Melbourne High School

Year 9 Music

Music in Advertising
Level 6: Personal Learning, the Arts, English, Information
and Communications Technology, Thinking Processes

Contents

Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………. 2
Learning Focus ………………………………………………………………………... 2
Victorian Essential Learning Standards …………………………………………... 3
Teaching and Learning activities …………………………………………………... 4
Music in existing advertisements – an introduction
Detailed analysis of music in existing advertisements
Soundtrack creation
Soundtrack presentation
Assessment ……………………………………………………………………………. 8
Unit resources …………………………………………………………………………. 10
Teacher resource – sample ‘Sunshine wheel’
Ad analysis introductory task
Music in Advertisements – extended analysis questions
Advertisement analysis 1 and 2
Music for Advertisements: creation and analysis assignment sheet
Advertisement soundtrack planner
Teacher resource – sample table for analysis
A guide to completing the written analysis of your ad soundtracks
Music for Advertisements: creation and analysis marking/criteria sheet
Music in advertisements – student evaluation sheet

Unit prepared by Hildy Essex for the year 9 music program at Melbourne High School, 2007 Page 1
Music in Advertising
Introduction
Melbourne High School
In this unit, the dimensions of creating, making, exploring and responding are all addressed. Year 9 Music
Students discuss, investigate and evaluate how music is used to enhance visual media, in
particular television advertisements. Students explore how the music is used to create layers of meaning
and to manipulate the viewer in a variety of existing advertisements. They use appropriate music
terminology to discuss and analyse the music components, and how these components support both the
explicit and implicit meanings of the advertisements. They will apply this knowledge by creating a number
of original soundtracks for an advertisement and by analysing and evaluating their own soundtracks.

Students use information and communications technology (in particular, the software GarageBand –
http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband) to create soundtracks to accompany existing advertisements.

This unit provides the opportunities for students to demonstrate their achievement against elements of the
standards for Level 6 The Arts and also against elements of the standards for Level 6 Personal Learning,
English, Information and Communications Technology and Thinking Processes.

Learning focus

This unit addresses learning focus statements from all three strands. These include:

P hysical, Pe rs o nal a nd S ocial Lea rning

Personal Learning
• Students reflect on learning and evaluate achievement of goals
• Students are encouraged to use appropriate strategies to maximise their own and others’ learning
in a range of contexts

Discipl ine-base d Learni ng

The Arts
• Students develop skills in making decisions about creative ways of generating musical
ideas, and manipulate music elements and techniques to effectively realise their ideas
• Students discuss how content and expressive aspects of selected music works can be
communicated to an audience
• Students develop aesthetic and critical awareness, develop skill in presenting and
justifying personal interpretations of and opinions about music using appropriate
language

English
• Students develop their skills in writing appropriately. They practice writing expressively
about thoughts, feelings, opinions and ideas and constructing considered arguments to
persuade others to share a point of view.

Interd isci pli nary le arni ng

Information and Communications Technology

• Students consider the capabilities and limitations of ICT tools and recognise that their
choice is influenced by the characteristics of the data to be manipulated.
• Students consistently apply commonly accepted ICT presentations conventions and
use efficient procedures and techniques to solve problems, and create quality
information products that fulfill their purpose.
• Students use ICT techniques to make their information products accessible to a wide
audience.

Thinking
• Students become discriminating thinkers, capable of making informed decisions about
controversial and complex issues.
Unit prepared by Hildy Essex for the year 9 music program at Melbourne High School, 2007 Page 2
 • Students explore differing perspectives and issues in depth and identify a range of
creative possibilities.
• Students continue to evaluate their solutions using appropriate criteria.

Victorian Essential Learning Standards

Music in Advertising can be used to assess a range of Victorian Essential Learning Standards.

The table below is an example of how this unit might be used to assess some Level 6 standards.

Stra nd Domai n Dimensi on Key e leme nts of sta nd ards

Stude nts:

Phy sic al, Personal The individual …monitor and reflect on and discuss their progress as
Perso nal a nd Learning learner autonomous learners, identifying areas for improvement in their
Soci al Le arning learning and implementing actions to address them.

Managing …allocate appropriate time and resources to manage competing

personal priorities and complete tasks within set time frames.
learning

Dis cipli ne- The Arts Creating and …create arts works devised from a range of abstract ideas
bas e d L ear ning making and/or stimuli, demonstrating development of a personal style

…realise their ideas and communicate their interpretations by

effectively combining and manipulating selected arts elements.

…vary the content, structure and form of their arts works to suit
purpose, audience and/or conventions of a specific style.

