Year 4 - Music
Composing programme music with a 'golden brick'
Compose and create: cosmic programme music
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this optional unit, pupils are introduced to the term, programme music. They study the programme music symphonic work, Deep Field, by Eric Whitacre and use this as inspiration for composing, considering structuring around the golden ratio and the use of small music ideas called golden bricks.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to use a small musical idea, called a golden brick, to inspire and structure a short piece of programme music.
Key Notes
- Programme music is music that has been inspired by something non-musical. For example, a story or a piece of artwork.
- Deep Field composed by Eric Whitacre is a symphonic work in four movements that is an example of programme music.
- Music can be mapped as we listen to help us make sense of the musical journey.
- A piece of music can be inspired and built from one small musical idea. Eric Whitacre calls this a 'golden brick'.
Vocabulary To Learn
- programme music: instrumental music that aims to represent something non-musical, such as a story, picture, scene, idea or emotion
- movement: a self-contained section of a large-scale musical composition, like a chapter in a book
- musical map: lines, shapes, colours and symbols that represent the flow of the music
- golden brick: Eric Whitacre's term to describe a small musical idea that is the core building block on which the whole piece is built
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Musical maps and graphic scores are the same.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Programme music is music that has been inspired by something non-musical. For example, a story or a piece of artwork. Deep Field composed by Eric Whitacre is a symphonic work in four movements that is an example of programme music.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'programme music'
instrumental music that aims to represent something non-musical, such as a story, picture, scene, idea or emotion.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: Musical maps and graphic scores are the same. Correction: A musical map is not the same as a graphic score, although it may look very similar. A graphic score is created by a composer to notate their musical ideas. A musical map is created by the listener to make sense of what they are hearing.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 4 Music guide library.