First Year Students: Texture Composition - reminder

• Required Elements:
• Monophonic Melody
• Homophonic Chords
• Polyphonic Countermelody
• If you wish, you can include your composition written out for a bonus of 5 marks!
• Due: Monday, April 2

Welcome back everyone!

You should be working on your REAL WORLD RESEARCH PROJECTS this week. The Library is booked Wednesday-Friday for any presentations should you choose this format, and all written work is due by Wednesday March 21 (hard deadline: Friday March 23).

All outstanding work from before March Break should also still be completed.

REAL WORLD MUSIC PROJECT
Reminder! Due tomorrow:

• links to 3 articles about your topic
• paragraph summary (250 words) for each article

After the Break, presentations for this project will take place Wednesday Mar 21, Thursday Mar 22 and all work is due Friday Mar 23.

NEW STUFF - Second Year Students - Moving to Logic

Over the next month, those of us in the more advanced stages of the class will be moving to using Logic for our next project.

As such, here are a few videos to get you started:

Intro to Logic 9 Express
Logic 9 Express Part 2

The computer with Logic Express 9 are numbers 1-10 (at the front of the class). We'll try to work on these when we get back from March Break!

Today we will start on some new theory material. Ms. Simmons will teach a lesson, then ask you to take a look at the material below.

Beginners:
- introduction to steps and accidentals
- "Half Step Hoedown" game

Intermediate:
- introduction to minor scales
- quiz on major and minor scales

Advanced:
- introduction to chords
- introduction to minor chords
- online chords quiz
- introduction to interval inversion

We will have a theory quiz on these topics on Thursday March 8.

This Week:

• Visit myblueprint.ca to complete your course selections. You must print this off and have your parents sign it by Thursday, March 1.

• Finish previous assignments:
• Melody & Variation Composition
• Reading Reflection #2 (on MIDI)
• playing "Jingle Bells"
• Listening Portfolio #1

• Continue work on new assignments:
• playing blues chord progression and blues scale
• writing your own 12-bar blues improvisation (see above)

Remember to use your class time wisely and not to get behind. You can expect to have a written task and a composition task each week, plus some theory work. Stay on top of it all and you'll be fine!

Next Creation Assignment: Improvisation on the 12-bar Blues Progression

1. Ms. Simmons will teach a lesson on the 12-bar blue and hand out some stuff.

2. On your own, visit the following  ...read all about the standard blues progressions and their deviations.

• PBS Understanding the Blues
•  Blues Progressions website 
• 12-bar blue Progression website   

3. By Monday, Feb 27 you must play "live" for Ms. Simmons the Blues Scale. This is easy.
4. By Wednesday, Feb 29 , you must play "live" for Ms. Simmons the basic RH chord progression of the 12 bar blues, and the LH bass line. You can play these hands separately. Once you can play them live, make a new song with them in GarageBand, each one in its own track (see example in the AMM folder).

FIRST YEAR ASSIGNMENT:

By Friday, March 2 you must create an improvisation over the 12-bar blues you recorded. You may choose one or more different instruments to perform your solo improvisation, but you must use the upright bass/piano as back-up. The improvisation must be at least 36 bars long (eg, 3 times through the progression) (see example in the AMM folder). You may add percussion, change tempo, and have more than 36 bars, but you cannot change the chord progression given. We will perform these on Friday March 2.

SECOND YEAR ASSIGNMENT:

You are going to write your own chord progression. It can have as many chords as you want but the basic progression should be 12 bars long. Some websites to get you started:

Common Keyboard Progressions

Keyboard Progressions and How to Play Them

Once you have written your progression and played your bed track in to Garage Band, your requirements are the same. By Friday, March 2 you must create an improvisation over the 12-bar progression you recorded. You may choose one or more different instruments to perform your solo improvisation, but you must use the upright bass/piano as back-up. The improvisation must be at least 36 bars long (eg, 3 times through the progression) (see example in the AMM folder). You may add percussion, change tempo, and have more than 36 bars, but you cannot change the chord progression given. We will perform these on Friday March 2.

SECOND YEAR: World Music Variation Assignment


Pick a culture from outside North America. Write a piece using influences of that culture, at least 32 bars long.