Composing idiomatically
I can identify how a composer has used idiomatic features in their composition, and can use some of these in my own.
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- Year 11
- AQA
Composing idiomatically
I can identify how a composer has used idiomatic features in their composition, and can use some of these in my own.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Composing idiomatically means using the typical features of that style.
- Every style has different idiomatic features that help to give it a unique sound.
- It is particularly important to use idiomatic melody, harmony, rhythm, instrumentation and structure.
- The jazz quintet featured many idiomatic features, which made it a very effective example of the style.
Keywords
Idiomatic - using features that are typical of the musical style
Swing - where notes are played unevenly; in jazz this usually refers to swing quavers
Chromatic - using notes from outside of the key
Head - a recurring chorus that starts and finishes a jazz piece; performers improvise over the chord sequence from the head in between repetitions
Common misconception
A composition should use every possible idiomatic feature from the style.
It is normal not to use every single idiomatic feature. Most compositions use a range of idiomatic features with different elements, to help them fit the style effectively. Choose a range of idiomatic features that work well in your composition.
Files needed for this lesson
- Composition exemplar - jazz quintet (score) 264 KB (PDF)
- Composition exemplar - jazz quintet (audio) 5 MB (MP3)
Download these files to use in the lesson.
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