Graphic Scores – Musical Structure and Development

beginningsI developed a series of graphic scores to help youngsters, particularly in the upper primary/lower secondary years with the process and techniques of composing music, particularly with the structure of their pieces and the development of musical ideas.

endingsI imagined three possible beginnings, and the three possible endings, and produced a pictorial representation of each.

The students then listened to a range of pieces of music in a variety of styles, and discussed which images best represented the beginnings and endings they were hearing.

Their task then was to create their own musical interpretations of the pictorial beginnings and endings in groups of between two and five using their voices or instruments in the room.

They then selected one and beginning and one ending to be the outlying markers of their compositions…so then, how to get from one to the other?

graphic scores development 003We would then discuss techniques for developing their ideas (extension, diminution, expansion, reduction, sequence, silence, changes in timbre, texture, dynamics, articulation, etc…) and also how to structure their music, both in terms of the order of things and also where exciting moments and climaxes might be.

Throughout all this technique would be discussion about the moods or emotions they wanted to express in their compositions.

All this would be illustrated with their own musical ideas and also examples from pre-composed music on recordings.graphic scores development 006

I did create a set of graphic representations of some of these development techniques to help exemplify them in visual terms – some found this useful, others preferred the aural and practical examples.

So then each group would compose the middle of their composition, using the techniques learned, to travel from their chosen beginning to their chosen ending.My beautiful picture

If the room and time allowed, the groups would create their own graphic score of the middle of their music.

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