This project has four stages of work designed for teachers to initiate composition in the classroom, based on the compositional techniques of Toru Takemitsu.

It should be seen as a guide and is set out in the form of a practical composition project intended for Key Stage 3 pupils of mixed musical ability.

The project assumes that the class size is somewhere between 4 - 40 and that four or five teaching sessions are available.

The four elements are linked and go some way towards producing a substantial composition at the end of the course. However each individual teacher may want to modify the exercises and tasks set to suit the needs of his or her pupils.

Aims

1. To promote the pupils' understanding and interest in composition through the music of Toru Takemitsu

 

2. To increase the pupils' knowledge of 'Eastern' modes and scales.

 

3. To develop the pupils' skills in handling melody, harmony, colour and improvisation in composition.

 

4. To enable the pupils to find a vocabulary to discuss Takemitsu's music, contemporary music, Eastern music and its influences, placing them all in some kind of cultural context through critical appraisal.

 

5. To create and perform a composition using the techniques covered and to record the result onto audio tape.

 

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Use the buttons on the left to navigate through the workshops.

Each stage includes links to resources found elsewhere on the site. These along with examples built into the workshop pages, are designed to assist with the preparation and practicle work.

It is possible to print any page direct from the internet or to save for printing later. However the sound clips from Tree Line are not available to download.

The London Sinfonietta links (l.s. 1, 2, 3 and 4) are to pages that will appear during the month of October, reporting on the practical sessions led by composer Fraser Trainer with schools in London and Manchester. These will include comments from the participants, offering insight into the methods employed by the Sinfonietta’s team.

The wwwboard provides an opportunity for discussion, questions and answers to be shared with any interested party - an opportunity to address problems as they occur.

As people complete the workshops they can present the results at this site on the schools pages

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