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A WebQuest for 12th Grade (Advanced Placement Music Theory)

Designed by

Erika Tilmantdrummer05@gmail.com

Based on a template from The WebQuest Page

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Born January 2, 1970, Eric Whitacre has grown into an influential band and choral composer/conductor of the 21st century. Studying at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and receiving his Master’s degree from Julliard, Whitacre is probably most well known for his choral compositions. His pieces are easily recognizable by “Whitacre chords”. Whitacre also uses rhythm as an important aspect of his compositions. His pieces are known for frequent meter change and unusual rhythmic patterns.

Eric Whitacre has suddenly gotten ill, and cannot remember his compositions, or what his trade mark chords are made up of. Will you help him in recovering his memory, and getting this great composer of the 21st century back to where he left off? Bring your paper and musical knowledge as we journey into the mind of Eric Whitacre…

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It is your job to become an expert on the “Whitacre Chords” and his life. You will accomplish this by:

Looking through old manuscripts of Eric Whitacre Analyzing his old pieces to find out what exactly his used Comparing his compositions to Bach Chorales You will compose a final composition using Finale to show you understand the composition style of Eric Whitacre.

You will find all your information off the internet! Therefore, to not lose all your information, be sure to keep that information safely saved away…I have gone ahead and created an account in del.icio.us for the class to use and save information.

Account name: apmusictheory2008Password: ilovemusic!

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CONGRATULATIONS!!! You have decided to accept the challenge that lays ahead of you! This is a solo mission, and you will not be able to work with each other on your compositions, however, you may exchange information via del.icio.us.

Eric Whitacre needs your help in remembering his chords that make his compositions so unique…But first you need to catch up on looking at his life, listening to his music and analyzing his choral works.

Learn about Eric Whitacre’s life and why it is important After doing this, you will use Publisher to make a time line of his accomplishments

Look at some of his compositions After looking at his compositions, make a table in Excel to show the chronological order of his pieces.

Listen to his compositions Ready? Print out and analyze one of his choral compositions

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CATEGORY 20 15 10 R - Redo

Music Score Music Score is very neat and all

required elements are included: Song Title,

Composer Name, Instrument, Clef

Sign, Time Signature, Key Signature, and

Copyright.

Music score is neat. Two or less of the required elements are

missing from the musical score.

Music score is legible. Three to

four of the required elements are mising from

the musical score.

Music Score is illegible and many of the

required musical score elements are missing.

Music Notation

All notes are written neatly using proper

barline placement.

Most notes are written clearly

using the proper barline

placement.

Notes are written clearly, but

barline placement is often incorrect.

Notes are written in a sloppy and

illegible manner. Barline placement

is not correct. Needs to be

resubmitted.

Meter and Rhythm

All measures have the correct # of beats and a

variety of rhythms are used. Including the use

of Whole, Half, Quarter, eighth. and sixteenth

notes.

85% of measures have the correct # of beats and a

variety of rhythms are used. Including the use

of Whole, Half, Quarter, and eighth notes.

70% of the measures have the correct # of beats. Rhythms are very basic

and do not expand beyond quarter ntoes.

Under half of the measure have the

correct # of beats.

Composition needs to be edited and

resubmitted.

Harmony Each measure contains at least one triad. The

triads are written in a variety of

formats including: root, 1st, and 2nd

inversions.

85% of the measures include at least one triad and the triads are

written in a variety of formats

including: root, 1st, and 2nd inversions.

70% of the measures contain at least one triad.

The triads are written in only the

root position.

Half of the measures are

missing a triad. Composition needs to be edited and

resubmitted.

Eric Whitacre The compostition exemplifies Eric Whitacre chords.

It shows the student

understands his style of writing

The composition shows some

understanding of Eric Whitacre

chords

The compostions shows little

understanding of Eric Whitacre

chords

There are no Eric Whitacre chords present in the composition.

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YAY!!! You have successfully restored Eric Whitacre’s memory back to full capacity! Thanks for all your hard work and help. In doing

this, you have also learned about Eric Whitacre’s life, and his compositions at a deeper level…other than…they sound pretty.

You now understand “Whitacre chords” and the theory behind his compositions!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

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www.ericwhitacre.comwww.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Whitacrewww.waltonmusic.com/whitacre.htmlwww.identitytheory.comwww.last.fm/music/Eric+Whitacrehttp://www.singers.com/groupimages2/EricWhitacre.jpg - picture

Include a link back to The WebQuest Page and The WebQuest Slideshare Group so that others can acquire the latest version of this template and training materials.

[Student Page]

Title

Introduction

Learners

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Resources

Credits

Teacher Page

A WebQuest for 12th Grade (AP Music Theory)

Designed by

Erika Tilmantdrummer05@gmail.com

Based on a template from The WebQuest Page

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Conclusion

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This lesson was developed as part of Colorado State University’s EDUC 331 requirement of Technology in the classroom.

This WebQuest was designed so AP theory students will be able to hear and apply traditional music theory to understanding Eric Whitacre’s compositions. By studying his life, listening and analyzing his compositions, they will be able to compose a short choral song that implements his style into their compositions. It is a building block for non-traditional theory, so they will be more prepared for the theory that they will encounter if/when they arrive to college theory.

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This WebQuest was developed for 12th grade AP Music Theory students to cover the area of learning in music education.

Students will need to know basic music theory. They will have had to analyze Bach Chorales and know the traditional harmonic progressions. They will also have to be familiar with Finale.

