Composing with the Masters

Leah Walton2023-04-11T19:00:07-04:00

Welcome to Our Composing with the Masters Homeschool Music Course

Are you looking for a homeschool music course specifically for teens? Composing with the Masters is a twenty-five-week text-based course designed to help homeschool teens recognize elements in compositions from various masters and begin to incorporate them into their own musical compositions.

Getting Started with Our Composing with the Masters Homeschool Music Course

This Composing with the Masters homeschool music course is designed to help homeschool teens recognize elements in compositions from various masters and begin to incorporate them into their own musical compositions. Advanced homeschool music lessons focus on composers from medieval through modern times.

Overview

25 weeks
Includes text-based lessons, assignments, and links to musical pieces
Grade: 8-12

Supplies Needed

Corresponding lessons on SchoolhouseTeachers.com

What to Do

Go to Class Lessons and download the lesson plan and lessons file. Start with the Day 1 reading assignment. Follow the instructions each day on the lesson plan and check them off when completed.

Course Sample for Our Composing with the Masters Homeschool Music Course

To view a full sample of this course, click here.

Lesson 3: Giovanni Pierluigi da
Palestrina (1525?–1594)

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina represents the cumlination of the Roman (Catholic) polyphonic style. His music almost sounds “pure” when compared to some of his associates. The lyrics are clear, and the parts distinct when they enter. His compositions are majestic and are sometimes referred to as “cathedrals in sound.”

There are two interesting notions about him, one factual and one legendary. First is his name. He is often referred to simply as “Palestrina,” which would be the same as people calling you by the name of your city or town (i.e., “Hey, New York, want to go to the store?”). The second is a story about how he supposedly single-handedly saved music in the Roman Catholic Church.

The legend is that a pope or a Church Council was considering banning polyphonic music in the liturgy because the words were becoming impossible to understand. This part was true; many composers were layering the different lines of the text so that they sounded together which made distinguishing the words very difficult. Palestrina supposedly wrote a mass to show that the polyphonic style could be written in such a way as to enhance the text, so the Church leaders changed their minds. This has turned out to be false, but the story persists. The following selection is from his best-loved work.

Transcript Information for Our Composing with the Masters Homeschool Music Course

Upon successful completion of all 18 Composing with the Masters homeschool music lessons and their corresponding projects, the homeschool student may earn the equivalent of 0.5-1.0 academic credit in high school music, depending on the total time spent working on all lessons and projects.

*Please be informed of your state’s academic requirements.

Visit our High School Help page for resources and information about:

Finding out your state’s academic requirements.
How to create a transcript
Keeping a schedule
Career Exploration
And more!

Course Outline for Our Composing with the Masters Homeschool Music Course

Composing with the Masters homeschool music lessons provide an advanced application of music theory to homeschool students’ creations of original musical pieces.

Medieval Music (c. 1150–c. 1450)

Lesson 1 A: Sacred-Plainsong (Gregorian chant), Hildegard von Bingen (1058–1179), Leonin (1150–1201), Perotin (1160–1230)
Lesson 1 B: Secular-Troubador, Trouvere, Minnesinger

Renaissance Music (c. 1450–c. 1600)

Lesson 2: Josquin Desprez (1440? –1521)
Lesson 3: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525? –1594)
Lesson 4: Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643)

Baroque Music (c. 1600–c. 1750)

Lesson 5: Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)
Lesson 6: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Lesson 7: George Frederic Handel (1685–1759)

Classical Music (c. 1750–c. 1820)

Lesson 8: Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
Lesson 9: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Lesson 10: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)

Romantic Music (c. 1820–c. 1915)

Lesson 11: Franz Liszt (1811–1866)
Lesson 12: Richard Wagner (1813–1833)
Lesson 13: Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
Lesson 14: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)

Modern Music (c. 1915–present)

Lesson 15: Claude Achille Debussy (1862–1918)
Lesson 16: Scott Joplin (1868–1917)
Lesson 17: Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971)
Lesson 18: George Gershwin (1898–1937)

More About Our Composing with the Masters Homeschool Music Course

The emphasis in this Composing with the Masters homeschool music course is not on songwriting in the popular sense, but on creating what some call “art” music. Composing is greatly enhanced when the writer has at least a basic understanding of music theory, and it is strongly suggested that homeschool students work through the music theory courses at SchoolhouseTeachers.com before taking the Composing with the Masters homeschool music course.

The composers in these homeschool music lessons were chosen based on two criteria: 1) one whose work ushered in changes to music or 2) one whose work epitomizes a particular style. The Composing with the Masters homeschool music course provides a little background for each composer, but students should consult lessons or articles about music history for more in-depth information. This list is necessarily arbitrary, and there are many fine composers who could have been included.

The Composing with the Masters homeschool music course instructor is happy to critique students’ compositions. Please see the course introduction in the lesson download for more information.

External links may be included within the course content; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by SchoolhouseTeachers.com of any of the products, services, or opinions of the corporation, organization, or individual. Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content. Parents may wish to preview all links because third-party websites include ads that may change over time.

Composing with the Masters

Length: 25 weeks
Content type: Text based
Grade: 8-12

PRINT CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

Steve Elmore

Leah Walton2022-01-21T17:31:59-05:00

Steve Elmore

Lesson Designer

Steve Elmore earned his Bachelor and Masters in Music Theory and Composition at Wichita State University…

Quick Start

1. Bookmark the course for easy access during instruction.

2. Click “View Lesson Plan” and organize as desired (on computer desktop or in a printed format).

3. Gather necessary resources as listed in the lesson plan.

4. Click “Go to Class Lessons” and get started.

5. Enjoy the course!

6. Utilize Applecore or your own record keeping system throughout the course.

7. Print a certificate of completion.

Need help? Check out our tutorials or click the live chat box in the corner of your screen.

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Welcome to Our Composing with the Masters Homeschool Music Course

Steve Elmore

Steve Elmore

1. Bookmark the course for easy access during instruction.

2. Click “View Lesson Plan” and organize as desired (on computer desktop or in a printed format).

3. Gather necessary resources as listed in the lesson plan.

4. Click “Go to Class Lessons” and get started.

5. Enjoy the course!

6. Utilize Applecore or your own record keeping system throughout the course.

7. Print a certificate of completion.

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High School Music Classes

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