Composition Project - Week Three

What a great week for our composition project!  This week the focus was to finish writing the A section melody and to write a melody for a B section.  I took some suggestions from the students on how to make the B section sound different from the A section.  Some suggestions were:

"Change the meter."

"Add rests."

"Use skips instead of steps and repeats."

This week many students brought in their instruments from home.  Lots of recorders and a few violins. A few students had written lyrics at home and brought them in. A few students wrote out some harmonies and had practiced them on piano so they could play them in class this week.  I am so impressed with the amount of students who are taking this project very seriously.  Seeing them work together and write down and play their musical ideas really shows what they have learned in the past two or three years.

Next week we will begin working on how to harmonize the melodies.

Here are a few pictures of the students working this week!

Composition Project - Week Two

Week two of the grade 5 composition project focused on writing a melody for an A section of their piece.  I began the class by reviewing how to write a melody.  I put a piece of staff paper under the Elmo and, with the class' help wrote a simple 8 measure melody.  We reviewed clef and meter.  We reviewed rhythm and pitch. And I showed them how they could use simple rhythmic patterns in their melodies.  I have found in the past that many students think they need to write something completely different in each measure.  I showed them how they could stick with a simple rhythmic pattern and change the pitch slightly for each measure to make a pleasant sounding tune.

I brought enough of the small glockenspiels for each group to be able to use two.  I also had my electric keyboard set up and explained that anyone who wanted to play their melodies on the piano they had to "prove" they could really play.  (See the note at the bottom.)  I have had several students tell me they are going to use recorder or guitar or violin - which I have encouraged.  They can write their piece for any instrument as long as someone in their group can play it.  This could get interesting in the next few weeks since no student has actually brought in another instrument that they can play on.

I walked around the room to monitor progress and answer questions.  I helped students as they formed thier melodies offering suggestions and playing some of their melodies for them to hear.  Once they completed thier A section melody I told them to practice it and play it for me. 

Most groups have been working really well together.  Some students have even worked on their compositions at home and come to school with already formed ideas for their project.  I love to see the more advanced students really take off with this.  I have even had a special education student really surprise me with his piano playing. (He doesn't take lessons but he wrote a simple melody.  I showed him where the first note was and he figured the rest of it out by himself.)  I have had some students who have been showing signs they can't work well with their group.  I tell them if they change groups it's fine with me but they will have to start over from the beginning and play catch up to everyone else.

 

Here are some samples of week two work.

*Many students "play" on piano and if I had several keyboards with which the students could use I would allow anyone who wanted to to try their melodies on the keyboard - but I don't.  So I simply ask "Do you know where C is on the piano?" If they say yes and they can show me I let them use it.  If they say no I tell them to use the xylophones because the xylos have the note names on the bars.

I also tell them that if multiple groups use piano they have to share mine, which doesn't allow them as much practice time as the groups who have their own xylophones to practice on.  If a student wants to bring in thier own keyboard I encourage them to ask their parents if they can bring it in for the purpose of this project.

Week one - Composition Project

As a set up for this project students listened to "Help Me Rondo" by Jeanine (Levenson) Tesori.  (Found in the Silver Burdett Music Connection Grade 5 book. Copyright 1995 - yes 1995, its what we have at my school. But obsolete curriculum and the lack of funds for anything other than a Music K-8 subscription once a year is a topic for a different discussion.)  I like to use this piece because it isn't too long, its style is enjoyed by the students and it's written by a living, female composer.  Previously in the school year we studied Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Grieg, Saint-Saens, and Scott Joplin.  I want them to know anyone can be a composer and that Jeanine Tesori has won awards for her music.  I like to let them know that the singers they watch and listen to are not the only ones who can have success in the music industry.

Students do a focused listening for form then we have a discussion on what it is a composer must think about, include, and/ or write down in order to compose a piece like "Help Me Rondo."

The students create the list themselves - with some prompting if necessary. 

Here is some of what they come up with:

Melody - notes/ pitch and rhythm

Harmony

Form

Instruments/ Voices (if writing for voice the composer needs lyrics to write or work with)

The groupings of instruments (orchestra, big band, rock band, solo flute and piano etc...)

The audience the composer is writing for.

Tempo - fast or slow

Meter - 2, 3, 4, 6, mixed meter, etc...

Key - includes major keys vs. minor keys

Dynamics - loud and soft 

Does the composer want to paint a picture with the music, tell a story, make the audience feel something?

Is the music for something - like a play, movie, commercial, video game?

Some classes may add more but this is the general list.

The first step in this project is to form groups.  I like the students to choose their own groups to encourage them to work together better.  They can work in groups of 2, 3 or 4.  The first thing they do is consider the list above and start to come up with a strategy for their piece.  They are given a packet to begin their work on.  The first week is basically discussion and getting ideas on paper.

Here are a few examples of week 1 work:

Grade 5 Composition Project - Introduction and History

For the past several years I have had my grade 5 general music students do a composition project.  At its beginnings I had a classroom set up with 6 iMacs with Finale Notepad installed.  The students worked in groups of three to create a rondo melody.  After handwriting thier melody they then put it into Finale for a polished copy and so they could hear the melodies they created and make any changes if they wanted to.  The whole class would listen to each melody at the end of the unit.

