This course is designed to give students a good understanding and working knowledge of the fundamental components of music composition, and to lead them through the process of creating their own musical pieces. The course will focus on music composed in the Western tonal style. Students will practice techniques in creating effective melodies, supporting harmonies, rhythmic patterns, and phrases. The course relies on the understanding that students will arrive in the class ready to compose, with a proficiency in reading melodies in both bass and treble clefs, as well as the formation of scales and triads.
Students will make step-by-step progress on a number of original composition projects. With the instructor’s guidance, students will work as a class to provide ongoing feedback for each young composer. The support of the full class will aid individual students as they work to revise and complete their music.
Required: Proficiency in reading basic tonal melodies in treble and bass clefs, as well as major and minor scales and diatonic chords.
Recommended: At least one semester of applied musical instruction.
Please refer these requirements to your school's technology staff prior to registering for the course. Schools must install and allow student access to the resources listed here, in order for a student to participate in the course.
Please see software manufacturers' websites for further information and system requirements.
In addition to VHS Learning system requirements:
Hardware used: internal/external speakers or headphones
Software used: Noteflight music notation software
Specific URLs accessed: multiple addresses at domain “noteflight.com”
Please Note: Although every effort has been made to make course resources accessible to all students, some resources in this course, such as audio files or images of visual art pieces, may present accessibility challenges.