Key Stage 3 Music - Music for Soundscapes

Lesson Objectives

• Compose exciting music using note durations.
• Learn how to find instruments on the keyboard.

Task 1

You have 1 minute in which to compose and perform a piece representing these pictures of lots of baby chickens running around.

What were the note durations you chose?

LONG HELD NOTES...OR...SHORT QUICK NOTES

Task 2

Now watch the 'Chicks and Eggs' music clip.

• What instruments are used?
• How was pitch used?
• What were the note durations?

Learn how to choose an instrument on the keyboards by using the GREEN card or by clicking below.

How to choose and instrument 

Task 3

Watch "Marketplace" with the sound turned off.

• What are the people feeling?
• How can you show feelings through pitch?
• How can you show feelings through duration?
• What instrument sounds (timbres) would work best?

Task 4

Create your own exciting music to fit with the marketplace pictures. Choose appropriate instruments and note durations to help create the mood of excitement.

When you've finished Watch "Marketplace" with the sound back on.

What are the similarities with your composition?

Both the music 'Chicks and Eggs' and 'Marketplace' are from a famous piece of music by Mussorgsky called 'Pictures at an Exhibition'.

Each piece of music represents the different pictures he saw in a gallery.

Mussorgsky tries to create the same mood in his music that the picture represents like the busy and exciting mood in 'Chicks and Eggs' and 'Marketplace'.

This type of music is called Programme Music.