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This WebQuest was designed with the Colorado Music Standards in mind.

Music Standards addressed:Standard 2: Students will be able to read and notate music~ Identify, define and read standard notation symbols for pitch,

rhythm, dynamics, style and tempo~ Read advanced rhythmic and melodic notation~ Notate advanced rhythmic, melodic and expressive musical

ideasStandard 3: Students will be able to create music~ create rhythmic, melodic and harmonic patterns or phrases~ improvise/create a melody (melodies) over a chord

progressionStandard 4: Students will listen to, analyze and evaluate

music~ describe and compare forms~ describe and evaluate music performance using musical

terminology~ explain characteristics that distinguish musical styles

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CONGRATULATIONS!!! You have decided to accept the challenge that lays ahead of you! This is a solo mission, and you will not be able to work with each other on your compositions, however, you may exchange information via del.icio.us.

Eric Whitacre needs your help in remembering his chords that make his compositions so unique…But first you need to catch up on looking at his life, listening to his music and analyzing his choral works.

Learn about Eric Whitacre’s life and why it is important Look at some of his compositions Listen to his compositions Ready? Print out and analyze one of his choral compositions

This whole process will take several class periods. I would use this as a final project for the year…I want my students compositions to be thought through thoroughly and have them understand the harmonic chords of Eric Whitacre.

The teacher will need to know the basics of traditional music theory (ie. What is acceptable and non-acceptable common practice period harmonic progressions…etc.) They will also need to know the basics of Finale and understand themselves “Whitacre Chords.” (ie. What they are, how they are built, why the are important)

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What you will need:

•Computers (for the WebQuest)•Finale software (although you could have your students hand write their compositions as well) – if you decide to have your students hand write their compositions, you will need to find a way for the students to hear their own, and each others songs. • If no Finale…manuscript paper• Music copied and available for analyzing• Keyboard lab (not necessarily needed…but helpful for the students when they start composing).Evaluation

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You will know the lesson is successful when you grade and listen to their compositions. Eric Whitacre has a very unique style, and if they truly understand his harmonic progressions and “Whitacre chords” you will be able to hear it in their compositions.

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Conclusion

CATEGORY 20 15 10 R - Redo

Music Score Music Score is very neat and all

required elements are included: Song

Title, Composer Name, Instrument,

Clef Sign, Time Signature, Key Signature, and

Copyright.

Music score is neat. Two or less of

the required elements are

missing from the musical score.

Music score is legible. Three to

four of the required elements are

mising from the musical score.

Music Score is illegible and many

of the required musical score elements are

missing.

Music Notation All notes are written neatly using proper

barline placement.

Most notes are written clearly

using the proper barline placement.

Notes are written clearly, but barline placement is often

incorrect.

Notes are written in a sloppy and

illegible manner. Barline placement

is not correct. Needs to be

resubmitted.

Meter and Rhythm

All measures have the correct # of

beats and a variety of rhythms are

used. Including the use of Whole, Half,

Quarter, eighth. and sixteenth

notes.

85% of measures have the correct #

of beats and a variety of rhythms are used. Including the use of Whole, Half, Quarter, and

eighth notes.

70% of the measures have the correct # of beats. Rhythms are very basic and do not expand beyond quarter ntoes.

Under half of the measure have the correct # of beats. Composition needs to be edited and

resubmitted.

Harmony Each measure contains at least

one triad. The triads are written

in a variety of formats including: root, 1st, and 2nd

inversions.

85% of the measures include at least one triad and the triads are written in a variety

of formats including: root, 1st, and 2nd inversions.

70% of the measures contain at least one triad.

The triads are written in only the

root position.

Half of the measures are

missing a triad. Composition needs to be edited and

resubmitted.

Eric Whitacre The compostition exemplifies Eric

Whitacre chords. It shows the student understands his style of writing

The composition shows some

understanding of Eric Whitacre

chords

The compostions shows little

understanding of Eric Whitacre

chords

There are no Eric Whitacre chords present in the composition.

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1)Have students with on the WebQuest.2) Have them click onto the del.icio.us website, and make sure they can log in, and post things3) Be sure they can click on the Life and Listen links, to make sure they work…4) Be available to explain more in depth of what “Whitacre Chords” are.

This page is linked to the Process segment off of the Teacher Page

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It is important to not only learn about the common practice period of composition, but also about the more recent composers. It seems today most of the school time is spent on Bach, Beethoven and Mozart…I’m not saying this is a bad thing…I am a strong believer in those composers being the “building blocks” of what compositions are today. However, I also believe that we should start looking at the lives of other composers and analyzing their music to understand their take on dissonances and rhythmic patterns. Although Eric Whitacre is not the first person to explore the possibilities of “thinking outside the box”, he is the most prominent now days. Because of his recent acclimation of “fame”, studying Eric Whitacre, he life, who he studied under, where he graduated and what makes up his chords…students now will be able to become more well rounded with the new sense of theory.Evaluation

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www.ericwhitacre.comwww.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Whitacrewww.waltonmusic.com/whitacre.htmlwww.identitytheory.comwww.last.fm/music/Eric+Whitacrehttp://www.singers.com/groupimages2/EricWhitacre.jpg - picture

Include a link back to The WebQuest Page and The WebQuest Slideshare Group so that others can acquire the latest version of this template and training materials.

Evaluation

Teacher Script

Conclusion