Year 7 Soundscapes

Click here for the Y7 Soundscapes Worksheet

Introduction

Try using the soundscape.world app to evoke one of the suggested scenes through music: 'moonrise', 'morning' or 'swamp'.

https://soundscape.world/ Y7 Soundscapes Worksheet

Starter: Pentatonic Improvisation

Working at a keyboard individually or in a pair:

Choose a Timbre

Spend one minute choosing a timbre (musical sound) on the keyboard which has a 'lyrical' quality (a gentle attack and long sustain: a bit like a singing voice). Recommended sounds include 'strings' or 'synth pad'.

Improvise a Pentatonic Melody

Using the upper half (right hand side) of a keyboard, place your fingers on notes of the C / Am pentatonic scale: CDEGA
Play the notes mainly in order, ascending and descending.
Sometimes play slow, even note lengths (to create a beat or pulse). Sometimes play shorter note lengths (to create variety).

Improvise Chordal Harmony

Using the middle / lower half (left hand side) of a keyboard, find the notes CEG and hold them down together whilst counting to 4.
After 4 beats, play the chord again. Continue to repeat this C major chord for a long time to create static harmony.
Now try using three new notes: ACE. Follow the same steps using this A minor chord, before returning to C major.

When working in a pair, choose one player to improvise the pentatonic melody (upper half, right-hand side of keyboard), and one to improvise the chordal accompaniment (middle/lower half, left hand side of keyboard). Then swap roles and improvise a new piece.

Soundscape Improvisation-Composition

Working individually or in a group of 2-4 musicians, follow the steps below to improvise and compose your own soundscape evoking one of these scenes:

Arctic Autumn Desert Forest Mountains Ocean Snowfall Spring Summer Sunrise Sunset Winter

Getting Started

Although, as a composer, you are free to use the elements of music in any way that you wish, when creating your composition, try to remember that:

The most successful musical compositions balance convention and creativity

Rejecting all conventions from familiar music alienates the listener, while simply copying them misses opportunities for creativity.
Try to borrow ideas from existing music and balance them with your own.

The most coherent musical structures balance repetition and contrast

Think of the most memorable moments from your favourite music. Are they heard only once, or many times within the piece?
The most successful music uses many repeating and recurring ideas, balancing them with contrasting ones.
Don't forget to use mainly repeating (ostinato) and recurring musical ideas to create a coherent musical structure.

Building a Texture - Assigning Roles

In music, texture describes simultaneous sounds, their roles and relationships.
In an ensemble (group), it is conventional for each instrument/player to perform a different line (component) within the texture. Try assigning a different line to each member of your group. Some members can play two lines.
Try to include the following conventional and important lines within the texture of your composition:

Player 1: Melody

Try using notes of the C major / A minor pentatonic scale: CDEGA.
(B flat transposing instruments play DEF#AB, E flat instruments ABC#EF# instead).
Try playing them in distinctive, repeating rhythmic and melodic patterns.
Keyboard players use notes in the upper half (right-hand side) for the melody.

Player 2: Harmony

Try using chords (3 or more notes played simultaneously), especially the C major chord (CEG) and/or A minor chord (ACE).
Count to 4 as you play. Try repeating the chord on every beat/every 2 beats/ every 4 beats to establish the pulse.
Consider adding a 7th to the chord for harmonic interest (CEGB / ACEG)
Use static harmony: repeat or sustain the same chord for a long time to create a simple harmonic structure for all players to follow.
Keyboard players use notes in the middle for the harmony.

Player 3: Bass

Try to use notes which are lower in pitch than the melody and harmony.
Try using notes I, IV, V and VI (the most common bass / root notes). In the key of C, these notes are C, F, G and A.
Count to 4 as you play. Try to sustain or repeat the same note for a long time (at least 4, 8, 12 or 16 beats) before changing.
Keyboard players use notes in the lower half (left-hand side) for the bass.

Player 4: Rhythmic Accompaniment

Rhythmic patterns played on untuned intstruments (percussion) are common in many musical styles and traditions, such as the drum kit / synth drums in rock and pop.
Try playing a repeating 4 or 8 beat pattern using untuned instruments / sounds. Try counting to 4 or 8 as you play, and emphasise the even numbers (also known as the 'backbeat': beats 2 and 4).

Controlling the Elements - Creating Expression

Timbre

Timbre is the 'nature' or 'quality' of a sound (which, on a digital/electronic instrument such as a keyboard, can easily be modified).
Select a timbre to suit your composition, especially one which can sustain notes and chords for added expression.

Metre

Most music follows a regular pulse (a beat), commonly organised in groups of 2, 3, 4 beats etc. (known as 'bars') which determine the 'metre' (also known as time signature).
Today, the most common metre is quadruple metre: beats organised in groups of 4 (also known as 4/4, C or common time).
Try to use a conventional quadruple metre (4/4) to organise your composition, repeatedly counting to 4 in your head as you play together.

Tempo

Tempo describes the speed of the pulse (beat) in music.
Choose and maintain a tempo (speed) which all players can follow, so that the pulse remains regular throughout most / all or your composition.
A slow tempo can often be the most expressive. Can you maintain a regular pulse at a slow tempo without speeding up?

Rhythm

In some lines of music (e.g. the harmony and bass) try to maintain the pulse by repeating simple, equal note lengths on the beat (e.g. 1, 2 and 4 beat notes).
In some lines of music (e.g. the melody and rhythmic accompaniment) try to create rhythmic variety with a range of note lengths (e.g. 1/4, 1/2, 1, 1.5, 2, 3 etc) both on and off the beat (syncopated).

Soundscapes Worksheet

Soundscapes Worksheet.pdf

Page under construction - for completed pages, please see the 'Year 7 Alternative Course'

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