Year 8 - Music
Creating a sense of style
Atmospheric 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
Pupils learn about programmatic and descriptive music and how music can be used to set the scene. They compose a piece of music to accompany a story that includes a recurring motif and demonstrates an understanding of how key/chromatics and other musical elements can have an impact on the mood.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to identify and compose common features in your composition to develop a sense of style.
Key Notes
- Using common features can help to create a sense of style in a composition.
- Using a recurring motif or rhythm can help with the music having an identity.
- Having a prominent instrument or other recurring musical feature is also suitable.
- Considering how to use common features and stylistic elements to give music a sense of style.
- Composing a complete soundtrack for a short scary story.
Vocabulary To Learn
- stylistic elements: the musical choices made by the composer to give the piece a sense of style
- motif: a short melodic idea that recurs throughout a piece of music
- rhythm: a selection of long and short note durations in a pattern; all melodies have a rhythm
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- A sense of style in music refers only to the genre.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Using common features can help to create a sense of style in a composition. Using a recurring motif or rhythm can help with the music having an identity.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'stylistic elements'
the musical choices made by the composer to give the piece a sense of style.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: A sense of style in music refers only to the genre. Correction: Style can mean genre-specific features but also can refer to compositional style and the composer using common features throughout a particular piece.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 8 Music guide library.