Unit 4 · Lesson 3 of 3 — IB MYP: Personal and Cultural Expression · Communication
Composition 4: Develop an Idea
Build a short piece from one original motive instead of inventing unrelated material every measure.
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 18–16 measures
Item 2Begin with an original 1–2 measure motive
Item 3Motive must return several times
Item 4Include at least two different kinds of variation
Item 5Keep the motive recognizable
Item 6Listen, revise, and identify your strongest variation
IB MYP connection
Command terms: DEVELOP · EVALUATE
DevelopEvaluate
Learner Profile · ATL
Inquirer · Thinker — Thinking: investigate how small musical ideas can grow into something larger through repetition and change.
Task
Compose, listen, and revise before you consider this composition finished.
Inquiry: Which variation of your motive turned out to be the most effective, and why?
Reflect: Which revision improved “Composition 4: Develop an Idea” the most, and how do you know?
Key words
Words you will use today
Development
Building a longer passage from one motive by repeating and varying it, instead of inventing unrelated material every measure.
Unity and variety
Repetition connects the piece (unity); variation and contrast keep it moving (variety). A developed piece needs both.
Return
Any later appearance of the motive, exact or varied. Plan where each return goes.
Strongest variation
The variation that best keeps the motive recognizable while doing something new for the piece. You identify it with evidence.
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 4Item 5
Plan three decisions first
This composition uses everything from Lessons 1 and 2. The challenge is development: building 8–16 measures out of one motive. Too much exact repetition sounds predictable; too much change sounds like unrelated ideas. Make these three decisions before you write the notes.
01
Decision 1: the motive
Write a 1–2 measure motive with a rhythm you could tap and one pitch feature a listener will notice (Lesson 1). Test it by humming it back. Every later measure depends on this one, so it is worth revising before you go on.
Beethoven, Symphony No. 5 (in A minor): four notes that generate an entire movement.02
Decision 2: the returns
Map where the motive comes back. A reliable plan for 8 measures: state it, vary it, bring it back exactly at the halfway point, vary it again, then end. The exact return is what makes the variations sound connected. Leave room for a measure of contrast and a closed ending.
Mozart, theme of the Variations, K. 265, mm. 5–8: an exact return (orange) builds unity.03
Decision 3: the variations
Choose at least two different techniques from Lesson 2: sequence, rhythmic variation, contour variation, or changed ending. Change one feature at a time and keep the rhythm or the directions so every variation stays recognizable.
Petzold, Minuet in G, mm. 5–6 (in C): m. 6 is a sequence of m. 5, one step lower.
Model composition
Item 1Item 2Item 3Item 4Item 5Item 6
A model that meets every checklist item
Here is an 8-measure piece written for this course, titled “Rising Tide.” It is built entirely from the course motive you studied in Lessons 1 and 2. Study how it meets each checklist item. Yours must start from your own motive.
“Rising Tide” (course model). Labels mark each return of the motive; orange = apex (m. 3) and final arrival (m. 8).
apex low point
Checklist item
How “Rising Tide” meets it
1. 8–16 measures
Eight measures in 4/4; each adds up to 4 beats
2. Original 1–2 measure motive
m. 1: two repeated Gs, a leap up a 4th, steps back down to G
3. Motive returns several times
The motive appears in six of eight measures (mm. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7); exactly in mm. 1 and 5
Every variation keeps the motive’s rhythm and changes one feature
6. Listen, revise, identify strongest
See the revision below; strongest variation: the sequence in mm. 2–3
Model description: “Rising Tide” opens with its motive: two repeated Gs, a leap up a 4th, and a stepwise fall back to G. Measures 2 and 3 restate it in sequence, each a step higher, so the line climbs to its apex on E. Measure 4 contrasts with longer notes and pauses on G, an open ending halfway through. Measure 5 brings the motive back exactly, which reconnects the piece to its opening after the climb. Measure 6 is a contour variation, keeping the rhythm but flipping the leap downward, and m. 7 starts like the motive but changes its ending, skipping down to F instead of stepping to G, then descending by step to a closed ending on C. The motive appears in six of the eight measures but only twice unchanged, so the piece is unified without being predictable.
Strongest variation: the sequence in mm. 2–3. It keeps the motive’s rhythm, directions, and interval sizes, so it is instantly recognizable, and moving it up a step each time builds toward the apex, which gives the first half its direction.
Notice what the description does: it follows the motive through the piece in order, names the technique at each return, and explains how the balance of exact returns and variations shapes the whole.
Listen and revise
Item 5Item 6
What one revision looks like
In the first draft of “Rising Tide,” m. 6 was meant to be a variation. On playback it sounded like it came from a different piece. Here is the change and the reasoning behind it.
BeforeDraft, mm. 5–6: m. 6 changes rhythm, directions, and pitches at once.
AfterRevision: m. 6 keeps the rhythm and repeated Gs (orange) and flips only the directions.
Revision note: On playback, m. 6 did not sound connected to the motive, because it changed the rhythm, the directions, and every pitch at once. I rewrote it as a contour variation: it keeps the motive’s rhythm and its two repeated Gs and flips only the directions, so it now sounds like the motive turned upside down instead of new material.
The revision note names what you heard, what you changed, and why, and the “why” is evidence of recognizability: which features the variation now keeps. Your note will also identify your strongest variation.
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
1Your motive is 2 measures long. Which plan meets Item 1 and leaves room for Item 3?
Item 1Item 3
2Play both openings. Which one meets Item 2?
Item 2
A
B
3Listen, then choose which draft you heard.
Item 3
A
B
4Which kinds of variation does “Rising Tide” use in m. 2 and m. 6?
Item 4
5Below are mm. 5–6 of the “Rising Tide” draft. Why did the second measure (m. 6) fail Item 5?
Item 5
6Which statement best identifies a strongest variation?
Item 6
Take it to Noteflight
Compose “Develop an Idea”
Build a complete short piece from one motive of your own. Plan the motive, map its returns, choose your variations, then listen, revise, and identify the variation that works best.
Your Noteflight task
Compose an 8–16 measure piece in 4/4 or 3/4, built from one original 1–2 measure motive, that meets every item on the Composition Checklist. Use playback and make at least one revision, then write 2–3 sentences that identify your strongest variation with musical evidence and explain what you revised.
One or two measures with a rhythm you could tap and one pitch feature.
Model“Rising Tide,” m. 1
ReturnsItem 3
Map the returns
Decide which measures bring the motive back exactly and which vary it. Leave room for contrast and an ending.
Modelapex low point
VariationItem 4
Vary it two ways
Use at least two kinds: sequence, rhythmic variation, contour variation, or changed ending.
Model“Rising Tide,” m. 2 (sequence)
FinishItem 6
Revise and choose
Revise after playback, then identify your strongest variation with evidence.
Model“Rising Tide,” m. 6 (revised)
2While you build
8–16
Item 1
Count your measures and check that every measure has the right number of beats before you listen for anything else.
=
Item 5
For every variation, name what stayed the same. If you cannot name at least the rhythm or the directions, revise it so the motive is recognizable.
▶
Item 6
Play the whole piece at least twice. Revise the spot that sounds least connected to your motive, write your revision note, and choose your strongest variation.
3Noteflight tip
To reuse your motive, select its measures and copy (⌘ C on a Mac, Ctrl C on Windows or a Chromebook). Click the measure where it should return and paste (⌘ V / Ctrl V). For a variation, paste first, then change only the feature you are varying.
4Check your own work
0 of 6 checked
Finish the Noteflight work above, then mark this lesson done when you finish.