5th Grade Music
Composition II: Composing a melody with Chords Last year in 4th grade, you worked really hard to compose a melody with lyrics by hand and by using Finale Notepad. This year, we are going to take it to the next level by learning about how to write a melody with chord accompaniment. This will allow you to have a song that could be accompanied by piano, guitar, keyboard, etc. Once you complete these assignments, I will select a few of them that we will arrange for Garageband. Use this worksheet as a guide to help you through this project. Chords I introduced chords to you by building a ‘note sandwich’ on top of the C scale. To refresh your memory, I have drawn a C scale below. Add the ‘note sandwich’ above this and write the letters included. Remember these chords are line-line-line or space-spacespace. There are many types of chords, but this type is called a triad. Write whether they are major or minor below each chord.
Melody / Assigning Chords You will compose a 16-measure melody that starts and ends on C. Good melodies are mostly written by step, so don’t skip around too much. Use rhythms that add up to 4 beats a measure and feel free to also use rests. Once you are done with your melody, assign a chord to each note or group of notes. This is done by writing the chord symbol above the note. Choose your chords based on the notes in the melody. Mr. Berry will help you with this part if you get stuck. Use this checklist to check your when you are done: _____ I have 16 measures in my melody _____ The song begins and ends on C _____ I have assigned chords to my melody _____ Each measure contains 4 beats or rests _____ My melody does not skip around too much _____ My song sounds amazing.