Unit 1 · Lesson 6 of 6 — IB MYP: Personal and Cultural Expression · Communication
Composition 1: My First Melody
Your first graded composition is short so you can focus on making a few musical choices well.
Your composition
Composition Checklist
Every section below is labeled with the checklist item it helps you meet. Your finished composition must meet all of them.
Item 14 measures in 4/4
Item 2Use more than one type of melodic motion
Item 3Create a clear overall contour
Item 4Include a beginning and ending that sound intentional
Item 5Use playback and make at least one revision
Item 6Give the piece a title
IB MYP connection
Command terms: COMPOSE · USE
ComposeUse
Learner Profile · ATL
Knowledgeable · Thinker — Thinking: apply what you notice about melodic movement to shape your own musical ideas.
Task
Compose, listen, and revise before you consider this composition finished.
Inquiry: Which of your musical choices most shaped the melody's overall contour?
Reflect: Which revision improved “Composition 1: My First Melody” the most, and how do you know?
Key words
Words you will use today
Draft
Your first complete version. It is supposed to have problems; that is what revision is for.
Revision
A deliberate change made after listening, aimed at a specific musical goal.
Intentional beginning
An opening that establishes the home tone or a clear idea, so the listener knows where they are.
Intentional ending
A closing that the composer chose: usually closed (on the home tone, held), or open on purpose.
Before you compose
Item 1Item 2Item 3Item 4
Plan three decisions first
Everything in this composition uses skills from Lessons 1–5. Instead of starting with the first note, start with three decisions. Writing the notes is much easier once these are made.
01
Decision 1: the shape
Choose a contour: arch, inverted arch, wave, ascending, or descending (Lesson 5). Decide which measure holds your apex. A late apex (m. 3) builds; an early apex (m. 1–2) releases.
apex low point“Amazing Grace”: an arch with an early apex.02
Decision 2: the motion
Plan your mix of steps, skips, and leaps (Lesson 4) and segments of ascending, descending, and static motion (Lesson 2). Mostly steps plus one recovered leap is a reliable, singable plan.
Petzold, Minuet in G: leaps (orange) balanced by steps.03
Decision 3: the ending
Decide how it ends (Lesson 3). For a first composition, a closed ending is the strongest choice: approach C by step, land on a strong beat, and hold it.
Beethoven, “Ode to Joy”: the closed ending of phrase 2.
Model composition
Item 1Item 2Item 3Item 4Item 6
A model that meets every checklist item
Here is a short original melody written for this course, titled “First Light.” Study how it meets each item on the checklist. Yours should meet the same items with different musical choices.
“First Light” (course model). Intervals labeled; orange = apex and final arrival.
apex low point
Checklist item
How “First Light” meets it
1. 4 measures in 4/4
Four measures; each adds up to 4 beats
2. More than one type of motion
Skips (m. 1), steps (mm. 2–3), leaps of a 4th (into m. 3 and m. 4); ascending and descending segments
3. Clear overall contour
An arch: rises through mm. 1–2 to an apex on high C in m. 3, then descends
4. Intentional beginning and ending
Starts on the home tone C; ends by step on C, held for two beats (closed)
5. Playback and revision
See the revision below
6. Title
“First Light” suggests a rising, then settling shape, like a sunrise
Model description: “First Light” opens on the home tone and climbs by skips to G, then circles around G with steps and skips in measure 2. A leap of a 4th lifts it to the apex, high C, held on the downbeat of measure 3. From there it descends by step, leaps down a 4th, and steps down to a closed ending on C. The contour is an arch with a late apex, so the melody builds for three measures and then settles home.
Listen and revise
Item 5Item 4
What one revision looks like
The first draft of “First Light” ended differently. On playback, the last measure sounded unfinished. Here is the change and the reasoning behind it.
BeforeDraft: ends on D. On playback it sounded like a question.
AfterRevision: steps down to C and holds it.
Revision note: On playback, the D at the end made the melody sound incomplete, which did not fit a piece meant to settle like a sunrise. I changed the final half note to C, approached by step from D, so the melody closes on the home tone.
A good revision note names what you heard, what you changed, and why. You will write one for your own piece.
Check your understanding
Try it before you compose
Pick an answer for each question. You will see right away whether you are correct and why.
0 of 6 correct
1A draft has these four measures. Which checklist item does it not meet yet?
Item 1
2Which draft fails “use more than one type of melodic motion”?
Item 2
A
B
3What is the contour of “First Light”?
Item 3
4Which ending would make a draft’s ending intentional and closed?
Item 4
5Which revision note is strongest?
Item 5
6Why does the title “First Light” fit the model melody?
Item 6
Take it to Noteflight
Compose “My First Melody”
This is your first graded composition. Keep it short and make every choice deliberately. Work through the plan, compose, listen, revise, and title it.
Your Noteflight task
Compose a 4-measure melody in 4/4 that meets every item on the Composition Checklist. Use playback, make at least one revision, write a one- or two-sentence revision note, and give your piece a title.