Term Dates / Calendar

Composing Character Motifs

The Year 4 children have been learning about The Iron Giant in their lessons and so in music, we chose to compose a motif for the Iron Giant. A motif in music is when a melody is written to capture the characters personality and characteristics. We discussed some well known ones such as the Avengers, when the characters assemble and the infamous Darth Vader motif from Star Wars – the children were quick to recognise them.

We have spent the last few weeks gaining a thorough understanding of orchestral families, pitch, dynamics and rhythm and used this knowledge to compose a motif. A lot started with a low, slow rhythm to emphasise that the young boy was scared of the Iron Giant at the beginning, then progressed onto a lighter, higher melody to depict their friendship. Those who play instruments then performed their 4 bar motifs, and their friends, so that they could hear what their melodies sounded like. They all did a really great job. Well done!