreves in the left hand and those broken chords in the right hand.

Have a listen to both parts together.

How does the composer use contrast to create variety in this section?

Have a listen and follow the score.

You'll have noticed that the melodic shapes in the first and third phrases contrast with those in the second and fourth.

So you can see the shapes here of the first and the shapes here for the second.

So the first goes down and then up, and the second phrase goes predominantly up and then down a little bit, so they've got different shapes.

In the second and fourth phrases, the melody changes halfway through the phrase.

The second uses an imperfect cadence which feels incomplete.

Remember that that imperfect cadence means it's finishing on chord V while the fourth changes slightly and creates a resolved perfect cadence.

Remember, that's chords V to I.

Have a listen for those differences.

Have a listen to the second phrase.

And now listen to the fourth phrase.

I hope you heard those different harmonies.

The opening section has a structure which balances unity and variety by carefully using both repeated and contrasting musical ideas.

This includes repeated melodic ideas or phrases, contrasting melodic ideas or phrases, repeated chord progressions, contrasting chord progressions, for example, different cadences, and consistent accompanying patterns, so it has broken chords in the piano.

Let's do a quick check for understanding.

Describe one way that this composition creates a sense of unity through repetition.

Have a quick think about that.

What did you think?

You could have said one of these.

So repeating melodic ideas or phrases, repeating chord progressions, repeating accompanying patterns, or using similar melodic shapes.

And describe one way that this composition creates a sense of variety through contrast.

Pause and have a think.

What did you think?

You could have said using contrasting melodic ideas or phrases or using contrasting chord progressions, for example, different cadences.

So let's move on to Task A.

We want you to analyze the second section of this composition using the score and the audio.

You can identify and highlight on the score two examples of how the composer creates variety through contrast and two examples of how the composer creates unity through repetition.

And here are the two sections of the score.

Have a listen to that and have a go at both those questions.

How did you get on?

So for part A, we asked you to give two examples of how the composer creates variety through contrast.

You could have identified some contrasting dynamics and articulation.

So there you can see dynamics, so you can see a crescendo going to forte as opposed to a mezzo forte dynamic.

And you can also see some accented notes there compared to some legato notes.

You could have said using contrasting rhythms in the accompaniment and melody.

So you can see in the two sections highlighted there, you've got some straightforward rhythms in the first section, and then you can see in the second section highlighted there, you've got some dotted rhythms in the violin and some accented crochet chords and rests in the piano, which is different to the smooth quavers that was heard before.

You might have also said using contrasting harmony or cadences.

So you can see highlighted here, the first box shows you the imperfect cadence.

Remember, that's a section ending in chord V.

And then you can see where a perfect cadence is highlighted, so that's chords V to I.

And then we asked you to highlight two examples of how the composer creates unity through repetition.

You could have identified some repeated melodic ideas.

So here you can see some repetition.

You might have highlighted some repeated 4-bar phrases.

So here you can see complete repetition of two sets of 4 bars.

And you might have identified repeated rhythms and patterns in the accompaniment.

Let's move on to part two of our lesson, repetition and contrast in your own composition.

So the composition we've been looking at shows us how we can effectively balance repetition and contrast within one section of a piece.

Some common techniques for using repetition are using repeated rhythms, using repeated melodic phrases, using repeated motifs, using repeated chord progressions, and using repeated accompanying patterns.

Some common techniques for using contrast are creating contrasting rhythms, creating contrasting or altered melodic phrases, using contrasting chord progressions or cadences.

Let's do a quick check for understanding.

Suggest four ways that you can create repetition in a piece of music.

Have a think.

Did you get four of these?

You could have said use repeated rhythms, melodic phrases, motifs, chord progressions, or accompanying patterns.

So let's move on to Task B.

We want you to reflect on one section of your composition.

Identify where it uses repetition to create a sense of unity and uses contrast to create a sense of variety.

We then want you to identify two ways that you can develop this section by using repetition or contrast.

And have a go at developing your composition, focusing on those steps to create a greater balance of repetition and contrast.

Pause the lesson video now and have a go at developing your composition.

How did you get on?

Reflect on the changes you've made to your composition.

Use these questions to help you consider your next steps.

Does your composition use some repeated melodic ideas?

Does it use contrasting melodic ideas?

Are there sections where the harmony repeats?

Are there sections where the harmony changes or contrasts?

Have you used melodic shape or rhythm to create contrast in the melody?

Have you used any motifs to create a sense of unity?

Do your accompany parts create both unity and variety?

Use those questions to help you reflect.

Let's summarize today's lesson on using repetition and contrast in a section.

Creating a balance between repetition and contrast is key to effective composition.

This helps to create a sense of unity while still being a varied composition.

Common methods for using repetition include repeating rhythmic ideas, melodic phrases or chord progressions.

To create variety, consider using contrasting melodic ideas, chord progressions or rhythmic patterns.

Thank you for joining me for today's lesson.