Starting Points Final Composition (Tuesday 31st October)

A rounded binary form piece for string quartet submitted on Moodle as TWO files:

• File 1: the melody with Roman numeral chords (and if it helps you a stave with those chords put in as simple block chords just to guide the harmony)
• File 2: the same melody in the first violin part of the string quartet with SIMPLE accompaniments adapted from  Simple Quartet Textures, You must say in your submission which texture you have used (just add it as a post-it note on the score).

You must follow this detailed composition brief very carefully and exactly.

• I recommend that you do a SENTENCE as we have done a lot of work on that – use the notes here to help you
• Look at the notes dissonance
• Check the Harmonic DOs and DON’Ts
• Make sure you cadences follow one of these patterns (and that you end the last cadence stepwise onto the tonic note of the key)

Revision for starting points test on Wednesday/Thursday  1st/2nd November

Topics covered:

• Chord identification (aural and written)
• Roman numeral and figured bass labelling
• Embellishments and dissonance
• Closely related keys and modulation
• Common cadences (ii6/5 V I and I6/4-V-I cadences)
• Movement and phrase structures (i.e. Binary/Ternary/Rounded Binary and Sentence/Period)
• Melody writing
• Four-part writing (see starting points booklet)

REMEMBER: You need to hand in the music (including accompaniments) for your initial performance NEXT WEEK

Composition Circle of Fifths Homework (for end of THURSDAY on Moodle)
Use the template on page 33 of the Starting Points booklet to write a circle of fifths progression in a reasonable key of your choice.

• Bar 1 should be I – IV
• the bass line should just be root position minims
• write a melody for bar 1 that avoids parallel octaves of fifths (put the bass in first inversion for one or other chord if necessary)
• bar 2 moves down a step
• bar 3 moves down another step
• bar 4 moves down a final step BUT the second half of the bar should be changed so the whole bar fits with chord V

Transfer your work to a string quartet score with the simple bass line in the cello part and the melody in the first violin. You can fill in the other parts with simple accompaniments if you wish.

Submit on Sibelius

Writing a Melody Homework (handed in during the lesson on Tuesday)
Use THIS RESOURCE to help you write two separate melodies presented on manuscript paper with the melody on the stave and chord labels (I, IV, V etc.) underneath. Do NOT write a bass line or texture etc.

Your first melody should be a sentence and the second should be a period

For each,

1. Create a basic idea (this includes, tempo, dynamics etc. use the chart on the page to choose these)
2. Write a cadence
3. Complete you period or sentence according to the description
4. CHECK IT to make sure you have no rogue dissonances or other problems

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Starting Points Theory (For Friday’s lesson – I will take in booklets and look at the cadence work from last week as well)

Please complete exercise F2. We have analyzed the progession in F1 in class and found it to be ii6 I6/4 V I and the idea is that you use exactly this progression. A couple of things to note:

• pay attention to leaps in the parts, spacing and doubling
• the ii does NOT have seventh unlike some of the others we have done
• the soprano part is not the same as F1 but the chord progression should be

Composition task (for submission end of Tuesday on Sibelius)

Please complete a cadential passage for string quartet that meets the following criteria:

1. the chord progression must be I6  ii6 I6/4 V I
2. melody must be in violin 1 with a simple accompaniment in violin 2, viola and cello (either follow a model as simple as those on p. 21 of the starting points booklet or look at these textures)
3. final cadence must be in root position in bass with stepwise progression to the root of the tonic in the violin 1 part
4. Just as in four-part work as above, you need to take care of spacing, doubling and leaping.