Unit 2 · Lesson 7 of 7 — IB MYP: Personal and Cultural Expression · Communication
Composition 2: Rhythm Remix
Keep the pitch material simple and make rhythm the main creative decision.
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 1Create two rhythmic versions of the same short melodic idea
Item 2Use at least three note/rest values
Item 3Keep every measure rhythmically complete
Item 4Choose the stronger version and explain your choice
IB MYP connection
Command terms: CREATE · EXPLAIN
CreateExplain
Learner Profile · ATL
Balanced · Thinker — Thinking: weigh how note values and rests create energy, then use that understanding deliberately.
Task
Compose, listen, and revise before you consider this composition finished.
Inquiry: Which of your two rhythmic versions has more energy, and what specifically creates that energy?
Reflect: Which revision improved “Composition 2: Rhythm Remix” the most, and how do you know?
Key words
Words you will use today
Rhythmic version
The same pitches, in the same order, with a different rhythm.
Energy
How driven and active music feels. Short values, syncopation, and short bursts separated by rests raise it; long notes and even rhythms lower it.
Complete measure
A measure whose notes and rests add up exactly to the top number of the time signature.
Revision note
One or two sentences naming what you heard on playback, what you changed, and why (Unit 1).
Before you compose
Item 1Item 2Item 3Item 4
Plan three decisions first
This composition keeps the pitches simple so that rhythm is the main creative decision. Everything it needs comes from Lessons 1–4. Make these three decisions before you enter any notes.
01
Decision 1: the pitch idea
Choose 4–8 pitches with a clear shape and a home-tone ending. You can reuse pitches from Composition 1. Write them in plain quarter notes first; this is your raw material, not either version yet.
Course example: the pitch idea for “Crosstown,” C E G A G E D C.02
Decision 2: the calmer version
Longer values, notes that land on the beat, and held notes on downbeats lower the energy. Dvořák’s Largo theme is built this way: dotted rhythms that settle into half notes.
Dvořák, Largo (opening, in C): long values, calm.03
Decision 3: the more energetic version
Shorter values, syncopation, and short bursts separated by rests raise the energy. Mozart’s opening packs quick notes between rests, then drives through continuous eighth notes.
Mozart, Eine kleine Nachtmusik, mm. 1–2: short values and rests, energetic.
Model composition
Item 1Item 2Item 3Item 4
A model that meets every checklist item
Here is a short original piece written for this course, titled “Crosstown.” Both versions use the pitch idea C E G A G E D C in the same order. Play both. Yours should meet the same checklist items with your own pitches and rhythms.
01
Version A: calm
Whole, half, and quarter notes. Every note begins on a beat, and the idea is spread across four measures.
“Crosstown,” Version A (course model).02
Version B: energetic
Eighths, sixteenths, a syncopated tie, and rests. The same eight pitches are compressed into two measures.
“Crosstown,” Version B (course model).
Checklist item
How “Crosstown” meets it
1. Two rhythmic versions of the same idea
Both versions play C E G A G E D C in the same order; only the rhythm changes
Model description: Version B has more energy. It moves in eighth and sixteenth notes, two to four notes per beat, where Version A never moves faster than one note per beat. A quarter rest splits B’s opening into two short bursts, and the A is syncopated: it starts on the “and” of beat 3 and is tied through beat 4, so it pushes against the beat. The sixteenths at the start of measure 2 rush down to C, and a half rest cuts the phrase off. Version A spreads the same pitches across four measures of long notes that all start on beats, so it sounds calm and settled. Because “Crosstown” is meant to sound like moving through a busy city, I chose Version B as the stronger version.
Notice what the description does: it names the specific rhythms that create energy (note values, rests, syncopation), points to where they happen, contrasts them with the other version, and connects the choice to the piece’s intent. Your explanation should do the same.
Listen and revise
Item 3Item 4
What one revision looks like
The first draft of Version B had a problem that playback revealed. Here is the change and the reasoning behind it.
BeforeDraft: measure 1 adds up to only 3½ beats.
AfterRevision: a quarter rest completes the measure.
Revision note: On playback, the G and A in measure 1 came in too early, and the whole idea sounded rushed. Counting the measure showed only 3½ beats, because the rest was an eighth rest. I changed it to a quarter rest, which completes the measure and gives the syncopated A a clearer place against the beat.
A good revision note names what you heard, what you changed, and why. Counting beats is often how you find the cause of something that sounds wrong.
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 student’s Version A uses the pitches C E G A G E D C. Their Version B uses C G E D C. Which checklist item does this not meet?
Item 1
2How many different note and rest values does Version A of “Crosstown” use?
Item 2
3This measure is meant to be in 4/4. Is it complete?
Item 3
4Listen, then choose which version of “Crosstown” you heard.
Item 1Item 4
A
B
5Listen only. What gives this version its energy?
Item 2Item 4
6Which explanation of a student’s stronger version is most convincing?
Item 4
Take it to Noteflight
Compose “Rhythm Remix”
This is your second graded composition. Keep the pitches simple and put your effort into rhythm. Work through the plan, compose both versions, listen, revise, and choose.
Your Noteflight task
Choose a short melodic idea of 4–8 pitches. Write it in two rhythmic versions in 4/4 that keep the same pitches in the same order: one calmer, one more energetic. Use at least three different note or rest values and keep every measure complete. Use playback, make at least one revision, and write a one- or two-sentence revision note. Then choose the stronger version and write 2–3 sentences explaining which version has more energy and why.