Composition Option:
- Provide a Music Composition of your own design that meets at least the following criteria:
- Has a clearly defined time and key signature.
- Has a melody.
- Has harmonic accompaniment.
- This can be provided in the left hand or another instrument, or provided as lead sheet symbols or roman numerals.
- Must use a variety of rhythms (at least four different types of rhythm).
- Be at least 16 measures long.
- Besides these minimum expectations, there’s a relative degree of freedom as to what this can be.
- For example, one possibility is writing a melody for an instrument like flute and providing chord symbols above. Another example is writing a piece for string quartet, where one part has a melody and the other parts provide the other notes to flesh out a harmonic progression.
- Style, instrumentation, and other possibilities are left up to your creativity. As long as a score is submitted with the minimum requirements, anything goes.
- Submit your composition as a PDF with a 500-word writeup in docx format. This writeup is an informal essay, where you explain some of your choices, relate your composition to concepts from the class, and provide extra context for your work that you want to elaborate on.
- Compositions can be written on printed manuscript paper, or generated with a music notation software like MuseScore.
- Music Composition option rubric:
| A | Your composition meets all of the minimum requirements. Your composition is polished and detailed, both on a musical and technological level. Your write-up provides details and insight on your piece that relates your process back to course concepts. Your write-up has minimal grammatical and factual errors. |
| B | Your Music Composition meets most of the minimum requirements. Your composition exhibits creativity, but there’s a lack of polish and some rough edges in the formatting. Your write-up provides details and insight on your piece, but you don’t integrate them into course concepts. Your write-up has a few grammatical and factual errors. |
| C | Your composition meets some of the minimum requirements. Your composition isn’t polished, and there are obvious errors in formatting or notation. Your write-up describes your composition, but without any connection to course concepts or insight into your decision-making process. Your write-up has many grammatical and factual errors. |