I chose the piece Pulo Do Gato by Paulo Bellinati as the model for my baby steps scaffold for stage 5/6 composition. A key compositional aspect of this piece is the treatment of the main theme in section A; the theme of 4 bars is immediately restated in the opening of the piece and is then immediately reiterated a total of 4 times, each time a variation has been composed which creates interest and builds suspense into section B. I have performed this piece on many occasions and I feel that the musical ideas utilised when repeating the statement of the 4 bar theme is very effective in engaging the listener, particularly as it utilises 'guitar cliches.' As a teacher, I am curious to witness how different students will use different instruments and techniques to create interest within their composition.
Following on from the notion that classroom music lessons should incorporate performing, listening and composing each lesson, I designed this digital scaffold around the idea that students will have the opportunity to work collaboratively in order to develop their musical ideas. For example, step 1, which involves students improvising a rhythm and recording it, enables students to work together to transcribe their improvised rhythm if they have chosen this method. In this particular task, I have chosen not to assume reading ability and have differentiated through the use of both learning through notation and non-notation. Students are able to complete steps 1 through to 3 without at all being disadvantaged if they do not read music notation. Additionally, students are not confined to a single genre within this composition task, as they have freedom to explore various styles of music for inspiration, which can form the basis of their rhythmic idea in step 1.
As shown below, I tested my own digital scaffolding by composing short examples of the 'baby steps' that I had created along the way. In this particular task aimed at stage 5 primarily, I wanted students to develop understanding of techniques for thematic development, so I tested a few techniques (swapping tonality shown below).
