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 the formative assessment, individuals select a range of suitable instruments and musical elements.

Concepts

tempo, rhythm, timbre, elements of music, music performance, instruments, mood, storylines, composers, chords

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Additional Tags

visual and performing arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Provide or ask class members to bring in examples from films (e.g. Darth Vader's theme from Star Wars, the Jaws theme) or plays or symphonies

Classroom Considerations

• Mendelson's "The Hebrides Overture" is used as an example
• The activity is most appropriate for music theory and composition classes

Pros

• Includes a step-by-step plan and a rubric

Cons

• None

Common Core

W.9-10.1.a W.11-12.1.a