Nature and Music: Process

Process

Step 1

Composers find inspiration in many different things. Songs have been written through the years about daily life, family, wealth, love, love lost, love gained again, and so on. One theme that has been around since music began is nature. Whether it?s the tribesman singing a song about the big hunt, or a shepherd playing his flute and singing about the mountains he roam in, nature has been the inspiration of many songs.

Birds inspire Mozart

Ideas and examples of composers inspired by nature

Step 2

Now, get into groups of four and write a four measure song about nature and what you see, feel, hear, or anything else that you think of when you are outdoors.

Here?s a template to help you write your song:

When I (see/hear/feel) the (sky/trees/mountains)

I am (happy/sad/amazed)

The (green/tall/majestic) (trees/mountains/river)

Fill my (head/heart/soul) with (wonder/beauty/peace)

You may use two words from the parenthesis. The rest has to come from YOU. You can change the words, add words, or make up the whole song on your own. You don?t have to be happy about nature. You can sing about how you don?t like mosquitoes. Just make sure that whatever you write deals with or is about nature.

Each line represents eight beats. Check out this video if you would like some help getting started.

Remember to use repetition for your melody. Lines one and three can be one melody, and two and three can be another melody. Or you can do the same melody for each line. There is no right or wrong way to write a line of melody. Just be creative and make sure it is easy to sing (not too high or low, and don?t make the leaps from note to note too difficult).

Use Finale Notepad. If you are doing this assignment at home, you can download the free version here ? MAKE SURE TO ASK YOUR PARENTS FIRST!!!!

Step 3

Now you are each going to make an instrument using elements of nature. There will be four instruments in your group, one for each person. Here are some links to homemade instrument ideas:

Horn-From-a-Drinking-Straw

Make sure your instruments are created from or decorated with elements from nature (i.e. rocks, grass, twigs, flowers. . .) You can draw pictures of nature on your instruments, too. Be creative! Be colorful!