Grade by Grade
A. Dance / C. Music · Music and Dance

Music: Composing for a Purpose with Ostinatos and Sixteenth Notes

C1.3 C1.2 C1.5 C2.3About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can read and perform one-beat patterns that mix eighth and sixteenth notes (ti ti-ka and ti-ka ti).
  • I can create a rhythmic ostinato that includes eighth and sixteenth notes and keeps steady time.
  • I can compose a piece for a specific purpose and audience, like a message about saving water.
  • I can choose timbres (body percussion, found sounds, voice, instruments) to create an effect, and write my piece down so others can perform it.

Words to know

ostinato
A short musical pattern that repeats over and over, like a loop.
sixteenth note
A note that lasts a quarter of a beat in 4/4. Four sixteenths (ti-ka-ti-ka) fill one beat.
timbre
The special sound or "tone colour" of a voice or instrument. It's how you can tell a drum from a whistle.
body percussion
Sounds made with your body: clapping, snapping, patting, stamping.
found sounds
Sounds made with everyday objects, like a pot, a bottle of rice or crumpled paper.
score
Written music that shows all the parts of a piece together, one above another.
purpose and audience
Why a piece is made (to teach, celebrate, persuade) and who it is for.

Remember from earlier grades

In Grade 3 you learned ti-ka-ti-ka: four sixteenth notes in one beat. In Grade 4 you used ostinatos to make two-part music and composed for an audience.

This year you'll mix eighth and sixteenth notes into new patterns, build layered ostinatos, and compose music with a message.

Mixing eighths and sixteenths

In 4/4, one beat can be split in different ways:

  • ti-ti: two eighth notes (½ + ½).
  • ti-ka-ti-ka: four sixteenth notes (¼ + ¼ + ¼ + ¼).
  • ti ti-ka: one eighth + two sixteenths (½ + ¼ + ¼). It sounds long, short-short, like "Ca-na-da" said in one beat.
  • ti-ka ti: two sixteenths + one eighth (¼ + ¼ + ½). It sounds short-short, long, like "Sas-ka-toon" said in one beat.

Sixteenth notes have two flags, or two beams when they are joined. Eighth notes have one.

A xylophone with mallets, a hand drum, a tambourine, wooden claves and maracas on a classroom carpet.
Classroom instruments like these are perfect for layered ostinatos. Each instrument can repeat its own short pattern while the others play theirs. AI-generated image
ti-titi-ka-ti-kati ti-kati-ka ti1 beat1 beat1 beat1 beat
Four ways to fill one beat: ti-ti (two eighths), ti-ka-ti-ka (four sixteenths), ti ti-ka (an eighth and two sixteenths), and ti-ka ti (two sixteenths and an eighth). The double beam shows the sixteenth notes.

Ostinatos and layering

An ostinato is a short pattern that repeats. When you stack several ostinatos with different rhythms and timbres, you make a rich, layered texture, like a band.

To keep a layered piece together:

  • Everyone must keep the same steady beat.
  • Start one layer at a time, so each player can lock in.
  • Use different timbres so each layer can be heard: a low stamp, a middle pat, a high snap or a shaker.
  • Use rhythms that contrast: if one layer is busy (sixteenths), make another one simple (quarter notes).

Composing for a purpose and audience

Before you compose, ask:

  1. Purpose: Why am I making this? (To teach? Persuade? Celebrate? Calm people down?)
  2. Audience: Who will hear it? (Little kids? Your class? Your family?)
  3. Message: What do I want them to think, feel or do?
  4. Elements: Which tempo, dynamics, timbre and rhythms will help?

For example, a piece to get people to save water should be catchy, easy to remember, and have clear words.

44Ev-erydropcounts,turnitoff!(rest)beat 1beat 2beat 3beat 4
A spoken ostinato for a save-water song in 4/4: "Ev-ery drop" (ti-ka ti), "counts" (ta), "turn it off!" (ti-ka ti), then a quarter rest.
Worked example

Example: Let's compose a layered piece about saving water

Purpose: remind people to save water. Audience: the families at a school assembly. Message: turn off the tap when you brush your teeth.

  1. Layer 1 (voice): the spoken ostinato "Ev-ery drop counts, turn it off! (rest)" = ti-ka ti, ta, ti-ka ti, rest. It uses eighth and sixteenth notes and the words carry the message.
  2. Layer 2 (found sound, water drips): tap a spoon on a glass on beats 1 and 3 only (ta, rest, ta, rest). Its high, clear timbre sounds like dripping.
  3. Layer 3 (body percussion): pat your knees steadily in ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti, softly, like running water.
  4. Form: start with Layer 3 alone for 2 bars, add Layer 2, then add Layer 1. Repeat 4 times with a crescendo. End with everyone shouting "Turn it off!" and then silence: the tap is off!
  5. Write it down: make a score: one line for each layer, with the rhythms lined up beat by beat (see the table below). Free notation software, such as MuseScore, can also print a neat score.

