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For this activity you will compose a short melody that will fit with a set of chords. You will notate this melody using a piece of software like flat.io or Musescore. Both of these are free.
For this activity you will need to bring together a range of skills you have learned in your Music Theory Lessons and use your musical ears!
The information below will help you with this activity - read carefully and refer back to this as needed.
Harmony
Harmony is how we describe the ‘vertical’ relationship between notes.
When two or notes are played together, they create harmony. The most common way we think of harmony is chords.
Key Concept: Chords
Chords are a collection of notes that are played together at the same time. They usually create a sense of the Tonality of the piece (Major or Minor) and provide a foundation for the melody.
The relationship between notes in the chord and the melody affect the way the piece sounds.
The chords we will be using are all created by stacking notes based on the Major Scale. This means that each of the chords will have a different ‘root’ note that is from the major scale. See the example below in C major.
The Chords you will be using are C, F, G, and Am. These are the same initial chords you have, or will learn on the ukulele.
These are the chords that are built on the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th degree of the Major Scale.
Practice Activity: Writing short musical ideas:
Using just notes from the C Major Scale, practice creating short ideas that combine different rhythms, note values, rests etc.
You can do this on a ukulele, guitar, piano, or using a MIDI Keyboard or musical typing on a DAW.
If you can, add one of the above chords under your idea so you can start to hear the way that different notes sound together. Notice how it sounds when you choose notes that are present in the chord and notes that are not present in the chord.
Melody
Melody is the ‘horizontal’ relationship between notes.
As well as thinking about the Chords in your piece, you will need to consider how the melody sounds. Composers will use a range of different melodic ideas in their pieces. They will combine a range of note values, pitches, and rests to create something that is interesting to listen to. Just like with Consonance and Dissonance, it is important to balance new ideas with repeating ideas. Too much repetition can sound boring, but too much new stuff can sound disconnected.
Key idea: Stepwise vs jumps
This is the distance between notes in your melody. C-D would be stepwise as the notes are next to each other. C-A would be a jump as there are other notes in between. You want to have a mix of both stepwise and jumps to keep your music interesting.
You can see that the notes at the bottom of each stack of notes is the C Major Scale and we can label each of the chords based on the ‘number’ or degree they are in scale using Roman Numerals.
(I=1, ii=2, iii=3, IV=4, V=5, vi=6, vii=7)
Key Terms: Consonance and Dissonance
Consonance and Dissonance describe the relationship between two or more notes. Notes that sound good or ‘pleasing’ together are described as Consonant. Those that ‘clash’ or do not sound so pleasing can be described as Dissonant. Music often has a balance of these relationships - too much consonance can sound bland or boring and too much dissonance can sound ‘jarring’ or unpleasant. Composers often utilise these to create particular moods in their music.
Pro tip! The C Major Pentatonic scale is great for writing melodies! The notes of this are C, D, E, G and A. Explore some different combinations of these notes to crate short musical ideas.
Key idea: Motifs
A good way to start is to create a Motif. These are short musical ideas that can be developed into longer ideas. Your teacher will demonstrate some of these.
Below is an example of a motif. It is short, easily recognizable, and can be used throughout a piece of music.
See how many of these famous motifs you recognise!
Copy of Famous Motifs.mp4Practice!
On some manuscript paper or on flat.io, have a go at writing short Motifs that are no more than 1 bar long. Use notes from the C Major Scale. Try to use a range of note values. Don’t forget to write a clef and time signature at the beginning.
Now have a go repeating your motifs. Keep the notes exactly the same. Make sure you check the time signature and add bar lines as needed.
Next, use Sequence to develop your motif. Sequence is like repetition but the motif begins on a different pitch. See the example below:
Key tip!
Repetition and Sequence are a good way to develop your motif. You can use these in combination with new material or other motifs to create a longer piece. Experiment with how they sound with different chords under them.
Composing your piece
Once you have played around with some different musical ideas, chords, motifs etc., you are ready to start writing your piece.
Instructions:
Copy the 24 bar template below into Flat.io. Pay attention to the chords that are in the bass clef.
The chords being used are C, F, G, and Am. These have been added for you in bars 1 - 9 and 17 - 24.
You will need to come up with your own chord progression using these chords in bars 10 - 16.
You need to write a melody over the whole of the piece. You may reuse ideas you have experimented with earlier.
Give your piece an appropriate title and add your name as Composer.
Export your piece as PDF and Audio (MP3) and submit these.
Tips
Think about the Form/Structure of the piece. Bars 1-8 are very similar to bars 17-24. Your melody should reflect this.
The section at bar 9-16 begins on an A minor chord. This signals a contrast in the mood of the piece. Think about how you can reinforce this.
You don’t have to fill up the whole bars with notes - silence/rests can be very effective.
Pay attention to the notes in the chords and use these to help choose what notes you use in your melody.
There is lots to think about when writing music - sometimes keeping it simple can be a good start!
Use the table below to self assess your progress:
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