Mini Music Lesson: Avant-Garde Composition
Beautiful Noise
Did you know that there are rules for making music? Even though music is a form of artistic expression and creativity is important, there are still rules and expectations when it comes to creating your own composition. For example:
In a choir, the soprano voices sing higher than the alto voices.
A symphony has 4 movements.
Music is divided evenly into measures.
So what happens if a composer decides not to follow the rules of music composition? Well, their music may be considered new or groundbreaking and this is sometimes called avant-garde.
Let’s compose a piece of avant-garde music!
For this activity you will need:
-Compose a Beautiful Noise Template
-Composition Blocks
-Scissors
-Glue (optional)
-Instruments
The first step is to cut out all of the composition blocks. Choose the ones you would like to use for your music and place them onto the template. If you decide to glue your composition blocks down, you may want to play your piece a few times to make sure you are happy with it. Of course, you can always print more copies if you need to!
For my avant-garde composition I chose to use a ratchet, a wind chime, and a light switch. The ratchet will be played on all green composition blocks, the chime on purple and the light switch on orange. You can use any instruments you have available to you! Remember, your body is an instrument too so even if you don’t have any other instruments around, you could sing, clap, pat, stomp, hum, you name it!
Before playing your piece it is a good idea to chant the rhythm. I use ta’s and ti-ti’s but you can use whatever method works for you!
Once you know your rhythm, it’s time to play away!
Theme and Variations
Now that you have the main theme to your avant-garde composition, you may want to mix things up a bit! Here are ideas you can use to add some complexity to your music:
Double up the isntruments! Ask a family member or a friend to play with you for a louder sound.
Play your piece in a round or cannon! One person begins playing as usual, a second begins once the first reaches the second line, a third begins when the second reaches the second line, etc!
Use a different instrument every time! Or, play each composition block with a different instrument or sound.
Share Your Beautiful Noise Compositions!
It’s the World Premiere of your newest piece of music! Share a video of you playing your new composition for a chance to win a FREE book! You can email us your video or share via social media. Be sure to tag @musiclibrarybox!
Happy Composing!
No book? No Problem!
This lesson is meant to compliment the reading of Beautiful Noise: The Music of John Cage.
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