Assessment for Learning -Creating/Composition

byDr Joshua Chan

Department of MusicUniversity of Hong Kong

Assessment Criteria (page 1 of 2)

Exhibits originality and innovation in the presentation of ideas and materials, with a strong sense of purpose

Uses outstanding developmental processes to extend and connect ideas, and shows a strong grasp across a wide range of techniques

Assessment Criteria (page 2 of 2)

Exhibits demonstrates inventiveness and originality in the treatment of musical materials to achieve convincing formal coherency

Displays excellent idiomatic writing; having the characteristics and potentials of the performing medium thoroughly explored, with accomplished scoring to represent the intended music effectively

Major Learning Areas

Various Composition Techniques Musical Ideas & Development Characteristics of Performing Media Structure & Musical Form Musical Notation Self Appraisal

Melody & Rhythmic Organisation Expression & Articulation Harmony & Pitch Organisation Texture & Counterpoint Timbre & Instrumentation Variation, Development & Arrangement Form & Structure Notation Solo & Ensemble Writing MIDI Sequencing & Recording Programme Notes & Reflective Report

Key Learning Items

Suggested Topics (page 1 of 4)

Melodic contour Voice: range, characteristics, form vs tessitura Melodic writing for solo voice Flute and clarinet: range, characteristics,

articulation Rhythmic organisation vs notation Melodic writing for solo wind Violin and cello: range, characteristics, bowing Melodic writing for solo string Piano: range, characteristics, articulation

Suggested Topics (page 2 of 4)

Counterpoint: setting a bass line against a simple melody

Harmony: harmonizing a simple melody with chords Piano accompaniment: melodic elements in chordal

texture Musical phrasing: cadence and barring Musical form: standard pop songs Musical form: sense of direction, textural variety Variations of a simple motif Musical form: development, unity vs variety Arranging a simple melody for piano

Suggested Topics (page 3 of 4)

Contrapuntal writing for two parts Arranging a simple melody for violin and piano Percussion: timbral exploration Drum patterns in rock music: percussion as a textural

provider Adding percussion to an existing ensemble piece Brass instruments: range, characteristics, articulation Chinese plucked-string instruments: range,

characteristics, articulation Contemporary techniques: new modes/scales, rational

pitch organisation Contemporary techniques: creative harmonic

experimentation

Suggested Topics (page 4 of 4)

Contemporary techniques: atonal & arrhythmic Extended instrumentation techniques on

various media Large scale formal structure Creative sound project Creative ensemble writing Synthesizer and electronic instruments MIDI sequencing Mixing and recording Programme notes and reflective report

Melodic Contour

Whether it is a good combination of stepwise and disjunct movements

A good mixture of upward and downward movements

comprehensibility and spontaneity

Voice: range, characteristics,form vs tessitura Whether the melody is suitable for singing Whether the rhythmic setting of the lyrics are

appropriate Whether different sections of a song highlight

different tessitura, so as to maximize the effectiveness of the voice in terms of dynamics/expression

Flute and Clarinet:range, characteristics, articulation Whether the piece is idiomatically written for a

specific wind instrument Whether the piece utilizes the full pitch range

of the instrument, so as to explore the timbral, dynamic varieties on different tessitura

Whether the piece employs various kinds of articulations/tonguing and effects

Violin and Cello:range, characteristics, articulation Whether the piece is idiomatically written for a

specific string instrument Whether the piece employs articulation/

bowing markings (i.e. slurs), and performing techniques (e.g., pizz.)

As string instruments cover wide pitch ranges, a piece shall avoid focusing only on a narrow tessitura of the instrument

Counterpoint: setting a bass line against a simple melody Whether the student is able to reduce the

melody into a skeleton of pitch movement It is a basic training of two-part one-to-one

counterpoint Whether the vertical intervals as well as the

horizontal intervals are satisfactory

Harmonizing a simple melody

Whether the bass line works with the melodic skeleton satisfactorily in one-to-one counterpoint

Whether the bass notes support the right chord positions (i.e., different positions have different meanings in functional harmony)

Whether the choice of vertical sonority is satisfactory

Whether the voice-leadings from one chord to the next are satisfactory

Piano Accompaniment:melodic elements in chordal texture Whether the accompaniment is simply a

straightforward, square presentation of a chord progression

Whether the upper part or an inner part provides some melodic interest

Whether the accompaniment is also appealing on its own

Musical Phrasing: cadence & barring

Whether the materials are grouped in a two-bar unit, four-bar phrase, eight-bar phrase, or one with an unusual length

Whether a phrase is marked by a cadence and/or rhythmic devices

Since bar lines are places where chord changes, does the harmonic rhythm and cadence reinforce the phrasing