The piece suits its purpose (catchy words with a clear message), its audience (easy to understand and fun to watch), and the timbres create an effect: drips, running water, then silence.

LayerBeat 1Beat 2Beat 3Beat 4
Voiceti-ka ti (Ev-ery drop)ta (counts)ti-ka ti (turn it off!)rest
Spoon on glasstaresttarest
Knee patsti-titi-titi-titi-ti
A simple score for one bar of the save-water piece. Reading down a column shows what everyone plays on that beat.

Reflect on your composition

When you finish, name one strength and one area for growth, with an example. For instance: "My ostinato is catchy; my family was still saying it at dinner. Next time I need to keep the beat steadier when the third layer comes in." Ask a listener for one compliment and one suggestion.

Just for fun

Knock, knock! Who's there? Ostinato. Ostinato who? Ostinato! Ostinato! Ostinato! Ostinato!... (An ostinato never stops repeating!) 🔁

Hands-on activity

Compose a message ostinato

You need: your body, two or three found-sound objects (a pot and wooden spoon, a sealed plastic bottle with a little dry rice, a metal spoon and a drinking glass; tap the glass gently), paper, a pencil and one or two family members.

  1. Choose a purpose and audience: for example, picking up litter at the park, recycling, or planting trees in spring.
  2. Write a short slogan (4 to 8 words) and fit it into one bar of 4/4. Use at least one ti ti-ka or ti-ka ti.
  3. Add two more layers with different timbres: one body percussion, one found sound.
  4. Write a score with one line per layer, like the table above.
  5. Teach the layers to your family. Start one layer at a time.
  6. Perform it, then write one strength, one area for growth and one goal.

Your turn

1

What is an ostinato?

2

How many sixteenth notes fill one beat in 4/4?

3

Say and clap ti ti-ka. Is it long-short-short or short-short-long?

4

Say and clap ti-ka ti. Is it long-short-short or short-short-long?

5

How can you tell a sixteenth note from an eighth note when you read it?

6

What two questions should you ask before you compose?

7

Clap the save-water ostinato while saying the words: "Ev-ery drop counts, turn it off! (rest)".

More practice: warm-up

1

What is timbre?

2

Name two kinds of body percussion.

3

Name one found sound you could use at home.

4

How many beats does ti-ka-ti-ka last?

5

What is a score?

More practice: on your own

1

Fit the word "wa-ter-mel-on" into one beat. Which pattern is it?

2

Which pattern fits "Ot-ta-wa" said in one beat, with a long "Ot" and a quick "ta-wa"?

3

A group's layered piece falls apart when the third layer comes in. Give two tips to fix it.

4

Why should layers in an ostinato piece have different timbres?

5

Write a 4-beat ostinato for the slogan "Plant a tree, help the bees". Show which pattern each beat uses.

Challenge

1

Write a 4-beat rhythm that uses ti-ti, ti-ka-ti-ka, ti ti-ka and ti-ka ti once each. Then clap it.

2

Plan a piece to calm down excited kindergarten kids after recess. Choose the tempo, dynamics, timbre and one ostinato, and explain why.

3

Your friend's recycling song has great words but nobody can remember it. Give one strength, one area for growth and a suggestion.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

How long does ti ti-ka last in 4/4?

2.

Which pattern sounds short-short, long?

3.

An ostinato is ___.

4.

A sixteenth note has ___ flags or beams.

5.

Why use different timbres for each layer?

6.

Which is a purpose for a composition?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Students create compositions for specific purposes and audiences, including pieces that use a rhythmic ostinato with eighth and sixteenth notes and varied timbres (body percussion, found sounds, voice, percussion) (C1.3). They apply the elements to create an effect (C1.2), write their music down (C1.5) and reflect on strengths and areas for growth (C2.3).

How to help at home:

  • Be a layer! Keep the steady beat or play the found-sound part while your child adds the ostinato.
  • Clap the rhythms of names, places and foods: Ca-na-da (ti ti-ka), Sas-ka-toon (ti-ka ti), wa-ter-mel-on (ti-ka-ti-ka).
  • Help your child pick a real cause they care about for their message (litter, recycling, kindness).

Safety: tap glasses gently on a towel; seal rice bottles tightly (small grains are a choking hazard for younger siblings).

Common difficulties:

  • Sixteenths that rush or drag. Pat a steady beat and fit the sixteenths inside it.
  • Mixing up ti ti-ka and ti-ka ti. Say "long short-short" vs "short-short long".
  • Layers falling apart. Add one layer at a time and practise slower.