In previous years you created a motif, then a Call and Response version of a song based on a motif.  But now it’s time to make your music full interesting with the addition of rhythms, tempo and style markings, dynamics and articulations. You’ll be using the outline of a melody that consists of 3 Call and Response phrases, making up an entire song.  You will be applying a variety of changes to it to create your own version based on the exact same melody. >If you are planning on using [flat.io](https://flat.io), first create a free account with your school Google account. When you create a new score, make sure you use the “Share” button and get the Private Shareable Link to save to your assignment in **Google Classroom**. # Familiarize yourself with the original melody This is the original melody.  It will be this melody that you are adjusting.  Note that it has no tempo or style markings, no dynamics, no articulations, and is in a very simple duple meter of 2-4 time.  It includes 3 call and response phrases that are all related to each other.  It is about as simple as it gets, and it is ready for you to make it yours! ![[Pasted image 20250630094301.png]] # Style First First, decide a style you want your version of the song to be like.  Do you want it to be a dance like a waltz or jig, a funeral dirge, a introspective melancholy, or a heavy rock?  Maybe you want it to depict a child at play, a king’s entrance to his court, or fictional character in distress.  Perhaps you want this to be a ballad (a story set to music), an anthem, a meditation, or a children’s song. Determining the style of your piece will inform every decision you make afterward.  It affects your tempo, your rhythmic choices, and your dynamics and articulations. # Tempo and Style Markings Now that you have a style identified, you’ll need to determine which of the tempo markings make sense.  Here are many of the tempo markings (not all) that you can consider; - Lento - Largo - Adagio - Andante - Moderato - Allegro - Vivace - Presto You may also consider some stylistic markings to indicate with more clarity how you want your piece performed.  Here are some of the options you can consider; - con brio - con fuoco - con grazia - con moto - lamentoso - maestoso - ma non troppo - dolce # Meter and Time Signature Your style of choice may require you to reconsider the original meter, which in the melody provided to you is in duple time.  Various time signatures can be used for a variety of different purposes, but if you change the time signature, you will need to make sure you still put the correct number of beats in every bar. In the examples below, you can see the original 2-4 time (duple), but also elements of the original melody in 3-4 time (which, if played fast, feels like a triple time, but if played slow still feels like duple), 4-4 time (duple), 6-8 time (triple), and 5-8 time (compound, has both duple and triple).  Duple times tend to be quite generic, and don’t really affect the style as much as the tempo, dynamics and articulations do.  Triple times, when faster, tend to feel far more lighter, and often are used for dances, but the type of dance depends on the articulations and rhythms.  Compound meter is uneven, and therefore oftentimes unsettling, good for building natural tension. ![[Pasted image 20250630094549.png]] For this assignment, you may choose to leave it in 2-4 time, or take on the challenge of shifting the meter.  Either way will help you make the melody yours. # Rhythmic adjustments The majority of the original melody is in nothing but quarter notes.  You can change that in a variety of ways to make the piece yours.  Some of the options for rhythmic changes includes; - Splitting notes into eighth notes, triplets or sixteenth notes. - Adding rests between notes - Making some notes longer, maybe even extending the piece by a bar or two - Shifting your melody so that it doesn’t start on beat one, but either starts with pickups, or starts late. Regardless of what rhythmic changes you choose, they must also fall within the meter and time signature you choose. ## Adding Melodic Adjustments to your Rhythmic Changes This task is not required, but you may decide to get the song to be truly yours, you may need to add some melodic ornamentations.  Some examples are below; ![[ornaments.png]] # Using Manuscript Paper, write a draft of your version of the melody. You can use the [[Make It Interesting.pdf|paper copy of this assignment]] or create your own at [blanksheetmusic.net](https://blanksheetmusic.net). # Articulations and Dynamics Think back to your chosen style from the start of this assignment.  What articulations would be best suited for that style?  Are there certain places where it would be good to add a different articulation?  To determine this, you may need to experiment with your first draft.  Think **accents, slurs, staccatos, marcatos** and **tenutos**. Every dynamic, like articulations, should have a purpose.  How does it serve your story/style to have a **piano** marking placed in one spot, and a **forte** in another?  Where is the climax of your piece?  Is there a good reason to have a **crescendo** or a **decrescendo**?  Experiment with all the options using the draft you wrote above, and then write a final copy on fresh manuscript paper, or into [flat.io](https://flat.io) and place the **Private Shareable Link** to Google Classroom.