Students will compose an instrumental piece (for elementary school) or a song with lyrics and melody (middle school), using a step-by-step guide, celebrating Fall. Leaf template provided to make either a shaped composition (Concrete Poem) or to add to a wall display, bulletin board for presentation. Within 2-4 lessons, elementary school students will compose a song. In the process the student will: • Explore visual connectors between falling leaves and “falling” (descending) melodic line • Explore high to low in pitch • Use a treble staff plotting high to low lines • Learn line notes or space notes on the treble staff • Perform with attention to mood, color, tempo to reflect falling leaves Within 2-4 lessons, middle school students will compose a song. In the process the student will: • Explore “synonyms” • Plan a poem • Connect the “self” to the poem • Scan a poem for stressed syllables • Identify the pulse of the poem • Segment the poem to segment into measures • Rework a poem into lyrics • Explore basic techniques of extending, fragmenting, developing a poem into lyrics • Acquire, review or practice basic staff notation

Music Composition Lesson Plan Students will compose music using a basic steady beat and introduce chanting/rapping speech rhythms to the beat. After the initial improvisatory phase, students will notate the rhythms they chanted to the beat. In the process the students will: • Introduce themselves at the start of the school year • Learn about steady beat, pulse, meter, metronome • Learn about chanting/rapping speech patterns to a rhythm • Learn about rhythm and basic note values • Distinguish between beat and rhythm • Improvise rhythm patterns using self-generated lyrics • Compose rhythm patterns using self-generated lyrics • Explore basic techniques of extending a composition • Acquire, review or practice basic theory knowledge • Perform to a steady beat (provided by a metronome or backtrack)

Students will compose a piece of “body music*” (Keith Terry, Crosspulse). They will name their compositions, and practice and perform the composition with an optional additional accompaniment (self-composed or backtrack). Templates, graphic organizers, composition plan included. Objectives Within 2-4 lessons, students will compose a piece of music inspired by body percussion. In the process the student will: • Acquire knowledge of the basic formal structure of a composition • Learn and memorize through practice to write a rhythmic motif • Learn, review and practice basic compositional techniques such as repetition and/or fragmentation • Practice short rhythmic fragments • Explore basic techniques of extending a composition • Acquire, review or practice basic rhythm notation • Acquire, review or practice concepts of meter, time signature, beat, pulse and rhythm.

Students will compose a piece of music that is inspired by a short narrative. This lesson is aimed at the piano studio, but works equally well for the general music class. Objectives Within 2-4 lessons, students will compose a piece of music based on a narrative. In the process the student will: • Acquire knowledge of how to characterize sound to be descriptive • Learn more about descriptive/program music • Learn, review and practice basic note values • Learn how to use basic notes and rhythms to produce a particular mood or character • Practice short melodic patterns on an instrument • Explore basic techniques of creating mood, character and description in a composition • Acquire, review or practice basic staff notation Included: sample composition and 9 short sample narratives to use

Aleatoric (Chance Music) Composition lesson for kids: Students will compose a melody using a random selector for pitch (paper pinwheel spinner) to generate pitches for a melody. Within one to four lessons, students will compose a melody and expand it to a larger piece. In the process the students will: • Explore the steps of a scale • Explore pitch • Explore rhythms as per your curriculum guide • Understand functional concepts about tones within the scale: home note/tonic (tonal center) • Learn, review and practice basic compositional techniques such as repetition, sequence and/or fragmentation if the melody is used to extend into a larger piece • Explore basic techniques of extending a composition • Acquire, review or practice basic staff notation or solfege writing

Students will compose a vocal or instrumental piece using a melodic contour as guide. They will design and plot a contour with string, identify sound, select timbre, plan and write a melodic line in notation or graphic score, name the composition, and practice and perform the composition. This lesson is aimed at: Elementary School, whole group, general music instruction: Use basic, single line patterns transcribe to simple line and space note pieces. Middle School, whole group, general music or choral performance group: Use melodic contours as vocal warm up exercises, pitch/ range exercises, voice leading illustrations and two- or multi-part singing exercises. Objectives Within 1 to 2 lessons, students will compose a piece of music using a melodic contour. In the process the student will: • Analyze a visual image of melodic contour • Make connections between visual contour lines on the music staff and high/low sound production • Analyze how melodic contour and sound reflect each other • Explore improvisatory techniques • Explore basic music notation • Explore new writing and playing techniques to accommodate composition • Explore melodic contour as compositional device • Explore melodies as sound layers: monophonic, polyphonic

Students will compose a short composition based on math principles using Google Song Maker and save it as a file. This lesson is for all age groups using the class set of iPads or their personal iPad or cell phone. Within 2 - 3 lessons, students will compose a short piece of music. • Acquire a knowledge of how to compose a 4-bar melody (for younger students) or multiple bar melody (older students) • Use math skills of number knowledge: even numbers, odd numbers, prime numbers, square numbers • Make musical decisions on timbre, rhythm, pitch patterns • Save the newly created composition

