Lesson video

Hi, my name's Mr. Pate, and welcome to this lesson on purpose, style, and a musical starting point from the unit composing to a brief creative starting points.

The outcome for this lesson is: I can analyze musical starting points for a composition and apply these ideas to my own composition to a brief.

We'll be using some of these keywords in today's lesson.

We'll be talking a lot about the brief, and a brief is a set of instructions that outline the purpose, style, and requirements of a composition that you must respond to in your work.

Composing is the act of creating music.

A melody is the tune, usually the most memorable feature in a piece of music.

A riff is a short repeated musical idea.

And a chord sequence is a series of chords played in a particular order, and this forms the harmonic basis of a piece of music.

In today's lesson, we'll start by analyzing musical starting points, and then you'll have a go at composing your own initial ideas for your own composition.

When we compose to a brief, we'll be given a set of instructions which can help suggest a musical starting point.

Our starting point could then be a melody, a riff, a chord sequence, a baseline, or any other musical idea.

It's just an initial musical thought that will then inspire the rest of our composition.

This starting point will help to suggest a direction of our composition, and we'll start to get ideas of where it's gonna go next.

Look at this example brief and have a think about what decisions should you make in order to start this piece.

The brief's called instrumental composition.

It says compose a short instrumental piece suitable for a performance at springtime celebration.

The music should be inspired by the Western classical tradition, 1650 to 1910.

The requirements of this brief are: it must be 45 to 90 seconds long, you need to write for one or two instruments and aim for clear, balanced phrases, you need to use a clear structure with at least two contrasting sections, and you need to use tonal harmony with at least one clear cadence.

So thinking about this brief, what decisions should you make in order to start this piece of music?

So what decisions did you think would be important to make in order to start this piece of music?

Aisha says, "The brief says the piece will be performed at a springtime celebration.

I should consider what kind of event this might be, as this will inform the instruments I choose and the feel of my piece.

" That's a really good idea.

Thinking through this springtime celebration and thinking what does that mean to you.

What might a springtime celebration look like?

What kind of springtime celebration am I gonna write for?

And imagining this event will help coming up with initial musical ideas.

Alex says, "The brief says it's for one or two instruments, so I should choose which I'd use.

I should also consider a structure that uses contrasting sections.

" This brief had some specific requirements.

It said you must use one or two instruments and a structure that uses contrasting sections.

So that's a good starting point.

Thinking through the structures you might know and considering which you might use for your piece and thinking which instruments would be appropriate for this style of music and for this springtime celebration.

All of these things can give you some ideas of where to begin your piece.

Being specific about the purpose and scenario for your piece can really help you generate ideas.

For example, you might decide that when the brief says suitable for a performance at a springtime celebration, you might think this means writing a piece for a festival in a local park, which is celebrating blooming flowers and people gathering outdoors for a picnic.

That might be your idea of a springtime celebration.

Or you might be thinking about something different.

If you're thinking about the festival in the park, this might suggest a bright upbeat piece of music or your own ideas might take you in different musical directions.

When thinking about how to begin composing your piece, consider how the following musical features might be used in your composition.

What kind of instrumentation are you gonna use?

Are there any specific requirements in the brief about instrumentation?

What would be the most appropriate to suit your brief?

What about the tempo?

Will it be a fast or a slow piece?

The tonality, perhaps the brief suggests a major or minor tonality.

What kind of time signature would you use?

Do you think you'll write your piece in 4/4?

Or does the brief suggest perhaps a 3/4 or a 6/8 time signature?

What about the structure?

If we are writing for the springtime celebration brief, we need to include a contrasting section.

So what kind of structures might we choose in order to include that in our composition?

Izzy says, "My composition will be written for violin and piano.

It will have a moderate tempo and be in a major key so it sounds bright and happy.

I'll use a 3/4 time signature and plan to develop an ABA structure.

" Those are some great ideas which have given Izzy a really clear starting point to where to begin her piece, and she might even start imagining what this piece might sound like before she's even written a note.