Exploring and …critically analyse, interpret and describe the stylistic, technical,
responding expressive and aesthetic features of works created by a range of
artists and describe ways that their own and others’ arts works
communicate and challenge ideas and meaning. They use
appropriate arts language and refer to specific examples.

English Writing …write argumentative texts dealing with complex ideas and
issues and control the linguistic structures and features that
support the presentation of different perspectives on complex
themes and issues. They proofread and edit their own writing for
accuracy, consistency and clarity.

Inter dis cip linar y Information and ICT for …justify solutions that enhance the security of output and the
Lear ning Communications creating suitability of products for their purpose.
Technology
…appraise different strategies for organising and managing
resources involved in problem solving and creating information
products.

Thinking Reasoning, …make informed decisions based on their analysis of various

Processes processing perspectives and, sometimes contradictory, information.
and inquiry

Creativity …experiment with innovative possibilities within the parameters

of the task.

Reflection, …use explicit terms to discuss their thinking, select and use
evaluation and thinking processes and tools appropriate to particular tasks, and
metacognition evaluate their effectiveness.

Unit prepared by Hildy Essex for the year 9 music program at Melbourne High School, 2007 Page 3
Teaching and learning activities
PLEASE NOTE: A large proportion of this unit involves viewing advertisements. Advertisements can be
taped (via VHS or digitally) on TV to be used in class. If the school pays a subscription to Screenrights then
they may use this material in class for educational purposes.

Activity 1 – M usic i n e xisti ng ad ve rtiseme nts – a n i ntrod ucti o n

Teachers inform students that they will be exploring how music is used in television
advertisements, and that they will have the opportunity to create their own soundtrack for an ad.

Students Teacher
In small groups, students record and collate Provides a graphic organiser such as a
their initial responses to the concept of “music ‘sunshine wheel’ to assist in collating ideas.
in media”. (See resources section.)

Encourages students to respond freely:

responses may include emotions associated
with the concept, components that make up
the concept or adjectives to describe the
concept.

Students report back to the class about their
responses and ideas.
As a class, students discuss music in
television advertisements.
The teacher records responses from
discussions and collects graphic organiser of
ideas from student groups for display and
assessment purposes.
Leads and facilitates class discussion about
music in television advertisements, providing
key questions and prompts such as:
• examples of music which students know of
that is used in current advertisements (eg
Pizza Hut jingle etc…)
• why music is used in advertising (eg, to
make a brand name more well-known, to
make a product seem cool/modern, to
create humour etc…)
• what kind of music is used in different
advertisements

Records ideas and responses on the board.

As a class, students view some sample Selects and provides advertisements for
advertisements and discuss: viewing, ensuring a selection that
demonstrates a variety of techniques, such as:

• types of music that can be used in an
advertisement
• purposes music can be used for within an
advertisement
• the notion of branding and matching the
music to this
• how specific elements of music and
compositional devices have been used to
create a soundtrack for the advertisement
• different types of soundtracks, such as:
o originally composed soundtrack
o existing piece of music as soundtrack
o originally composed jingles
• different purposes, such as:
o humour
o shock/attention grabbing
o underscore
• branding matching, such as:
o BMW advertisements using classical
music to associate the product with
class and sophistication
o mobile phones using electronic music
to indicate advanced technology,