Arranging a melody for piano

A simple melody, especially a slow one, played on the piano by the right hand alone is not very idiomatic

Whether the student can provide extra notes to harmonize the melody

Are there any textural varieties Are there extra parts to play against the

melody Is the melody presented in various octaves

with idiomatic figurations

Contrapuntal Writing for Two Parts

Whether the two parts move independently Whether they combine to outline a harmonic

progression Whether they have individual characters Whether the rhythmic activities appear

spontaneously or in a square manner Whether the rhythmic unison they play at

some points provides a good textural variety

Arranging a simple melodyfor violin and piano Whether the three parts (violin, piano right

hand & left hand) overlap with each other Whether one part carries the melody while

the other parts not interfering Whether the chord spacing is satisfactory Whether timbral differences are taken into

account Whether different roles are given to the two

instruments at different places

Percussion: timbral exploration

Do we expect percussion to provide extra chord notes, highlight the rhythmic writing, reinforce the loud parts, supply a fuller texture, or simply provide new sounds/timbre

Does musical notation for percussion indicate the sounds or the performing actions/manner

Whether one uses the percussion economically (i.e., not asking for many instruments but having each playing one or a few notes in the whole piece, etc.)

Drum Patterns in Rock Music

Percussion as a textural provider How many layers are in the drum part Whether there is timbral variety within each

layer (i.e., snare - hand clap - rim shot; hi-hat - tambourine, etc.)

Whether the fill-in bar is interesting enough to break the monotony of the repetitive bars

Whether additional percussion is added in selected places

Brass instruments:range, characteristics, articulation Whether one contrasts trumpet-trombone

family with horn-tuba family Whether the written pitches are reasonably

not so high One may consider introducing the issue of

harmonic series in the discussion of pitch production in brass

Whether the music comes with precise articulation markings (e.g., tonguing, etc.)

Chinese Plucked-String Instruments

Sound envelope: fast attack and fast decay Various ways in producing sustained notes

(i.e., different types of tremolos) Whether the characteristic sounds of pitch

sliding are featured in the writing

Contemporary Techniques:new modes, rational pitch organisation Does one use the standard scales (diatonic

or chromatic), modes (early music, non-Western), or artificial scales

Does one use twelve-tone serialism, x-tone serialism, limited intervallic patterns, etc.

Does one generate pitches according to some systems of thought

Does the rational pitch organisation make any sense in aural effects

Contemporary Techniques:creative harmonic experimentation Does one treat dissonance as important as

consonance Whether one defines further various degrees

of dissonance Does the new harmony focus on vertical

intervallic relationships Whether there are any special features in the

ways how an unusual chord is presented

Contemporary Techniques:atonal & arrhythmic Whether there is any governing principle

behind the pitch organisation of atonal music Whether the composer aims to present free

atonality or well-organised pitch architecture Whether one looks for unpredictable rhythmic

writing or great rhythmic variety Whether the flexible rhythms help shaping the

music into comprehensible units or phrases

Extended Instrumentation Techniques on Various Media Thoroughly explore the potentials and

characteristics of a the voice, acoustic or electronic instruments

Not avoiding the limitations, but featuring noises as well as standard sounds

Whether the unusual sounds are incorporated into the piece in some meaningful ways; do they appears just for the sake of having them

Large Scale Formal Structure

A logical structure requires a good balance between variety (changed) and coherence (unchanged)

Does the form features the contrast between tension and relaxation

Does one achieve this in careful control of timing and proportion (e.g., whether the climax is longer enough or appears at the right moment, etc.)

Creative Sound Project

As a composition of sounds rather than pitches, one shall focus its creativity on the rhythm, phrasing, dynamics, timbre, texture and structure

All kinds of sounds can be used, not limited to the percussion, but sounds from any everyday objects (newspapers, plastic bags, food, etc.) or toys

May use stories, poems, pictures as the source of inspiration

Synthesizers and Electronic Resources If one uses synthesizers, electronic

equipment, MIDI sequencing or computer-aided sound synthesis, one shall feature the unique aspects of these media (rather than using them as a substitution of acoustic instruments, for example)

Unlike the reference recording for compositions written for acoustic instruments/ voices, the recording quality for pieces written for electronics weights highly

Programme Notes andReflective Report Besides explaining the use of music elements

and compositional devices in their compositions, one may highlight specific issues (e.g., formal structure, programmatic association) which the examiner may overlook

One may also mention the limitations and difficulties of the composition, and explain why these things can’t be overcome (a good way to show the candidate is fully aware of the nature of music composition)