Craft a Melody By Chance
Think about your favorite melody. What makes it so appealing? Try composing a melody yourself and you’ll find that it’s harder than you might think. That’s when CHANCE comes in handy. Here’s an example of how chance can piece together or craft a melody. The idea came to me as I was looking for a way to reinforce intervals and boost creativity in my studio.
When we read the word “interval,” we don’t read each letter I N T E R V A L. When we see the word, our brain makes connections, retrieves the associated sound from our memory, and maps it to the word. Read more here.
Reading intervals in music is similar to reading text; our brains must connect two or more pitches and associate a sound from our memory.
I’ve noticed that my students can read a word quickly, but many still count (SLOWLY!) lines and spaces between pitches to identify an interval.
What? Ouch! Sigh…
So, I’ve been bent on building stronger interval recognition skills over the past weeks. Many of my activities are found in my resource called Understanding Intervals.
This past week, I wanted students to craft a melody with intervals to show they understand how intervals look on the keyboard and the staff.
Usually, I like students to compose a melody more authentically by noodling at the keys—read more about noodling here.
This time, I welcomed Chance to step in. Chance is particularly useful for rookie composers who are hesitant to compose. Chance always gets the ball rolling!
So, I surveyed my teaching tools and found one I hadn’t used for a while—the Wooden Disk Drop Game.* It has numbers and definitely leaves things up to Chance.
Creativity is a superpower
〰️
Creativity is a superpower 〰️
Here’s how my students Crafted Melodies by Chance
(At the end of this post are instructions to print for students!)
Choose a key: A, B, C, D, E, F, or G, and write it down on the far left side of the scratch paper or dry-erase board.
Note: To save on paper, I use Hal Leonard Flashcards* for these projects.
Drop a numbered disk to determine the first interval.
Note: With some white 1-1/2 inch Avery Round Labels,* I added a number “4” to the disk game so that there would be an option to add a 4th to the melody. Then, I adhered stickers to the wooden disks and wrote the words UP, DOWN, and CHOICE (student decides up or down) on the disks.
Write down the number and then draw an arrow going up or down.
Write the correct key name beneath.
Continue until all disks are dropped.
Choose two rhythm cards in a key signature of your choice.
Note: I made my rhythm cards from an old deck of playing cards and printed them on Avery Address Labels. These work well for rhythm-matching games. Download them below.
Notate both rhythm patterns on the card and add bar lines.
Add pitch names beneath each note value.
Play the melody while following the UP and DOWN arrows.
Tweak as you please–consider adding sharps or flats to make the melody fit into a major or minor key.
Change a pitch or interval if you think it will sound better.
Add more measures using the same steps above.
Notate melody on staff paper.
Note: I print blank staff paper here because it’s easy to change the size and page setup.
BONUS: Add chords to harmonize your melody.
*Links are affiliated. It costs you nothing, and I get a small cut from your purchase. It says the manufacturer has discontinued the Wooden Disk Game, but it is still available for purchase.
Looking to move past Chance?
Chance opens up possibilities for crafting a melody, but it may not be the best designer of a melody. This can be more tricky, and it’s easy to get stuck in the process.
What if there was a place to get unstuck?
A place to treat and develop your creativity?
A gym where you can stretch your creative muscles, receive regular “noodling” workouts, and stay accountable to your goals.
And that’s not all!
What if you could learn how to compose, arrange, and notate your work at a professional level? What if you could make your compositions and arrangements to suit YOUR students?
Creativity is a muscle that requires daily training.
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Creativity is a muscle that requires daily training. 〰️
Space to Create offers just that, and it is coming in 2024!
This unique space offers the following:
a safe place to explore sound and morph noodling into compositions
access to a community of like-minded creatives
accountability to take action with your creativity
personal coaching to help you meet your goals
a routine to keep you noodling
access to The Full Scoop On Chords
reserved spots at 2024 Composiums
quarterly meetups with the Space to Create Community
and much more.
“Skills get imprinted through action.” -Twyla Thwarp
Is it time to commit to your creativity?
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