Composition Lab is a new resource to support students and
teachers involved in the composition element of GCSE and A'level
music which has been specially devised by Psappha, Manchester's new
music ensemble.
Through more than 100 bitesize films presented by Charles
Hazlewood we explore every orchestral instrument through five
different ensembles using twenty-one of the North West's top
professional musicians.
Begin your exploration in the 'learn about...' section as
Charles Hazlewood guides you through music from Beethoven to Peter
Maxwell Davies and styles ranging from ragtime to
contemporary. We look at how a work is composed,
performances, instrumental techniques and a special interactive
section, 'mix your own', in which you have the opportunity to
literally mix your own version of the piece or listen to the inner
lines, the choice is yours!
You can also find short programme notes and biographies of the
composers as well as background information on the instrument
groups written by eminent musicologist, Paul Griffiths. We also
provide the tonal ranges of the instruments and manuscript paper
set up for the ensembles we showcase. All of this can be downloaded
as useful PDFs for further off-line use.
There is no particular start or end point and the site can be
dipped into but we would recommend the progression of 'learn
about...' in which you will get inside a piece and then you can
continue on to 'performances' and 'mix your own' which is where the
fun starts.
The 'what is that sound?' section gives more in depth
information about each instrument and instrument family which will
become more useful as you start to compose.
We will continue to develop and fine tune the site over the
coming months and your feedback is gratefully appreciated.