- Year 7
Using rhythmic ostinati in minimalism
I can create rhythmic ostinati on percussion instruments.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
- Year 7
Using rhythmic ostinati in minimalism
I can create rhythmic ostinati on percussion instruments.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- Minimalism is a style of music that developed in the 1960s in the USA.
- It uses minimal musical ideas and repeats them over and over again.
- The repeating musical ideas are called ostinati (one is called an ostinato).
- Percussion instruments produce sound by being hit and can be tuned or untuned.
Keywords
Minimalism - Minimalism is a style of music that emerged in the 1960s in the USA, defined by its use and repetition of minimal musical ideas.
Ostinato - An ostinato (plural: ostinati) is a short musical idea that is repeated.
Percussion - A percussion instrument is one that produces a sound by being hit. These can be tuned (with pitched notes) or untuned (with no pitch).
Common misconception
Complicated rhythms will sound more interesting.
Often creating simpler rhythms is more effective. In particular, rhythms that have rests (silence) in them can create a powerful contrast between sound and silence. Try using a mix of simple and complex rhythms.
To help you plan your year 7 music lesson on: Using rhythmic ostinati in minimalism, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 7 music lesson on: Using rhythmic ostinati in minimalism, 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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Explore more key stage 3 music lessons from the Minimalist composition unit, dive into the full secondary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
A DAW or other suitable compositional tool or instrument
Licence
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