+
Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center: Arts Edge: Composing With Solfege

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Through solfege, students will create their own musical compositions as Maria did in the musical The Sound of Music.
+
Article
OpenStax

Open Stax: Catherine Schmidt Jones: Scoring Music: Write for Specific Instruments

For Students 9th - 10th
If you are interested in arranging your own music, you should check out the tips offered at this website. Including a history of how music was arranged, this site also gives several good ideas of how to make your arrangements interesting.
+
Interactive
PBS

Pbs: Caillou's Magic Keyboard

For Students Pre-K - 1st
This site allows young children to explore composition using elements supplied by the program, to create short, original musical pieces. The instructions are read aloud.
+
Interactive
Other

Virtual Composer

For Students 9th - 10th
Compose music with this interesting online tool. To compose, you click small boxes on a grid. The grid is continuously scanned with a line that passes over your clicked boxes which in turn plays their sounds. You can listen to other...
+
Article
Other

The Golden Rules of Songwriting

For Students 9th - 10th
Do you have the desire to begin writing music but don't know how to get started? This well written article provides some very good advice to help you on your way.
+
Website
Other

Rock Instrumental Songwriting

For Students 9th - 10th
Aimed primarily at the young guitarist, this column addresses how to begin writing your own songs. There is some good advice on how to begin to think of the structure of your song as opposed to just thinking of a few riffs.
+
Website
Other

Structural Chord Progressions

For Students 9th - 10th
When composing music, it is good to be sure you have the right set of chords surrounding your melody. This column provides a brief overview on how to begin to think of chord structures for your songs.
+
Website
Other

Guitar Nine: So You Want to Be a Songwriter?

For Students 9th - 10th
As the title suggests, this column deals with songwriting. It does not tell you specifically how to write a song, but it does cover a lot of good information and advice and how to get started.
+
Website
Other

Writing Guitar Licks

For Students 9th - 10th
You have just written a cool guitar lick and you want to play it in your favorite song, however, it just doesn't sound good in the song. This article explains how you can break down your lick into the key components and refine it to suit...