What is the purpose of composing music?

This specific kind of music is also called "functional music", "social music" or "background music". When I teach chord sequences or basic music theory with a focus on chords, I like to give students short but meaningful composition tasks where they can apply their knowledge immediately.

In this unit of work, students compose background music for a specific situation using free or low-cost technical tools or software they already have.

Since students are even more engaged if the task is connected to their real world, I began to explore where this kind of music could be used. Download Songs Here are some examples I came up with.

Music you can hear in the spa, in the elevator, in the doctor's office,

Background music for yoga, meditation and stretching videos

Music used in tutorials such as scrapbooking or other creative arts

Videos that show drone flights

Background music in a department store

All of these settings require music that is pleasant to the ear but polite remains in the background.

What students will learn through this project

Students will learn it

Apply simple chord sequences in a music technology environment

Raise their awareness of different sound qualities

Improve their critical listening skills and increase their awareness of performance music

Use simple EQ and FX to adjust the timbre

Fade in and fade out

Effective layering

Evolving theme with minimal changes each time

How to begin?

A hook helps immediately engage students in a meaningful task.

Since I currently teach in Austria and the inclusion of the host country in the teaching is encouraged by our school, I show my students this short video of a drone flight over Vienna. You can access the YouTube video here.