Composing programme music with a 'golden brick'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can use a small musical idea, called a golden brick, to inspire and structure a short piece of programme music.
Key learning points
- Programme music is music that has been inspired by something non-musical. For example, a story or a piece of artwork.
- Deep Field composed by Eric Whitacre is a symphonic work in four movements that is an example of programme music.
- Music can be mapped as we listen to help us make sense of the musical journey.
- A piece of music can be inspired and built from one small musical idea. Eric Whitacre calls this a ‘golden brick'.
Keywords
Programme music - instrumental music that aims to represent something non-musical, such as a story, picture, scene, idea or emotion
Movement - a self-contained section of a large-scale musical composition, like a chapter in a book
Musical map - lines, shapes, colours and symbols that represent the flow of the music
Golden brick - Eric Whitacre’s term to describe a small musical idea that is the core building block on which the whole piece is built
Common misconception
Musical maps and graphic scores are the same.
A musical map is not the same as a graphic score, although it may look very similar. A graphic score is created by a composer to notate their musical ideas. A musical map is created by the listener to make sense of what they are hearing.
Teacher tip
Encourage pupils to select three notes and challenge them to find many different ways of using the same three notes. Which group can play the most different ways? This will develop their improvisation and composition skills and help them realise that much can be done with just a few notes.
Equipment
Pencils and paper, and select art resources e.g. colouring pencils, chalks or pastels. Pitched percussion for each group (golden brick) plus a selection of other percussion instruments.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
4 Questions
Q1.What is a composer?
Q2.This is a French horn. Which family of instruments does it belong to?
Q3.Match the musical element to its definition.
how high or low a note is
the combination of different layers of sounds
the pattern of sounds and silences that we play and sing
the way the music is organised, ordering different sections of a piece
Q4.A __________ is a large-scale musical composition with distinct movements (usually four).
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.Eric Whitacre Deep Field in 2015.
Q2.Eric Whitacre discovers a and then uses this to create a whole piece.
Q3.Using a __________ can help us focus our listening and understand the journey of a piece of music.
Q4. music is music that has been inspired by something non-musical. For example, a story or a piece of artwork.
To help you plan your 4 music lesson on: Composing programme music with a 'golden brick', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 4 music lesson on: Composing programme music with a 'golden brick', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 music lessons from the Compose and create: cosmic programme music unit, dive into the full primary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.