Learning to write a waltz is a great way to bring together several compositional skills – melody-writing; harmonising a melody; developing musical ideas; changing key and orchestration.
When we think of traditional waltz music it might bring to mind elaborate dance halls and elegant dresses, however the characteristics of waltz music are often transferred to more contemporary styles, for example in jazz, folk and popular music forms.
Here are two examples of contemporary music using characteristic waltz features:
Will you write a traditional waltz or take some of the key features and go in a different direction?
Features of waltz music
There are 3 key characteristic features of a waltz:
1. Triple metre
One thing that is common to every waltz is the triple metre (indicated by the 3/4 time signature), with an emphasis on the first beat of the bar.
2. Accompaniment style
Many waltzes, particularly more traditional examples, have an oom-pah accompaniment with a strong downbeat on the first beat of the bar. However, some more contemporary examples don’t have this style of bass line or accompaniment and may use a broken-chord accompaniment, for example.
3. Melodic style
Waltz melodies are generally lyrical and memorable. This is because they all tend to:
- Use repetition
- Contain even, balanced phrases
- Mainly consist of stepwise and triadic movement
- Have a good sense of shape (pitch ascends and descends, with a good range)
What does the waltz course include?
Our online course: How to Compose a Waltz takes you through everything you need to write your own waltz. We explore the origins of the waltz and the main features of the music, as well as listen to a variety of examples, before getting practical and creating the elements of a waltz alongside our model composition.
As with all our courses, How to Compose a Waltz is built around a model composition which is broken down lesson by lesson to demonstrate the compositional process.
Also included in the course:
- Exemplar listening
- Video content
- Audio clips
- Interactive quiz
- Score examples
- Model composition
How to use this course
Every classroom is different and teachers use our courses in various ways to suit their set-up and students:
- Display at the front and work through together with the class
- Use the content to inform personal lesson planning.
- Use as part of the Classroom Access Plan where students can work through the content at their own pace.
Celebrating success
With all our courses students receive a certificate upon completion and an award badge on their personal dashboard.
Let’s get started…
If you want to find out more head to our courses page. For best value our Individual or Teacher Access Plans provide 12 months’ access to all the courses. And if you’re looking for access for a whole class so that you’re students can work through the courses at their own pace, have a look at our Classroom Access Plan.