Students will compose a piece of music using found sound. They will focus on composing for an UNUSUAL instrument e.g. vegetables/straws/toys, name the composition, and practice and perform the composition. The composition assignment is designed for individual, pair, small group or whole group composition. Objectives Within 1-2 lessons, students will compose a piece of music inspired by a found object. In the process the student will: • Acquire knowledge of the sound production possibilities of an object • Learn about tone production, timbre, and pitch • Learn, review and practice basic compositional techniques such as repetition, sequence and/or fragmentation • Explore the principles of rhythmic variation • Notate and practice short rhythm sections • Explore basic playing techniques • Acquire, review or practice basic rhythm notation Composition template for handout included.

This lesson is aimed at the more advanced general music class or the piano studio. Music Composition Intermediate 2 - 4 lessons Students will arrange/compose a piece of music based on medley techniques: link together well-known melodies following a step- by-step guide to compose a medley. Within 2-4 lessons students will prepare a medley. In the process the student will: • Acquire knowledge of the different ways in which pieces may be linked. • Analyze the various parameters that should be considered to comfortably link different pieces, e.g., metre, key, rhythm, melody, etc. • Plan the structure of a composition. • Focus on the interplay between recognizable melodic material and linking material. • Learn, review and practice basic compositional techniques such as repetition, sequence and/or ornamentation to compose links. • Explore basic techniques of extending a composition. • Acquire, review or practice melodic and rhythmic staff notation. Included: 6 step guide handout for students, Merry Medley sample composition and audio file

Students will compose a piece of music by using chord cards to form triads to create a melody and/or accompaniment. Objectives Within 2-4 lessons, students will compose a piece of music based on the three notes of a triad. In the process the student will: • Explore the concept “triad” and “chord”. • Explore thirds and how they form melody fragments, melodies and chords. • Write triads in root position. • Explore “block” and “broken” chords. • Write a melody or accompaniment pattern based on triad manipulation. Sample composition included.

Students will compose a melody using a question-answer design on a template for pitch, but within certain structural and tonal parameters. They will practice and perform the melody. Objectives Within one lesson, students will compose a question-answer melody. In the process the student will: • Explore rhythms as per their curriculum guide • Explore pitch as per their curriculum guide • Explore the steps of a scale • Learn question-answer motivic use • Learn, review and practice basic compositional techniques such as repetition, sequence and/or fragmentation if the melody is used to extend into a larger piece • Explore basic techniques of extending a composition • Acquire, review or practice basic staff notation Included: Composition template as a handout work sheet

This lesson is aimed at the general music or chorus class. Students will compose a piece of music by generating tongue twister lyrics based on digraphs, trigraphs, alliteration and assonance following a step-by-step guide to set it to rhythm and then to a melody. Objectives Within 2-4 lessons students will prepare a tongue twister song. In the process the students will: • Acquire knowledge of the different ways in which catchy tongue twister lyrics may be generated. • Scan the tongue twister sentence or phrase for strong syllables. • Set to a beat and rhythm. • Plan the structure of a composition. • Analyze the lyrics for melodic suggestion/word painting. • Learn, review and practice basic compositional techniques such as repetition, sequence and/or ornamentation. • Explore basic techniques of extending a composition. • Acquire, review or practice melodic and rhythmic staff notation. Included: Graphic organizer to generate digraphs, trigraphs, alliterations and assonance with examples.

Students will compose a piece of music directed by a set of graphic notation sound tiles which they will use to write a short narrative or poem and perform as multimedia orchestrated work for narration, sound effects, instrumental parts and/or images. Within 2-4 lessons, students will compose a piece of music based on a set of sound tiles. In the process the student will: • Acquire a knowledge of graphic notation • Experiment with texture, timbre and tone • Integrate language arts skills in writing a narrative or poem • Experiment with sound effects • Acquire a knowledge of storyline/program in music • Tell a story in sound Included: Sample Sound Tiles and Sample Narratives

Students will compose a piece of music that is inspired by emoji. They will use the emoji as visual cue to generate short 4-bar phrases. They will link the phrases to form a larger piece, name their compositions, practice and perform the composition. Included: Composition template and emoji graphic organizer for planning the composition. Objectives Within 2-4 lessons, students will compose a piece of music based on the emotion suggested by an emoji. In the process the student will: • Acquire knowledge of music elements: melody, harmony, timbre, rhythm • Acquire knowledge of performance directions that suggest emotion: tempo, dynamics, and articulation. • Learn and memorize through practice to write the musical letters on the treble staff • Learn, review and practice basic note values • Practice short melodic fragments on a melodic instrument • Explore basic techniques of extending a composition by linking short 4-bar phrases • Acquire, review or practice basic staff notation • Make creative decisions on the overall plan of a composition