Unit 7 · Lesson 6 of 6 — IB MYP: Personal and Cultural Expression · Communication
Composition 7: Complete Mini-Composition
This is the culmination of the Noteflight portion—not the semester final. Demonstrate that you can independently create a coherent short piece.
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 1Approximately 16–24 measures
Item 2Clear AB or ABA form
Item 3Developed melodic material
Item 4Purposeful rhythm and harmony
Item 5Melody + accompaniment
Item 6Intentional instrumentation
Item 7Dynamics and articulation and/or tempo changes
Item 8At least one meaningful revision before submission
IB MYP connection
Command terms: CREATE · EVALUATE
CreateEvaluate
Learner Profile · ATL
Reflective · Thinker — Thinking: make and justify expressive choices that shape a complete musical statement.
Task
Compose, listen, and revise before you consider this composition finished.
Inquiry: Looking back across all seven units, which musical skill do you feel most confident using now?
Reflect: Which revision improved “Composition 7: Complete Mini-Composition” the most, and how do you know?
Key words
Words you will use today
Coherent
Every part belongs together: the sections are connected by shared material and the whole piece has a clear shape.
Culminating piece
A composition that brings together skills from the whole course: melody, rhythm, harmony, accompaniment, form, and expression.
Meaningful revision
A change made after listening that improves how clearly the piece communicates, explained in a revision note. Fixing a typo is not a meaningful revision.
Artist statement
A short explanation of your piece: its inspiration or intent, its form, and the choices that carry it.
Before you compose
Item 1Item 2Item 3Item 4Item 5Item 6Item 7
Make four decisions first
This piece uses everything from the course. Work from your Lesson 5 section map. Before writing notes, confirm four decisions; each one maps to items on the checklist.
01
Decision 1: form and length
AB or ABA, about 16–24 measures. Eight-measure sections are a reliable plan: each is two four-measure phrases, often a question and an answer (Unit 3).
“Twinkle” (Mozart, K. 265 theme): a compact ABA.02
Decision 2: motive and development
Choose one motive and plan how it changes: sequence, rhythmic variation, contour variation, or a changed ending (Unit 4). The motive is what makes a longer piece sound like one piece.
The Unit 4 course motive and its sequence up a step.03
Decision 3: harmony and accompaniment
Plan the chords (I, IV, V from Unit 5) and an accompaniment pattern for each section (Unit 6). Changing the pattern between sections is one of the clearest ways to mark the form.
Broken chords (I), then repeated staccato chords (V).04
Decision 4: instruments and expression
Choose instruments whose ranges fit your parts and whose registers keep the melody clear (Unit 6). Then plan dynamics, articulation, and tempo so each section communicates its character (Unit 7).
“Long Way Home,” m. 13: the B section’s apex, reached at f.
Model composition
Item 1Item 2Item 3Item 4Item 5Item 6Item 7
“Long Way Home” meets every checklist item
Here is the complete course model you planned in Lesson 5, for flute and cello. Play each section. Then study the table to see how it meets each item. Your piece should meet the same items with your own musical choices.
A (mm. 1–8): the motive and its sequence over flowing broken chords, mf.B (mm. 9–16): the motive in longer values, higher, over staccato repeated chords, p building to f at the apex (orange). Ends open on V.A′ (mm. 17–24): mm. 1–6 return unchanged; the new ending climbs to high C and fades to p.
Checklist item
How “Long Way Home” meets it
1. About 16–24 measures
24 measures: A (1–8), B (9–16), A′ (17–24)
2. Clear AB or ABA form
ABA. B changes register, texture, and dynamics; A returns recognizably
3. Developed melodic material
The Unit 4 motive is stated, sequenced (m. 3), set in longer values in B (m. 9), sequenced again (m. 11), and given a new ending in A′
4. Purposeful rhythm and harmony
Eighth-note motive in A vs. half and quarter notes in B; I, IV, and V only, with strong beats on chord tones; open V ending on m. 16 sets up the return; closes V–I
5. Melody + accompaniment
Flute melody in the foreground; cello broken chords (A) and repeated chords (B) in the background
6. Intentional instrumentation
Flute (clear, light, high) over cello (warm, low); the two registers never cross, so the melody always stays clear
7. Dynamics and articulation
mf in A; B starts p and builds step by step to f at the apex (m. 13); staccato chords in B; A′ fades to p
8. Meaningful revision
B’s accompaniment and dynamics were revised (see below)
Model description: “Long Way Home” is an ABA piece for flute and cello, built from one motive. In A, the flute states the motive and sequences it over the cello’s flowing broken chords. B keeps the key and the motive’s shape but slows its rhythm, lifts the melody into a higher register, and switches the cello to short repeated chords, growing from p to f at the apex before pausing on V. When A returns, the familiar opening signals home, and a new ending climbs to high C and fades, so the piece closes with a sense of arrival rather than simply stopping.
The description works as an artist statement: it names the form, the motive and how it develops, the accompaniment and instruments, and the expressive plan, and it connects them to an overall intent.
Listen and revise
Item 8Item 2Item 7
A revision that made the form clearer
In the first draft, B used the same broken-chord pattern and dynamic as A. On playback, the new section barely registered. Here is the change.
BeforeDraft: same texture and dynamic as A.
AfterRevision: repeated staccato chords, starting p.
Revision note: On playback, B blended into A. The melody changed, but the cello kept the same broken chords at the same mf, so there was no clear moment where the new section began. I switched the cello to repeated staccato chords and started B at p with a gradual build. Now the contrast is audible from the first beat of m. 9, and the ABA form is easy to follow.
This is a meaningful revision: it fixed a problem heard on playback (unclear form), and the note explains what was heard, what changed, and why.
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 piece is 12 measures of A followed by 12 measures that repeat A exactly. Which checklist items does it not meet yet?
Item 1Item 2
2Which is the best evidence of “developed melodic material”?
Item 3
3Play both. Which excerpt shows purposeful harmony under the melody?
Item 4Item 5
A
B
4Why do the flute and cello in “Long Way Home” work well together?
Item 5Item 6
5Listen only. What expressive plan does this passage use?
Item 7
6Which revision note describes a meaningful revision?
Item 8
Take it to Noteflight
Compose your mini-composition
This is the culmination of the Noteflight portion of the course. Work from your Lesson 5 section map, compose the whole piece, listen critically, revise, and explain your choices.
Your Noteflight task
Compose a piece of about 16–24 measures in AB or ABA form, for melody and accompaniment, that meets every item on the Composition Checklist. Make at least one meaningful revision, write a revision note, and write a short artist statement (3–5 sentences) explaining your form, motive, instruments, and expressive choices.