Year 9

To understand how to exploit sonority, dynamics, pitch, rhythm and tempo to compose successful leitmotifs

Year 9

To understand how to exploit sonority, dynamics, pitch, rhythm and tempo to compose successful leitmotifs

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In this lesson, we will look at how the composer John Williams manipulates music to represent characters in a film. We will master this technique and compose a musical idea for our own hero in a film.

Licence

This content is made available by Oak National Academy Limited and its partners and licensed under Oak’s terms & conditions (Collection 1), except where otherwise stated.

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7 Questions

Q1.
What is tonality?
The bass line played throughout a piece of music.
Correct answer: The key the music is in.
The pitches, chords and patterns chosen within a key.
Q2.
What is harmony?
The bass line played throughout a piece of music.
The key the music is in.
Correct answer: The pitches, chords and patterns chosen within a key.
Q3.
Which of these tonalities has no obvious key and can sound really uncertain?
Correct answer: Atonal
Major
Minor
Q4.
What is a cadence?
A chord pattern in the introduction of a piece of music.
A chord pattern that follows the the 12 bar blues structure.
Correct answer: A chord pattern that marks the end of a section of music.
Q5.
What is a dissonant chord?
The pitches are the same but in octaves.
Correct answer: The pitches in the chord sound 'clashing' because they aren't in the key.
The pitches that belong to the key.
Q6.
What is the name of texture when parts move together either in unison or chordal?
Correct answer: Homophonic
Melody and accompaniment
Monophonic
Q7.
Name one harmonic idea that John Williams uses in Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone to create a magical mood.
Correct answer: Chromatic chords
Diatonic chords
Perfect cadences

6 Questions

Q1.
What is a leitmotif?
Correct answer: A recurring theme or musical idea which is associated with a particular character or idea.
An intro that returns in the coda.
When sections of music are set out in an ABA form.
Q2.
How would you describe the tonality of a villain theme?
Major
Correct answer: Minor
Modal
Q3.
How would you describe the tonality of a hero theme?
Correct answer: Major
Minor
Modal
Q4.
Which family of the orchestra was used to play the Luke Skywalker leitmotif?
Correct answer: Brass
Strings
Woodwind
Q5.
How would you describe the rhythm in the Luke Skywalker leitmotif?
Correct answer: Fanfare style triplet and quaver rhythms.
Legato semibreves
Swung shuffle rhythm
Q6.
How would you describe the tempo of the Luke Skywalker leitmotif?
Correct answer: Allegro
Andante
Grave