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Composition (Basics) 01
A pulse is more commonly referred to as the beat.

Composition (Basics) 01

Start composing with confidence in KS3 Music. Learn how melody, harmony and structure work together, then test your knowledge with quick, clear questions.

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Fascinating Fact:

Harmony is how notes sound together, often built from chords, and it can create tension and release.

In KS3 Music, composition basics focus on building musical ideas and shaping them into a complete piece. You practise choosing motifs, organising rhythm, setting a tempo, adding chords or drones, and using contrast, repetition and structure to make music that makes sense.

Key Terms

  • Motif: A short musical idea, often a few notes or a rhythm, that can be repeated and developed.
  • Chord: Two or more notes played together, often used to support a melody and suggest a key.
  • Structure: The planned layout of a piece, such as verse and chorus, or an A-B-A pattern.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What are the basics of composition in KS3 Music?

KS3 composition basics include creating a melody or motif, choosing rhythms and tempo, deciding on a structure, and adding accompaniment so the piece sounds complete and organised.

How do I develop a motif in a composition?

You can develop a motif by repeating it with changes, for example using sequence, changing rhythm, altering pitch, adding rests, or moving it to a different instrument or register.

What is a simple structure I can use for a KS3 composition?

A common simple structure is A-B-A, where section A returns after a contrasting B section, helping the listener recognise the main idea while still hearing variety.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .
What is meant by duration?
A type of dance from Italy
A type of song from France
The durability of an instrument
The length of a note
Duration is the length of time a pitch, or tone, is sounded
2 .
What is a tempo?
The key signature
The pace or general speed of a composition
The time signature
All of the above
Examples: andante, allegro, largo etc.
3 .
Pitch is .......
a way of describing how high or low a note sounds
indicative of speed
representative of dynamic volume
All of the above
Notes on a piece of music indicate the pitch to play as well as how long to play the note for
4 .
What is a 'note cluster'?
A type of cereal musicians eat!
A played group of notes which are very close together
A really fast passage of music
None of the above
You can hear this in a lot of chordal piano/organ music
5 .
Timbre is best described as .......
a way of determining different types of sounds
a type of wood
a type of recording method using a cassette tape
None of the above
Timbre is also described as tone colour or tone quality
6 .
Which of these is the softest dynamic marking?
f
ff
mf
p
From soft to loud: pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff, fff
7 .
What is meant by a 'polyphonic' texture?
A type of music that sounds like a phone ringing
Where a tune is backed by several underlying harmonies
A piece having two or more tunes sounding the same time
None of the above
The simultaneous overlapping of multiple tunes was particularly common in music of the baroque era
8 .
A pulse is more commonly referred to as the .......
beat
key change
time signature
volume
The pulse is a repeating series of identical beats at regular intervals
9 .
What is meant by the term 'dynamics'?
How loud or quiet the music is meant to be
How fast or slow the music should be
How long the piece should last in minutes
None of the above
The two dynamic symbols you'll come across most often are 'p' for piano, meaning 'soft' and 'f' for forte, meaning 'loud'
10 .
Curved lines are written over groups of notes to show .......
note value
pause marks
phrasing in the musical passage
All of the above
Don't get this mixed up with musical ties where a note is held for a longer period of time!
You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Composing music

Author:  Thomas Daish (Keyboard & Woodwind Specialist, Music Teacher & Quiz Writer)
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