Purpose, style and a musical starting point
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can analyse musical starting points for a composition and apply these ideas to my composition for a brief.
Key learning points
- Compositions often begin with a simple musical idea such as a melody, riff, chord sequence or bass line.
- The brief influences important early decisions such as style, instrumentation, tempo and structure.
- A short musical idea can be developed later, so the starting point does not need to be long or complex.
- Composers may experiment with several starting ideas before deciding which one to develop.
Keywords
Brief - a set of instructions that outline the purpose, style and requirements of a composition that you must respond to in your work
Compose - to create music
Melody - the tune, usually the most memorable feature in a piece of music
Riff - a short repeated musical idea
Chord sequence - a series of chords played in a particular order that forms the harmonic basis of a piece
Common misconception
It can be difficult to start a new piece with a blank page! Some pupils may feel pressure to get their starting point exactly right first time.
Composers will often try out several different starting points to see which one could develop into a full composition.
Teacher tip
Encourage pupils to make a brief their own. Choosing a specific scenario within the requirements of a brief can help to generate ideas.
Equipment
Pupils may need access to notation software or a DAW. They may need access to their instruments to develop ideas.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
4 Questions
Q1.What is a melody?
Q2.What does “genre” mean in music?
Q3.Why might a composer repeat an idea?
Q4.Which of the following could be a starting point for a composition?
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.Which of the following is a suitable musical starting point?
Q2.Why is it important to consider the brief when starting a composition?
Q3.What is the benefit of thinking in more detail about the context of your brief before composing?
Q4.True or false? We should stick with our first idea as the musical starting point for our composition.
To help you plan your 11 music lesson on: Purpose, style and a musical starting point, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 music lesson on: Purpose, style and a musical starting point, 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: creative starting points unit, dive into the full secondary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.