Year 9
To understand how to exploit sonority, dynamics, pitch, rhythm and tempo to compose successful leitmotifs
Year 9
To understand how to exploit sonority, dynamics, pitch, rhythm and tempo to compose successful leitmotifs
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- In this lesson, we will look at how the composer John Williams manipulates music to represent characters in a film. We will master this technique and compose a musical idea for our own hero in a film.
Licence
This content is made available by Oak National Academy Limited and its partners and licensed under Oak’s terms & conditions (Collection 1), except where otherwise stated.
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7 Questions
Q1.
What is tonality?
The bass line played throughout a piece of music.
The pitches, chords and patterns chosen within a key.
Q2.
What is harmony?
The bass line played throughout a piece of music.
The key the music is in.
Q3.
Which of these tonalities has no obvious key and can sound really uncertain?
Major
Minor
Q4.
What is a cadence?
A chord pattern in the introduction of a piece of music.
A chord pattern that follows the the 12 bar blues structure.
Q5.
What is a dissonant chord?
The pitches are the same but in octaves.
The pitches that belong to the key.
Q6.
What is the name of texture when parts move together either in unison or chordal?
Melody and accompaniment
Monophonic
Q7.
Name one harmonic idea that John Williams uses in Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone to create a magical mood.
Diatonic chords
Perfect cadences
6 Questions
Q1.
What is a leitmotif?
An intro that returns in the coda.
When sections of music are set out in an ABA form.
Q2.
How would you describe the tonality of a villain theme?
Major
Modal
Q3.
How would you describe the tonality of a hero theme?
Minor
Modal
Q4.
Which family of the orchestra was used to play the Luke Skywalker leitmotif?
Strings
Woodwind
Q5.
How would you describe the rhythm in the Luke Skywalker leitmotif?
Legato semibreves
Swung shuffle rhythm
Q6.
How would you describe the tempo of the Luke Skywalker leitmotif?
Andante
Grave