MuseScore

Using technology to compose your own music

 • Software– Download Musescore onto your
Lesson 1 – The IPAD/desktops. https://musescore.org/en/download
Big Set Up
A quick-start video to MuseScore
A good intro to Musescore
First steps
to setting
up a
document

To Create a new Document

Give it a title (You
can always
change it later)
 For today
choose
Treble Clef
stave

Add a Slide Title - 1

Add a Slide Title - 2

Choose a key
(in this case
C Major)
 Then
Change to 8 click on
bars (for today) finish!

Add a Slide Title - 3

It should
look
something
like this!!!
How to add notes and recap of note lengths

Remember
Use only these – you can
notes to start with.
only have 4
beats in
each bar!

TO ADD A NOTE, PRESS N ON THE COMPUTER KEYBOARD

 OPEN A NEW DOCUMENT

GIVE IT THE TITLE OF YOUR

Activity 1 NAMES

KEEP YOUR NOTES

TRY AND ENTER 8 WITHIN THE STAVE
(NOT ABOVE OR
UNDER)
BARS OF A TRY AND MAKE YOUR
NOTES MOVE BY STEP
MELODY (LINE – SPACE – LINE –
SPACE)
 ACTIVITY 2 – TRY TO REPLICATE THE
MELODY BELOW

Don’t forget to use your arrow

Remember
keys to help you to move
Clue – highlight for use ‘N’ to
between notes and move notes
the note and swap
up and down.
then look for the between
# sign at the top notes and
of your page curser

Extension Task - Try to add your own melody to

• Remember to save your work! the last 4 bars
• (Your class) – remember to label it with your names and
activity 2
Activity 3 chords

•For this activity you need to create a

piano stave
 Activity 3 - Chords
Key Skills
• Building triads on
a stave
• Creating chord
inversions

Notice when moving a chord, unlike on a

Task – On your new score, compose
a set of 8 chords using semibreves
using the technique about – KEEP
LISTENING TO MAKE SURE THEY
SOUND GOOD!!
keyboard where you move your whole hand, in
this case, you can just move one note and it will
change your chord
 Activity 4 – Broken Chords Key Skills
• Broken Chords are a way of using the notes of the chord and • Using quavers
lightening the textures by playing them one at a time • transcribing
notes from one
• A great example of a piece of music which uses broken stave to another
• Lightening
chords is ‘Someone Like You by Adele’ Look and listen to the textures
right hand for the broken chords
• BOTTOM – MIDDLE – TOP - MIDDLE
Task – Add an
instrument to your
piece (I on the
keyboard) and create
broken chords to
accompany your block
chords using today’s
technique
Activity 5 – Adding a bassline Key Skills
• Transposing
notes from the
treble clef to
the bass clef

Treble Clef (Right hand side of the piano or higher pitched instruments
To create an harmonically
sound bassline take one
of the notes of the chord
and move it to the space
or line below where it sits
in the treble clef.
Bass Clef (the lower end of the piano or low pitched instruments)

Task – Add an appropriate instrument (Like a bass guitar) to your piece and create a bassline
So far……….
 A melody is a tune which goes
above your accompaniment and
is based on the notes of your
Activity 6 - chord.

Melody
writing We are going to
Writing a
rhythm
Adding pitch
break down your Adding in
melody into 3 steps passing notes
(extension task)
 Rhythms

½ BEAT Quaver

Quavers

1 BEAT Crotchet

2 BEATS Minim

4 BEATS Semibreve
 Melody Writing – Step 1 The rhythm
• Using the note lengths, create 4 bar rhythms ending each 4
bars with a minim or a semibreve.
• Put your rhythms all on the same space or line to start with.

½ BEAT Quaver

Quavers

1 BEAT Crotchet

2 BEATS Minim

4 BEATS Semibreve
 Melody writing – Step 2 – adding pitch
• Using the rhythm you’ve composed you can now move your notes so that
most of them belong to the chord in that bar (Piano left hand).
• The best movement in music is in lines rather than zig-zag shapes

Repetition
Melody writing
•A passing note is one which does not belong to the chord
extension work – but takes you from one note of the chord to another in a line
Passing notes
 The final part of the jigsaw is to try and ensure
that your piece of music is in a clear structure.

Bars 1-8 = Section A

Structure ABA
Bars 9-16 = Section B (Develop your broken chords
and rhythm in the bassline

Bars 17-24 Section A1 (Copy and paste 1-8 and see

if you can develop/change your melody a little bit)

Extension – Try adding dynamics and/or

ornamentation
•Assessment criteria

•Using the grid, see how many elements

you have used and with how much
attention to detail.

•Try to make sure that your piece of music

has an ternary structure (ABA) with your
middle section having developed broken
chords and
 Assessment Criteria
Creativity and Development of Use of musical elements and resources Structure and Style
ideas
Band 4 Highly effective ideas Highly effective choice of resources and Very well organised piece
Skilfully developed elements Style and character highly effective
Highly effective contrasts in tone colour Wide variety of elements used successfully Piece is musical and highly coherent
and mood Resources are skilfully used (including
technology)

Band 3 Generally effective ideas Generally effective choice of resources and Well organised
Competently developed elements Style and character generally effective
Generally effective contrasts in tone A variety of elements are used competently Generally effective and coherent
colour and mood Resources are well controlled (including
technology)

Band 2 Simple ideas Some choices of resources and elements are Inconsistent organisation
Partially developed effective Style and character inconsistent to the
Some contrasts of tone colour and Some elements are used inconsistently brief
mood Inconsistent use of resources including Outcome is inconsistent but has some
technology coherency

Band 1 Limited ideas Limited effectiveness in choice of resources and Limited organisation
Lacks development elements Style and character are limited
Limited evidence of tone colour and Limited use of elements Incoherent and limited outcome
mood Limited control of resources (Inc tech)