Year 9 - Music
Developing a serialist composition
Approaches to contemporary composition
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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 unit pupils are introduced to contemporary compositional approaches and techniques. They learn about a range of current contemporary music and the differences in approach of how this is structured and put together from earlier classical style music and current popular music.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to develop a serialist composition by using typical techniques including retrograding.
Key Notes
- Serialist composers use tone rows in many different ways.
- This includes varying the timbre, instrument, rhythm, dynamics, octave and articulation.
- As long as the order of the pitches doesn't change, this is considered 'within the rules' of serialism.
- Another method is to create and use a retrograde of the tone row.
- This is when the order of pitches is carefully reversed, creating a 'mirror image' of the tone row.
Vocabulary To Learn
- serialism: an atonal composition method based on a specific order of pitches (a tone row)
- tone row: a specific order of the 12 notes of the chromatic scale, forming the basis of a piece of serialism
- retrograde: when a set of notes (like a tone row) is reversed
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Retrograding breaks the rules of serialism because it changes the order of the notes.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Serialist composers use tone rows in many different ways. This includes varying the timbre, instrument, rhythm, dynamics, octave and articulation.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'serialism'
an atonal composition method based on a specific order of pitches (a tone row).
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: Retrograding breaks the rules of serialism because it changes the order of the notes. Correction: Serialist composers don't consider retrograding breaking the rules. It does change the order, but the new order is still closely linked to the original tone row (by being reversed). It is therefore an acceptable and musically interesting technique.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 9 Music guide library.