Composing with a Haiku

Hello and welcome back. I'm Joseph
Hoffman.
Today we are learning how to compose
your own original song using a haiku.
For this lesson it may be helpful to use the
activity page for lesson 93,
which you can download as part of the complete
materials for Unit 5.
So let's get started composing your own song.
A haiku is a short poem with just three lines.
The first line has five syllables,
the next line seven syllables, and then
it finishes with five more syllables.
A Haiku is traditionally about something
in nature, but it really can be about anything.
Here's a haiku that I wrote.
Mt. Hood is a majestic mountain which on a
clear day you can see from where I live in Portland.
Once my two boys asked me how can it have snow on top even in summer.
Well, to explain that we're going to have to have a mini science lesson.
That's right! Did you
know I love science almost as much as I love music?
So, remember that the earth is covered with air. It's the air you breathe
and it creates a kind of blanket around the earth called the atmosphere,
trapping in
the heat from the sun and keeping you warm.
Well Mount Hood is so tall, and the snow is so deep that even the summer sun isn't enough to melt it all.
That's why it's always white.
Now I'd like you to press pause and try composing your own haiku about whatever you want.
Remember,
five syllables, seven syllables, and then five syllables.
Press pause to do that,
then press play when you're ready to go on to step two.
It's often useful to use the heartbeats
to figure out a rhythm.
So let's come over to the worksheet and take a look.
Here's the activity page for lesson 93.
You can see I've already completed my step one,
and you should have by now also written your haiku.
Now we're ready to focus on step two.
Now let's try to figure out a rhythm for my haiku, and
then I'll let you do the same for your haiku.
You'll see we have three rows of 4 beats each.
Each line of our poem will fit in one row of beats.
Now remember that a beat isn't the same as a syllable or a sound.
We've got to somehow
fit five syllables in 4 beats,
which means that one or more beats will have
to have more than one sound.
It wouldn't work to go Mount Hood tall,
and now we're out of beats.
So, what the Frog is suggesting is try saying the
words out loud to find their natural rhythm.
So let's try that. Mount Hood tall and proud.
Did you notice which beat had more than one syllable in it?
Mount Hood tall and proud. It was right here.
So my rhythm would be Mount Hood tall and proud.
Here's a shorthand way
to write rhythms. I left off the note heads because all I'm really worrying about right now is the rhythm.
So we have TA TA TI-TI TA
It's a much faster way to draw rhythms.
Now let's try the second row.
My rhythm would be: Always capped with cold white snow.
Now my rhythm is
TI-TI TI-TI
TI-TI TA
Always capped with cold white snow.
Even in summer.
Which beat had more than one sound in it?
Even in summer.
It was right here.
The first syllable of the word e--
even was right here, and then
the next syllable goes over into this beat: Even in summer.
Now I have the rhythm for my haiku.
Since you're composing this, there's not necessarily a right or wrong,
but this to me felt like the most natural way
to do the rhythm that
matches the words of my haiku.
Now on your own, I want you to try saying your
haiku out loud and find the rhythm that sounds best.
Draw it in your heartbeats.
press pause to take the time to write your own rhythm.
Then press play when
you're ready to go on to step three.
Okay now we're ready to compose our melody.
This is going to involve some experimentation.
First thing is choosing a pentascale.
Once again there's no right or wrong.
It's whatever you choose.
So for my composition I'm going to choose the A minor pentascale.
You're free to choose
whatever pentascale you want for your song.
Now, with my hand in the A minor
pentascale, I'm ready to just experiment
and find some notes that sound good with the words.
My words on the first line are Mount Hood tall and proud.
So I might try: ♫Mount Hood tall and proud♫
But I didn't like that so much, so I'm
going to try something else.
♫Mount Hood tall and proud♫
Still not totally happy.
So I keep trying, and it may take you five or even ten tries before you find something that you like.
♫Mount Hood tall and proud♫
Oh I did like that one.
Now remember in
music you've got stepping notes to choose from
and repeating notes, or skipping notes.
Now ...