Myths about teaching can hold you back
- Year 9
Composing for voices
I can describe some methods for composing for an SATB choir and have created a short contemporary choral composition.
- Year 9
Composing for voices
I can describe some methods for composing for an SATB choir and have created a short contemporary choral composition.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- The SATB choir is a very common vocal ensemble, consisting of soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices.
- Contemporary composers write both tonal and atonal music for choir.
- We can create tension and release by creating dissonant chords that resolve to consonant chords.
- When doing so, it is most effective to move by step.
- It is important to consider the range of each voice type.
Keywords
Dissonance - where notes in a chord clash, creating harmonic tension
Consonance - where notes in a chord sound pleasant together, without tension
SATB choir - a vocal ensemble consisting of four voice types - soprano, alto, tenor and bass
Tonal - music that has a tonic note (the opposite of atonal)
Common misconception
Different voice types cannot sing any of the same notes.
The ranges of voices overlap, so there are some notes that can be sung by different voice types. For example, many notes that a bass can sing are also possible for tenor voices to sing.
To help you plan your year 9 music lesson on: Composing for voices, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 9 music lesson on: Composing for voices, 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.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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Explore more key stage 3 music lessons from the Approaches to contemporary composition unit, dive into the full secondary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Files needed for this lesson
- Composing for voices template 2.04 KB (MXL)
- Composing for voices DAW template 135.6 KB (ZIP)
Download these files to use in the lesson.
Equipment
Notation software or DAW
Licence
Lesson video
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