Izzy's now taken those ideas and gone away and composed the following musical starting point.

She's written a melody line for the violin.

Let's have a listen to this.

And once you've heard it, I'd like you to think what musical features has she chosen in her melody.

I'd like you to think about what works well about her melody and what could be improved.

And then I'd like you to think, does this make a good starting point for the brief of a springtime celebration?

Have a listen to the melody and then answer the questions.

So what did you think about Izzy's melody?

What kind of musical features does it use?

What works well and how could it be improved?

And is it appropriate for the brief?

Lucas says, "The melody is in the key of G major and uses a 3/4 time signature.

The bright major key makes it appropriate for a spring festival.

" Andeep says, "The melody is mostly conjunct, which uses steps, with occasional leaps.

There's a repeated rhythm in bars one and two.

" So he's pointed out some of the musical features in this melody.

Sam says, "The melody ends with a long note, which makes it seem like the end of the first idea.

This is appropriate to the classical style.

" And that was the style that was mentioned in this brief.

Now let's have a look at another brief.

Read the following composition brief.

What decisions do you think you should make in order to start this piece of music?

The brief is called vocal composition.

It says compose a song for solo voice and accompaniment suitable for performance at a celebration at the end of a school year.

The requirements are: it needs to include a clear song structure, you need to write a memorable vocal melody with chord accompaniment, it needs to use at least three musical parts or layers, and you may choose any text or write your own.

Now, lyrics are not usually marked as part of a GCSE music composition.

So with compositions like these, you can find a poem or other lyrics to use in your piece.

Once you've thought about what kind of decisions should be made in order to start this brief, let's have a listen to an example of a musical starting point for this brief.

It contains a chord sequence and a melody.

Once you've heard it, answer the following questions.

Firstly, describe the musical features of this musical starting point.

Secondly, think what works well about the idea so far and what could be improved.

And finally, do you think this makes a good starting point for the brief?

How could it be developed further?

Let's have a listen now to this example of a musical point, and then answer questions one and two.

♪ We walked these halls together ♪ ♪ Through each and every day ♪ ♪ Now new roads wait before us ♪ ♪ But these memories will stay ♪ <v ->So how did you do?

</v> What kind of decisions do you think need to be made in order to start composing this piece?

Aisha says, "The brief says the piece will be performed at a celebration at the end of the school year.

I should find or write lyrics which reflect themes such as friendship, memories, or looking ahead.

" That's a great idea for a starting point, coming up or finding some lyrics that are gonna be appropriate to the brief might inspire melodies, chord sequences, and other musical ideas.

Alex says, "The brief says it's for solo voice and accompaniment, needing at least three layers.

I could create a backing track for the singer, which uses multiple layers.

I could use a verse-chorus structure.

" So Alex has thought about some of those other requirements of the brief and thought, "How can I make sure that I'm meeting all those requirements in my composition?

" And by coming up with some criteria for his composition, that's then given, narrowed down the possibilities of where to begin.

What about question two?

Now, we heard an example of a musical starting point for this brief, which was a chord sequence and a melody.

So what did you think?

What kind of musical features were used in this example?

What worked well and how could it be improved?

And do you think that this was suitable for the brief?

Andeep says, "The melody and chords are in the key of C major, which feels positive and hopeful.

The use of minor chords gives a slightly sad, reflective feel too.

" So those are the kind of feelings that you might want to be trying to get across in your song at an end of year celebration.

Lucas says, "The melody rises and falls to reflect the themes of the words, ascending on line three and descending on line four.

" So thinking about things like the shape of the melody and how that reflects the meaning of your words can help to give your piece a really expressive quality.

Sam says, "This idea is appropriate for a solo singer and accompaniment.

The next step could be to add more layers to the backing track to make sure it meets the brief, and then consider extending the verse or adding a chorus.

" So Sam's thinking about how can we make sure that we meet that requirement of multiple layers and that verse-chorus structure.

