Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Elements of Music—How do Composers Plan?
The introduction to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and the finale of his Symphony No. 4 provide young musicians with an opportunity to investigate the music elements composers employ to develop the themes they want to create. They compare the...
Curated OER
Music: Off the Wall & Onto the Stage - Composing
Kids explore Gullah music from Africa and then create original compositions based on what they've learned. They practice traditional melodies and rhythms then make some of their own, which they then perform for the class.
Curated OER
Composing Your Melody
In this music instructional activity, learners perform a given melody of four phrases. Students also improvise their own melodies using notes G, A, C, D, and E.
Curated OER
A Musical Composition Experience
Upper graders having skills in music performance will extend their abilities through creative musical composition. They'll use Finale 2000 to explore facets of music composition, they'll then compose a piece for their instrument in C, F,...
Curated OER
Classical Period: Understanding Four-Bar Sequences
Her is an interesting topic, as well as a great way to teach it! You'll find two worksheets on this link, one for the teacher, and one for the learner. Worksheet one describes how classical composers used musical repetition to make their...
Curated OER
Set a Poem to Music
Fun awaits both you and your class as you embark on a musical activity. After discussing different rhythmic meters they choose a poem to set to music. The poem must rhyme and be set to a melody in the key of C Major. Because the activity...
Curated OER
Composing Your Own Melody
Get the songwriters in your class started early with an engaging music composition activity. After experimenting with an existing melody, class members improvise in a given range of notes and create their own melodies.
Curated OER
Compose Your Own Melody
In this music instructional activity, students compose their own melody. Students read and play two lines of an example melody and simple bass part.
Curated OER
Using Poetry As Inspiration for Composition
A reading of Robert Frost’s "The Road Not Taken" launches an interdisciplinary study of the connection between the meters of a poem and a melody. After identifying the number of beats in each line of the poem, young musicians use...
Curated OER
Composing with Non-Chord Tones to Ornament a Melody
Students develop melodies based on a simple chord progression. They develop the tools need to begin to compose their own music. Students explore the qualities of each NCT and identify them in a composition. They develop listening skills...
Curated OER
Student Composers with Music Ace
Students compose short compositions using Doodle Pad. In this Musical composition lesson plan, students a clef and note lines to prior knowledge of the treble clef and note lines to write short songs on the computer. Students use Music...
Curated OER
Composing Your Chorus
For this composing your chorus worksheet, students complete the 5 tasks explained on this worksheet to create their own catchy, repetitive melody.
Curated OER
Composing the Chorus
For this composing the chorus worksheet, students listen to and critique the song 'Fly Away'. Students compare the chorus with the verse and show how the chorus is different from the verse by circling the words that apply to the chorus.
Curated OER
Composing the Chorus
In this composing the chorus worksheet, students listen to Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz comparing the chorus to the verse as they identify the words that apply to the chorus. In addition, students respond to 1 short answer question.
Curated OER
Composing Your Own Song
In this composing task worksheet, learners read 2 pages of information regarding basic composition, backing rhythms, composing the melodies by ear and from the chord, and composing the chorus. Steps and tips for composing are listed in...
Curated OER
Composing Project
Students design, compose, and present short musical compositions for keyboard in this lesson plan meant for the high school choir class. This instructional activity can be adapted to any time frame, but the author suggests a...
Curated OER
Composing Your Own Song
In this music worksheet, learners read about composing their own song and how to get started. They identify the main features that make a good song and the various layers that make up the overall texture. Students also use the three...
Curated OER
Rewording Nursery Rhymes
Third graders write a song. In this melody lesson, 3rd graders discuss their favorite nursery rhymes. Students sing two songs and compare their melodies. Students use the melody of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to write a Thanksgiving...
Curated OER
"Marche Militaire" by Franz Shubert
In this music appreciation worksheet, students listen to Marche Militaire by Franz Shubert. Students read about the composer and the piece and complete a one page activity sheet about the music.
Curated OER
"Turkish Rondo" From Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
For this music appreciation worksheet, students listen to "Turkish Rondo" from Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Students read about the composer and the piece. Students follow a "listening map" and complete a...
Curated OER
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Young scholars identify what Tchaikovsky's personality was like and what kind of school he attended first. Then they identify and research what was happening in Russian politics during his lifetime. Students also identify who the...
Leading Learner
Using Music to Tell a Story or Describe a Scene
Young composers demonstrate their understanding of the stylistic features of descriptive music, including pitch, tempo, dynamics, rhythm, and timbre, by developing a melody and countermelody for a main character in a story. As part of...
Curated OER
Illustration # 5: Phone Number Melodies
Fourth graders create their own melodies by making up a phone number with the numbers of the C major scale (the number 9 will be played by double the C at an octave. Students are encouraged to end their piece with V, I progression in...
Curated OER
Melody Words
Fourth graders compose a melody by placing words on the music staff. They play their melody words for the class.