Composition

Communicate musical intention by composing three original pieces of music

AS91419

8 Credits

You are required to compose three pieces of music and clearly explain the musical intentions behind each one.

Composing may be individual or collaborative. The three compositions may comprise any combination of individual and collaborative work. Collaborative composition involves two to five students working in a group. The group performs the completed composition. Each student’s creative contribution to the group composition is individually assessed.

Representation is appropriate to the style or genre of the compositions and conveys compositional intent. Representation includes both audio and visual formats.

Talk to Ms T about your piece and what is most suited.

The assessment criteria are applied to provide an overall judgment based on the weight of evidence across the three compositions.

For each song you must hand in:

An audio file playable on a CD player or computer without specialised music software.

Visual representation conveying compositional intent which is appropriate to the style or genre, ie: standard music notation, TAB or chord chart with melody/vocal explanation.

A statement of Intention (Ask Ms T for a copy).

Group Evaluation (if you work with others).

SONG STRUCTURE

Intro:

The introduction is usually a unique part of the song that starts it off. Most of the time it only has music

and doesn’t have any words/singing. Sometimes it is the same chords as the chorus or verse. It could

also just have drums and bass to introduce the ‘groove’ or ‘beat’ of the song.

Verse:

There are usually two or more verses in a song. They have a pretty much identical melody (tune) each

time but the lyrics are different. Lyrically the verse has the details of the song, the story, events, images

and emotions the you want the listener to know.

Chorus:

The chorus repeats at least once lyrically AND musically (same melody and words). It should have a

thicker sound than the verses (maybe with more backing vocals, or extra instruments added) and should

tell the listener the main theme or message for your song. It is usually the most memorable and catchy

part of the song, you want listeners to be able to learn it easily and sing along (because that's what

popular songs let you do! Usually has different chords than the verse.

Bridge:

A bridge is usually like another verse but with a different melody and different chords. It is used as a

break or a transition (it takes you from one part of a song to another). A lot of the time they just go back

and forth on two chords. They give the song interest. By the time you have repeated your verse and

chorus twice each the listener is ready for something new. You want the listener to become familiar with

your song but not get bored.

Outro:

This is how you end your song. IT could be a fade out, it could be the chords from your verse played

through once, it could be the first line of your verse sung again or it could just be that you end after you

have played the chorus twice.

RHYMEZOME

A Website for when you can't think of words to rhyme.....