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Year 11 - Music

Composing idiomatically

Composition exemplars: completing a composition

Unit Summary

Pupils analyse exemplar compositions to understand how composers complete and refine a finished piece. They explore idiomatic writing, performance directions, instrumental writing and use of technology to produce effective, polished compositions.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to identify how a composer has used idiomatic features in their composition, and can use some of these in your own.

Key Notes

  • Composing idiomatically means using the typical features of that style.
  • Every style has different idiomatic features that help to give it a unique sound.
  • It is particularly important to use idiomatic melody, harmony, rhythm, instrumentation and structure.
  • The jazz quintet featured many idiomatic features, which made it a very effective example of the style.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • idiomatic: using features that are typical of the musical style
  • swing: where notes are played unevenly; in jazz this usually refers to swing quavers
  • chromatic: using notes from outside of the key
  • head: a recurring chorus that starts and finishes a jazz piece; performers improvise over the chord sequence from the head in between repetitions

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • A composition should use every possible idiomatic feature from the style.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain the lesson in two key points.

Composing idiomatically means using the typical features of that style. Every style has different idiomatic features that help to give it a unique sound.

2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'idiomatic'

using features that are typical of the musical style.

3. Correct this common mistake.

Mistake: A composition should use every possible idiomatic feature from the style. Correction: It is normal not to use every single idiomatic feature. Most compositions use a range of idiomatic features with different elements, to help them fit the style effectively. Choose a range of idiomatic features that work well in your composition.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 11 Music guide library.