Composition Task (due by the end of Wednesday 2nd November on Moodle)
Please submit TWO files on Moodle:

1. a piano score with the melody in the treble stave and triads in the bass (not an accompaniment – just an indication of the harmony. Chord labels will also be useful but are not mandatory)
2. a string quartet score with the same melody in the first violin and a simple accompaniment in the manner of Exercise E2 in the other three parts

It is important that you include DYNAMICS and ARTICULATION, which are an important part of the musical gestures. If you do not do so you will be asked to do the exercise again. Please refer the melody-writing hand out for advice on cadences etc.

The melody must take the following form:

A – an 8 bar period (4 bars antecedent including an initial idea for 2 bars and a contrasting idea ending in an imperfect cadence / 4 bars consequent including an exact repeat of initial idea but the contrasting idea must this time finish with a perfect cadence, preferably ii-V-I or a cadential 6/4). This CAN be but does not have to be an improved version of L3 [alternatively you can use/adapt your sentence idea from J3]

B – a 4 bar idea adapting a fragment from A into a circle of fifths (iii-vi-ii-V) in which the second two bars should be an exact sequence of the first two

A’ – A repeat of the consequent phrase or slight adapting of it.

Extension tasks

• You can adapt the initial period so that it modulates to the dominant in the consequent
• You can add another four bars to B, making a longer circle of fifths (begin I-IV-vii and add an extra bar of V at a the end)
• You can vary the quartet accompaniment for the middle section / contrasting idea in period but KEEP IT SIMPLE (A6 and B1 in the Starting Points booklet offer possibilities as do ).

Revision for Test
The test on the first Monday back will include the following:

1. Basic chord analysis and labelling (see handbook)
2. Embellishment labelling and/or writing (see melody-writing handout)
3. Aural recognition of chords and cadences
4. Analysis of short piece using appropriate vocabulary (sentence, period, small ternary, binary, ternary, rounded binary)
5. Knowledge of closely related keys and modulations  (see melody-writing handout)

For Thursday 13th October (4.00)
Complete Exercise J3 (Sentence) on Sibelius and submit on Moodle. You need to show chords in the bass stave but it does not need to be an accompaniment/left hand. Please make sure that you follow the dissonance conventions very carefully – remember that we are trying to write in the Classical style. You will find this handout on melody writing useful (I will provide a hard copy on Wednesday). Make sure that the cadence follows a standard pattern as suggested on the melody handout.

The sentence should follow this pattern:

• Presentation – 2-bar basic melodic idea repeated to fit a different chord(s) as detailed in exercise J3 [4 bars in total]
• Fragmentation – sequential repetition of a fragment from presentation [2 bars]
• Cadence – a generic perfect or imperfect cadence [2 bars]

For Tuesday 18th October (4.00)
Complete Exercise L3 (Period) on Sibelius and submit on Moodle. You need to show chords in the bass stave but it does not need to be an accompaniment. As above, make sure you include dissonance conventions

The period should follow this pattern:

• Antecedent – 2-bar basic idea followed by 2 bars contrasting idea ending on imperfect cadence
• Consequent – starts the same but this time the contrasting idea (which can be different from the last time if you wish) ends with a perfect cadence