How can we take this starting point and develop it to move towards meeting our brief?

Now, we've seen some examples of some briefs and heard some musical starting points.

It's time for you to have a go at composing initial ideas for your own composition.

Next, you'll compose your own musical starting point.

This could be a melody, it could be a short riff, a chord sequence, a baseline, or any other musical idea.

It should relate to the brief and give you material that can be developed and extended into a full composition.

If you've got a brief that you are working too, you can use that one.

Or if you haven't, you are welcome to use one of the briefs from earlier on in this lesson.

Before you begin, think back to how you've created melodies, chord sequence, riffs, baselines, and other musical ideas before, and how you might use those same techniques here.

Thinking about those techniques, Alex says, "When I'm writing a melody, I try to balance repetition and contrast so it's interesting but still makes sense.

" Sam says, "I usually use notes from a scale and vary the rhythm to keep it engaging.

" Laura says, "I often write in two bar phrases and mostly use stepwise or conjunct movements so it flows well, with occasional leaps for interest.

" Lucas says, "I know it sounds unfinished if it lands on the dominant, so I use that halfway through, then finish on the tonic to make it feel complete.

" Jacob says, "When I write a chord sequence, I start on the tonic to establish the key.

I mainly use primary chords, adding secondary chords occasionally for variety.

" Aisha says, "I often end the fourth bar on chord five to create an unfinished feel, then finish it with five-to-one so it feels complete.

" Izzy says, "When I create a riff, I write a short repeated idea that fits the chords.

I use a strong rhythm and add small variations to keep it interesting.

" Sophia says, "When I compose a baseline, I might use root notes in bars one, five, and eight to clearly outline the harmony.

In other bars, I might use inversions by choosing chord tones that aren't in the root to add variety.

" These are all great guidelines and compositional techniques that will help you get started and make sure your piece is gonna sound good.

Before we begin, let's think about that musical starting point.

Do you think that a musical starting point should: A, consider the requirements of the brief?

B, help you to develop your musical ideas further?

C, suit the style or context suggested in the brief?

Or D, all of the above?

The answer is D.

Your musical starting point should consider the requirements of the brief, it will help you to develop your ideas further, and it should suit the style or context suggested in the brief.

Thinking about what makes a musical starting point effective, do you think that a good starting point is usually: A, short and simple?

B, long and complex?

C, changing, avoiding repetition?

Or D, difficult to develop and extend?

The answer is A, short and simple.

It's really good to start off with a short and simple idea to give you the building blocks of how to develop and extend your composition.

So now it's over to you.

Your task is to compose your own musical starting point using your own brief or one from earlier in this lesson.

Make sure you read the requirements of the brief carefully.

Make your idea short, simple, and easy to develop.

And your final idea should be a melody, a riff, a chord sequence, a baseline, or another musical idea.

Now you've spent some time composing your own musical starting point, how does your initial idea sound?

John said, "I considered the key, tempo, and instrumentation for my initial idea to make sure that it met the brief.

" Laura says, "I came up with a chord sequence in a minor key which suits my interpretation of the brief.

It suits the musical style that is suggested in the brief.

" Jacob said, "I tried out a few different melodies.

I'm not sure I'm completely happy with my final idea yet, but I have a starting point to develop.

" And that's a really important thing to think about.

Your musical starting point may well change as you continue with your composition.

It's just having an initial idea to start from.

And so even if you're not fully happy with it yet, hopefully you've degenerated some ideas that you can then use to take further.

So in our lesson today, we've learned that compositions often begin with a simple musical idea such as a melody, a riff, a chord sequence, or a baseline.

The brief influences important early decisions like the style, instrumentation, tempo, and structure of your piece.

A short musical idea can be developed later, so the starting point doesn't need to be long or complicated.

Composers may experiment with several starting ideas before deciding which one to take forward and develop.

Well done for your hard work in today's lesson.

I look forward to seeing you again in the next one.