grade 5 projects
Elements of a song
Creating a song structure can be as easy or as complicated as you like. For the purposes of this course, the idea is to get you to learn basic composition skills, so we’ll keep it pretty straightforward.
The good news is, that MOST songs in popular genres normally have between 3 and 6 different sections or parts. This makes your job a lot easier as you won’t have to try and create 10 different sections for each song you write, and it can be a relatively quick process.
Different Song Elements:
The good news is, that MOST songs in popular genres normally have between 3 and 6 different sections or parts. This makes your job a lot easier as you won’t have to try and create 10 different sections for each song you write, and it can be a relatively quick process.
Different Song Elements:
- Intro: This is quite often the same chords/dynamics as the verse or chorus, mainly the verse. (“When You Were Young” by the Killers is an example of the chorus being used as an intro).
- Verse: Normally a pretty straightforward structure, containing four to 8 chords.
- Chorus: Again, normally pretty straight forward, and consisting of four to eight chords. There is normally a change in the dynamics of a chorus to make it stand out. These include volume, intensity, catchiness (is that a real word?), and timbre.
- Bridge: This is often literally a bridge-between the verse and the chorus, or the chorus and the verse. This is especially useful when you have a key change from one to the other, or the transition from verse to chorus or vice versa isn’t particularly smooth.
- Middle 8: This section is used to break up the song so it isn’t just a sequence of Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus. Can change the whole feel of the song, and if used properly can make or break it. Again, the dynamics are normally different to add variety.
- Outro: Finally, like the intro, this can often simply be a repeat of the verse or chorus chords/structure, but can also be totally different. Remember, there are no rules.
building intensity in a song
As mentioned earlier, MOST choruses have a more intense feel about them, with more dynamics (another new word), going on! There are many ways to achieve this, using various different methods and different instruments, so let’s take a look at some of them now:
Crescendo/Diminuendo
These are simply musical terms for an increase or decrease in volume. Building the overall volume will obviously increase the intensity. Decreasing the volume will lower the intensity. It is a technique often employed when leaving a chorus and returning to a verse
Drums
The Drums play a central part in building the intensity of your music, and they have many different ways of doing so. For example:
Guitars and Bass
Again, the guitars can play a significant role in changing the dynamics of a piece of music, and helping to travel from a verse into a chorus or vice versa. For example:
Keyboards/Piano.
Piano or keyboards, like guitar can completely change the effect and intensity when used correctly. Here are some examples:
Crescendo/Diminuendo
These are simply musical terms for an increase or decrease in volume. Building the overall volume will obviously increase the intensity. Decreasing the volume will lower the intensity. It is a technique often employed when leaving a chorus and returning to a verse
Drums
The Drums play a central part in building the intensity of your music, and they have many different ways of doing so. For example:
- Adding more fills on the toms, snare, kick drum, leading into, or out of a chorus/bridges lets the listener know that something is coming.
- Doubling your beats on the high hat from quarter notes to half or eighth notes. This gives the impression of increased speed.
- Changing the beat altogether. This works wonders as it completely changes the feel of the piece.
- Doubling speed, halving speed, etc. Again, this lets the listener know that something is changing.
- Change from a closed high hat to an open high hat for a louder, more open sound.
- Move from the closed high hat to the ride for a different sound.
Guitars and Bass
Again, the guitars can play a significant role in changing the dynamics of a piece of music, and helping to travel from a verse into a chorus or vice versa. For example:
- Increase volume
- Move from simple picking to full chords. Again, will boost the volume, and increase the intensity. Likewise, changing back to simple picking will have the opposite effect.
- Adding effects such as distortion, chorus, flange, delay, reverb, will alter the sound and can be used to increased or decrease the intensity.
- Changing octave. Moving from one octave to either a higher register, or lower register will change the feel of what you’re doing, and can be employed to good effect.
- Frequency of notes. By playing more of the same thing per bar, it’s going to sound “busier” so will add intensity. The opposite is also true.
- Adding bass notes to your melodies/chords will also boost the sound and add intensity.
Keyboards/Piano.
Piano or keyboards, like guitar can completely change the effect and intensity when used correctly. Here are some examples:
- Moving from playing single notes or harmonies to full, rich chords will boost the sound and add intensity and depth. Heavy bass notes will do the same.
- Frequency of notes: doubling the amount of notes you play per bar will give the impression of acceleration. If using a keyboard, adding effects will do the same thing as adding guitar effects.
Drafting and sending emails
To practice how to properly compose and send an email, we will be using our CBE Gmail accounts. Below is a sample of how you email should look prior to sending. Please make sure you have a:
- recipient
- subject line
- salutation
- body
- closing
The Enders: summative assessment
For those students working with Ms. Mazur on their final project for The Enders, please find the documents you will need below:
Enders Rough Character Sketch
Enders Assignment explanation and marking rubric
Enders Rough Character Sketch
Enders Assignment explanation and marking rubric
fractured fairy tales
For those of you working on the "Fractured Fairytale" assignment with Ms. Mazur in the Learning Commons, please find a copy of the instructions below:
Fractured Fairytales
You can get a copy of the storyboard template from Ms. Mazur or download and print it off below:
Storyboard Template