G Major Composition

 

In the spring, actually it tends to fall right around spring break, second-year orchestra students write their second composition of year, this time in the key of G Major.

G Major composition with toolbox:

• Word document
• PDF

sight read a number of pieces in the book in G Major and I ask a series of questions for each one: What is the first note of the piece?  (Ah, it's a note from the G Major arpeggio!)  What is the last note of the piece?  (Oh, a G, or Do?  I bet it will sound finished when we get to the end!)  Do you notice any arpeggios in this piece?  In the Orchestra Expressions book, p. 48, we play "El Charro", "El Tren", and "Happy Birthday."  Sometimes we have to play the piece a couple of times before someone spots the G, B, D or D, B, G, but students very quickly catch on that the last note will be G, Do, and can answer my question before I finish asking it by the time we get to "Happy Birthday" :)

On composing day, I'm also listening to students play their G Major scale playing checkup.

Most students don't finish during their small group that day, so I'll take a picture of compositions still in progress with my iPad (in case students forget to bring their folder the following week when it's due...then they don't have to start from scratch as they finish their composition in class).  If students do finish, I'll collect them to get a head start on typing them up/grading them.  

Students earn a grade (4/3/2/1--exceeds expectations/meets expectations/basic/does not meet expectations) on rhythm (variety of rhythms, correct number of beats per measure), music literacy (using notes from the G Major scale in a way that clearly shows that G = Do), and evaluating (including two or more of the musical tools).  I don't emphasize the graded aspect of this, but if students follow the checklist, they will be fine.

I will type these up so everyone can play their classmates' compositions and see theirs in print.  This year I am trying to save paper, so instead of printing a packet for everyone, I'll share the Google Doc link on our Canvas page for students.  Now that I have a screen/projector at both schools, I'll show the document on the screen in class, and we'll scroll through it and pick one or two to try in class.  It's a little tricky if I have students on different instruments in the same small group--I'll have two windows open, one on the top of the screen and one on the bottom and scroll through both.  Or, if it's one student on a different instrument, I might give that student my iPad and pull up their instrument's document there.  We will play one or two of these for the spring concert, so those I will print out and tape into folders (after checking with the composer to make sure it's okay with them we perform their piece).  I'll improvise a piano accompaniment too.

Template for G Major composition packet (Google Doc):

• Violin
• Viola
• Cello/Bass

Happy composing!

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Links to other composition worksheets: 

• D Major composition

• Composition #1 (open strings, pizzicato)
• Composition #2 (D-string notes, pizzicato)
• Composition #3 (A-string notes, arco)
• Composition #4 (G-string notes, arco)
• Composition #5 (C/E-string notes, with tempo/dynamic)

Link to Templates for composition packets