Composing Together    #1

1, 2 or 3-Day Classroom Residency 

For Ages: 3rd through 12th grades 

Participants: 5-35 

Level: appropriate for beginning through advanced musicians on any instrument or voice.  Students should be able to play or sing “Mary Had a Little Lamb”.  

Time: 1-to-3  50-minute visits 

Goals: to Build listening, ensemble skills, rhythmic command and sharing individual ideas with a group.  Learn about scale structure, modes, and musical forms.  Create a group piece for performance using either voices or instruments, depending on level. 

Activity Schedule:

Day 1-

A)   Breakfast Chorus (group sings different breakfast menu items to learn foreground, middle ground and background and overlapping rhythmic patterns)

B) Mode of the Day-group creates mode and plays it in scale form, arpeggio and patterns, as technique allows

Day 2-

A) Katie brings melody, harmony and bass line parts from Breakfast Rhythms in the “Mode”, arranged for the group

B) Group rehearses and decides on final Form (usually AABA)

Day 3-

A)   Katie brings final score and parts of Group piece, discuss construction

B)   Rehearsal of Group Piece, add improvised solos if possible 

Post-residency: Please rehearse the students’ final piece as if it were a traditional composition prior to public performance.  This reinforces the value of their ideas and hard work as composers.  The students will be proud to present their music with the best possible preparation.  Expect motivated students to bring you additional compositions.  Please make time for selected volunteer classmates to sight-read any of these compositions, too. 

Sample Vocabulary for pre-residency discussion: 

Scale-an organized collection of notes

Motif-a recognizable musical idea (Beethoven’s 5^th)

Melody or Foreground-the part of a song that you sing (Mary Had a Little Lamb demo)

Harmony or Middle Ground-the part that makes the melody more interesting (backbeats and chords under “Mary” melody demo)

Bass Line or Background-the simple (usually lowest) part that makes a foundation for everything else to build on (tonic-dominant bass line on “Mary” demo)

Ostinato-a part that keeps repeating and makes a support for the other parts

Variation-making changes to a melody so that you can still recognize it, but it’s different (“Mary” variations demo-see teacher score)

Composing Together    #2

One Semester Online and Classroom Residency

for String Classes and String Orchestras 

For Ages: 6th through 12th grades-string players 

Participants: 5-40 

Level: For intermediate through advanced string players who can read basic rhythms and first position pitches in C major.  Students will play a Schubert “Landler” or original composition by Katie, depending on the teacher’s preference.  They will also read each other’s compositions.

Teacher Prep, Support Materials and Computer Access: Teachers are encouraged to experiment with Finale Notepad, a free download and simple notation program, prior to starting the residency.  The software allows students to use basic rhythms, notes, simple articulations and bowings and dynamic markings.  Students will need access to a computer for each step and the teacher will need to be able to email projects to Katie.  The materials for each step come with questions for classroom discussion.

Project Description:  Over 6-12 weeks of class, the teacher rehearses the “Landler” and presents, discusses and monitors three separate composing assignments using support materials (1. melody in C-variation on “Landler”, 2. rhythm syllabus, 3. final melody with simple diatonic harmony).  Student will compose sketches for each section using a free version of Finale “Notepad”, then send them as email attachments for individual comments and critiques from Katie.  This part of the residency is based on the wildly successful Vermont MIDI Project. 

After reviewing the comments, the students do revisions on each segment and start the next segment.  Each one is a building block toward the final composition for the ensemble.  After all three segments are completed and rehearsed, Katie arrives for a 2 or 3-day classroom residency which includes composing games plus rehearsal and discussion of the compositions. The classroom visits will include some of the “Composing Together #1” games and activities that build musicianship, ensemble and listening skills.  The final performance piece is a theme-and-variations using some or all of the students’ works, performed by the student ensemble.  The “Landler” is the thematic material; the students have created the variations.  When planning this residency, it is important to schedule enough rehearsal time between the completion of the pieces and the final concert. 

Composing Together    #3

One Semester Online/Classroom Residency for String Class or String Orchestra

including Residency with Local Professional Chamber Ensemble

Project Description:  This is the same basic project as Composing Together #2, but also works in collaboration with a local professional chamber ensemble also “in residence” with the school or class.  The ensemble will present an in-school “introductory” performance at the start of the residency and return to rehearse and perform the students’ finished compositions.  Their knowledgeable feedback and polished performances will be an additional validation of the quality and creativity of the students’ ideas.  Interpersonal connections to professional musicians can shape the entire direction of a young person’s musical life. 

Possible Sources of Ensembles and Funding: If permitted by the ensemble, CDs of the final concert can be sold after the concert to raise funds for future projects. Many symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles already have an in-school program in place and can easily collaborate on projects like this.  This program can also coordinate with an existing ensemble residency and be of interest to local business and service organizations.  Parents may be willing to contribute to the “per student” fee.  In a middle school residency, the ensemble could be an advanced high school group.

Fees:

Composing Together #1       $25/student per day, minimum $300/day Plus travel and housing, if applicable

Discounts for multiple workshops in one district or school in one day

Composing Together #2           $100/student, minimum $4000
Plus travel and housing, if applicable

Composing Together #3           $100/student, minimum $4500 Plus ensemble fee, if any Plus travel and housing, if applicable 

Travel fees apply for workshops and residencies outside the immediate San Francisco Bay Area and are based on distance and time.  Housing fees only apply if overnight accommodations are required.

 For Booking Information, please contact:

Katrina Wreede
Composing Together
510-534-9695
vlazville@earthlink.net