I lost my room and my computers two years later and the project needed to be changed simply because instead of going forward with technology I was set backward.  I had to play each melody the students created on my keyboard, but I had the students take it a step further and they had to add harmony to the project.  I would then play and burn all the original rondo compositions onto a CD to be played and evaluated in class. (This project took up to 10 hours for me to complete - usually over April vacation!) I added two extra assessment pieces by having the students assess themselves and by having the class assess the other projects.  

With the upcoming revisions to the national music standards (as well as the time constraints to complete these projects) I decided to change up the project again.

I have set the wheels in motion this year.  We have reviewed rhythm, meter, tone color of instruments, rhythm and pitch notation, and dynamics. We have studied various composers, read music and performed melodies and harmonies on various instruments (boomwhackers, xylophones) and listened for form in music.  All of these things have built them up to complete this project.  I am making this project this year VERY student centered.

I will document how this goes this year so I can reflect and make changes - perhaps get some advice from any of you out there who are participating in the project or who are attempting a project like this yourselves.

Check back for more information!

Mrs. Kerri Greco

Day 5: Give a tip for assessment

"Give a tip for assessment. What is an example of an assessment you give? Share any tips for designing/ giving / grading assessments."

I think this is a tricky one for music teachers and yet it should be so simple.  Our field is very 'performance based' so our assessments should reflect this.  In all the variety of classes I teach I try to post objectives from week to week. (The keyword is try.  If I can't post objectives I at least try to say them at the beginning of the lesson.)  It is important to note the difference between goals and objectives.  In working with student teachers this becomes something that I try to address with them. A goal is a place to get to in the lesson.  (In the song "Whisper!" we will work on measures 24-50.) An objective is something that can be assessed - either formally or informally. (Students will use sight singing strategies when learning the new song "Whisper!") 

So, what is a tip for designing/giving/ grading assessments?  My tip would be to clearly state the objective and think about what it would look (or sound) like if students are meeting that objective. If my objective is 'Students will sing with good posture, proper breath and in a head voice' I will walk around the room while the students sing to check if they are meeting this objective marking on my grading sheet who has met all three, who needs reminding and who just doesn't have it.  Students who don't understand will get more attention from me while the rest of the class is performing the song.

Day 4: Share a topic/ idea

"Share a topic/ idea from class this week.  What is one thing you did with students that you will (or will not) do again? Why?"

Every year my grade three general music students do a unit on harmony.  We use a graphic organizer and learn about 5 ways to create harmony.  One of the ways we study is using an ostinato.  Most of the time students define, read, and perform these harmonies - but just today I had students write some.  My grade 5 students have written ostinato to harmonize an original melody but I haddn't done it with grade three and this year I thought "why not?"

We used the song "Brother John" as the melody to harmonize.  It's easy and most students have it memorized or memorize it quickly.  I passed out staff paper and we wrote one together as an example.  I gave them a few "rules" (only use F, A, or C, only use quarter, half or whole notes) and I had them write an original ostinato.  Then students came up and play them on xylophones.  Some students had trouble naming notes so I asked "who is really good at remembering names of notes?" I assigned those students to help those who needed help.  I also had the students who had the xylophones on their desks help struggling students to figure out how to play their little compositions.

Students created and performed thier own original harmonies and it ony took about 20 minutes!  I will defiantly do this activity again!

Sample work

Day 3: A Website you cannot live without

"What is a website you cannot live without. Tell about your favorite features and how you use it in your teaching and learning."

I think for me an appropriate thing to share would be an app that I cannot live without and that would be SmartMusic. SmartMusic is a great program that our Music Department has been using in the Middle School and High School for years.  This program requires teachers and students to create an account and purchase a subscription.  With the subscription students and teachers have access to hundreds of music books and pieces.  Teachers can assign students exercises and pieces to practice and submit for a grade.  SmartMusic listenes and gives students a grade based on their pitch and rhythmic accuracy.  It also allows for teachers to adjust the grade for dynamics and articulation and so on.  I have used this program with my vocal students for sight singing.  Many middle school students would rather sing for a computer in a practice room than in front of the class or alone in front of the teacher. In a way it saves time too.  I can conduct my chorus class while students use the practice rooms one at a time to take thier quizzes.  I can then access my "inbox" at home and listen to students whenever I want and not just from school.

This past spring SmartMusic came out with an app that can be used on an iPad to correlate with the program.  With the inclusion of an Elmo cart in every elementary classroom and my iPad I decided to use this program with my elementary recorder students too.  I put the book "Recorder Express" on the grade 4 supplies list and contacted a local music store to see if they would carry it.  The students and I use the program to check for song and note knowledge.  Students try to score in a certain percentage to earn points for their classes.  It is also a great way to challenge students to practice, trying to earn a better percentage each time they play.

SmartMusic isn't without its problems, as all technology has its glitches and quirks but overall I highly recommend this program and all it's features.

This is screen shot of the app open on my iPad.  You can see the green (correct) notes and the red (incorrect) notes.  It will save the three best "takes" and you can listen back to your performance.  The students really enjoy listening to themselves also.  Great tool for self assessment!