Making ideas more 'musical'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can refine a musical idea so it has clear shape, rhythmic interest and fits my chosen style.
Key learning points
- Melodic ideas are shaped by intervals, contours and phrasing.
- Rhythmic variety makes ideas more engaging and interesting.
- Creative use of inversions and changing harmonic rhythm adds interest to a chord sequence.
- Ideas should be purposeful and fit the brief and chosen genre.
Keywords
Contour - the shape of a melody and how it rises and falls
Interval - the distance in pitch between two notes (e.g. a fifth or an octave)
Inversion - when the notes in a chord are repositioned so the root note is no longer the lowest note of the chord
Common misconception
More notes means a better melody.
A simple, well-shaped idea is often more effective than a busy one. Focus on contour and rhythm rather than quantity of notes.
Teacher tip
Ask pupils to sing or clap their melodic idea back to you. If they can't remember it, it probably needs more shape or rhythmic character before they develop it further.
Equipment
Pupils may be working on their composition using notation software or a DAW. They may need access to a piano or their instrument.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
4 Questions
Q1.A musical sentence is called a .
Q2.What is a motif in music?
Q3.True or false? An interval in music is the distance in pitch between two notes.
Q4.Which of the following best describes the contour of a melody?
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.When the notes in a chord are repositioned so the root note is no longer the lowest note of the chord, this is called an .
Q2.A student wants to make their melodic idea more memorable. Which would be most effective?
Q3.A student is writing a relaxing piece but their melody uses large, jagged leaps throughout. What would be a more appropriate choice?
Q4.Why is it important that musical ideas suit the chosen brief and genre?
To help you plan your 11 music lesson on: Making ideas more 'musical', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 music lesson on: Making ideas more 'musical', 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 4 music lessons from the Composing to a brief: extending ideas unit, dive into the full secondary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.