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Teaching artist Danny Clay demonstrates how to compose an original piece of music using different patterns of sounds created from instruments and household objects.

Vocabulary You Will Learn:

• Composing - Putting sounds together to make music.
• Notation - A drawing that represents a sound.

Materials You Will Need:

• A piece of paper
• A writing utensil 
• Objects you can use to make sound. This can be instruments you may have or any household objects you can create sound from

How to Compose Your Own Piece of Original Music

1. After you’ve gathered some objects you can use to make different sounds, you’re going to collect six different sounds. Experiment with creating a high sound, a low sound, a loud sound, a soft sound, a short sound, and a long sound.
2. After you’ve found ways to create these different sounds with your objects, you’re going to create a sound key. Draw a line down the middle of your piece of paper and label one side “sound” and the other side “notation.” Then make six rows, one for each of the sounds you created, and label them under “sound.” Under “notation,” create a different symbol to represent each type of sound. 
3. Now, you’re going to use these symbols to write down a musical composition! Writing down the notations in your composition will help you remember their order and how to play them. Start by writing down your symbols all in a row, in order, and playing them. Then, try just picking two of your sounds and alternating them. You can then try mixing in different sounds and experimenting with them in any way that feels good to you. Your composition can contain a steady pattern or not, and it can be as long or as short as you like. Be creative and have fun! 

4. Next, you’re going to play through your composition a few times and revise anything that you’d like to change. Listen to your composition all the way through once or twice and decide if you’d like to make any edits. Would you like to mix the sounds up? Make it longer or shorter? Or do you like it as is? 
5. Finally, you’re going to give your piece a title! What name do you think matches the way the composition sounds?

In this video, Danny demonstrates how to create a musical composition using different types of sounds created from instruments and household objects and then how to write this composition down using notations. If you want to go even further, think about these questions: 

• Can you find new, different sounds to add to your composition? What other objects can you create sounds from? How do they change the way your overall composition sounds?
• What happens if you add your own voice to your composition? Can you sing or make different noises as part of, or even on top of, your original composition?
• Try playing your composition for a friend or family member. Do they have any ideas for new ways you could arrange the sounds in your composition?
• Is writing down the sounds you’ve composed using notations a new experience for you? Do you find that it makes it easier to look back on what you’ve done and come up with new ideas? Or more difficult? Why? 

Accessibility

Don't forget that you can turn on "Closed Captioning" to view the YouTube video with English captions.

More about the Teaching Artist

Danny Clay is a composer and teaching artist based in San Francisco, California. Danny teaches music composition to curious folks of all ages, from kindergarteners to doctoral students. He strives to create situations where musical ideas are transformed into community sandboxes for creativity, communication, and collaboration.

Kennedy Center Education Digital Learning

Eric Friedman 
Director, Digital Learning

Kenny Neal 
Manager, Digital Education Resources

Tiffany A. Bryant 
Manager, Operations and Audience Engagement

JoDee Scissors 
Content Specialist, Digital Learning

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Gifts and grants to educational programs at the Kennedy Center are provided by The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Bank of America; Capital One; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Carnegie Corporation of New York; The Ednah Root Foundation; Harman Family Foundation; William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust; the Kimsey Endowment; The Kiplinger Foundation; Laird Norton Family Foundation; Lois and Richard England Family Foundation; Dr. Gary Mather and Ms. Christina Co Mather; The Markow Totevy Foundation; Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation; The Morningstar Foundation; Myra and Leura Younker Endowment Fund; The Irene Pollin Audience Development and Community Engagement Initiatives;

Prince Charitable Trusts; Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A. J. Stolwijk; Rosemary Kennedy Education Fund; The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates; The Victory Foundation; The Volgenau Foundation; Volkswagen Group of America; Jackie Washington; GRoW @ Annenberg and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Family; Wells Fargo; and generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas. Additional support is provided by the National Committee for the Performing Arts..

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