Students start with melodic development then incorporate other elements such as rhythm, harmony and arrangement, building important compositional knowledge as they go.
| Composing Chapter | Theory Link | Composition Focus | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melody | Rhythm | Harmony | Arrangement | ||
| Getting started with pitch | The Staff | Yes | No | No | No |
| Getting started with Rhythm | Rhythm Basics | No | Yes | No | No |
| Variation on a theme | Rhythm Intermediate | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Call & response | The Piano Keyboard | Yes | No | No | No |
| Rhythm & words: spoken chorus | Rhythm Intermediate Adv. | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| A round with Ostinato Bass | The Major Scale | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Jazz up your melody | Major Key Signatures | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Scale tones in a melody | More Major Scales | Yes | No | No | No |
| A duet for two | Intervals | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| My Minor Theme | Minor Scales | Yes | No | No | No |
| A Musical Scene | Minor Keys | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| My blues melody | Blues Scales | Yes | No | No | No |
| Off to the Movies | Rhythm Advanced | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Jingles That Sell | Rhyming | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Be A Songwriter | Triads in a Major Scale | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Students also learn to use notation software in a progressive fashion, with each chapter building on the other in terms of new techniques being introduced.
In the ‘Expand It’ sections of each chapter, students also learn to use sequencing software in a progressive fashion.