GCSE Composition workshop 2 - How to use chords as the basis for composition

by Liz and Tim @HuntSchoolMusic

Teaching the first term of composition at GCSE can be really tricky. It's a delicate balancing act of reinforcing, reassuring and encouraging increasing levels of student autonomy. We've tried all sorts of approaches but it has taken us until now to actually document six of our first term composing workshops. I'm sure we'll have changed our minds in another 9 months...

Workshop 2 begins very simply with functional root position primary triads. We use it alongside lessons where we explore chord types and key relationships. Like the ostinato workshop, it's about getting something solid on the ground and building ideas vertically - leaving room to explore texture, rhythm and timbre. We start with the chordal ostinato - a familiar compositional device explored at KS3 - and build ideas from this stable foundation, using a range of models.