Unit prepared by Hildy Essex for the year 9 music program at Melbourne High School, 2007 Page 4
 that will manipulate viewers’ responses in
particular ways
• how the music interacts with other aspects
of the advertisement (ie, the narrative)
Students record key points raised in
discussion
As homework, students complete Short Ad
Analysis Task (see resources), with reference
to 3 different advertisements.
Activity 2 – Detail ed a nal ys is of e xisti ng ad verti s ements
Stude nts
Individually, students complete the Extended
analysis questions (see resources section),
which involves viewing four different ads and
answering questions designed to get them
thinking about how each ad uses
instrumentation, style and contrast to help
convey a message. (This can either be done
as a homework task if the advertisements are
posted on the school intranet or as an in-class
exercise.)
Students discuss their responses in class.
Students record a list of the kind of language
to be used to respond to elements such as
melody, rhythm, harmony, timbre etc…
Students participate in class workshop of
sample questions from the In Class Ad
Analysis (see resources section).
In pairs or small groups, students view two
soundtracks and complete In Class Ad
Analysis (see resource section), referring to
their list of terminology throughout.
Students report back to the class on their
findings and a class discussion is had about
the analysis of the music. Particular attention
is paid to the use of music terminology in
describing the music in the soundtrack, and
the links back to the intended effect of the
Unit prepared by Hildy Essex for the year 9 music program at Melbourne High School, 2007
o jingles to create brand recognition
(such as Pizza Hut and Bunnings) etc
Instructs students as to how to complete the
Short Ad Analysis Task.
Chooses viewing options for students. The 3
different ads can either be selected by the
student from normal television, or the teacher
can provide students with 3 different
advertisements to view.
Teac her
Provides question sheet, instructions for the
task and places the ads for viewing in an
accessible location, such as the school
intranet. Alternatively, the ads are viewed in
class and questions completed then.
The teacher supports the use of appropriate
music terminology to describe the music in the
advertisements and its impact on the
message.
Facilitates the creation of a list of the kind of
language to be used to respond to elements
such as melody, rhythm, harmony, timbre
etc…
Teacher scaffolds student activities by
conducting a class workshop of sample
questions from the In Class Ad Analysis (see
resources section).
Teacher provides the advertisements and
instructions to help with the task, with
particular attention to ensuring students refer
to their terminology list as they complete the
exercise.
Facilitates reporting process and discussion.
Supports students in the use of appropriate
terminology.
Page 5
advertisement.
Students analyse and discuss the effect of
using different pieces of music for the same
advertisement.
Activity 3 – S oundtrack c reati o n
Students
Individually (or in small groups if this format has
been selected), students respond to the
design brief, with reference to the Music in
Advertisement Assignment Sheet (in resources
section). This includes:
• completing Advertisement Soundtrack
Planner (see resources).
• using GarageBand (or other appropriate
software) to create two varying soundtracks
for the same advertisement. One
soundtrack is their choice of an existing
piece of music that sends the message
they want to the audience, and the other
soundtrack is an originally composed piece
of music by the student
• completing a written analysis of their
soundtracks, covering:
o the product
o the target market
o the characteristics/features of the
product
o instrumentation used in the music
o intended effect of the music
o how this effect is achieved (using
appropriate music terminology to
Unit prepared by Hildy Essex for the year 9 music program at Melbourne High School, 2007
The teacher demonstrates the effect of
different pieces of music on the same
advertisement and facilitates class discussion
on the differences.
N.B. This resource can be prepared with
software such as Apple’s GarageBand, by
using an existing advertisement with the
original soundtrack muted, and laying other
music tracks alternately over the top.
Teacher
Develops and refines task sheet, including:
• developing design brief
• including planning templates from range
used within the school
• alerting students to the location of
instructions for using sequencing software
See Music in Advertisement Assignment Sheet
(in resources section) for sample.
Introduces and discusses task with students.
This might also include planning and agreeing
upon (as necessary):
• timeline
• format for submitting work
• whether any group work is involved
• equipment use ‘roster’
Teacher provides support (in appropriate ways
depending on part of the task) for students to
effectively:
• plan their soundtrack with sufficient detail
and thought
• use the software
• manipulate elements of music and
compositional devices
The teacher also provides support for the
written analysis component of the task. The
teacher briefly shows an advertisement that
has already been viewed, and demonstrates
how the student would write up an analysis for
that soundtrack, covering:
• the product
• the target market
• the characteristics/features of the product
• instrumentation used in the music
• intended effect of the music
• how this effect is achieved (using
appropriate music terminology to describe
the musical components that are used to
achieve the effect)
• how effective the music was in
manipulating the audience’s view of the
Page 6
 describe the musical components that product
are used to achieve the effect)
o how effective the music was in
Particular attention is paid to addressing the
manipulating the audience’s view of
intended effect of the music and how the
the product
effect is achieved through the music. On the
board, the teacher shows the students how
they can initially set up a table to help with this
process. See resources section (Teacher
resource – sample table) for an example of
how it may be set up.
Teacher provides another resource to help
students in this task: Analysis Writing Guide
(see resources section).

Activity 4 – S oundtrack pre se ntatio n

Students’ work is presented to the class.

Students discuss the effectiveness of the soundtracks.

Stude nts Teac her

As a class, students view each other’s work Facilitates viewing of student work and the
and discuss the effectiveness of the discussion of each soundtrack’s effectiveness.
soundtracks.
Students complete the Student Evaluation (see
resource section).

Unit prepared by Hildy Essex for the year 9 music program at Melbourne High School, 2007 Page 7
 Assessment

The Victorian Essential Learning Standards supports a combination of assessment practices:

• Assessment of learning (summative)
• Assessment for learning (formative)
• Assessment as learning (ongoing)

Further information on these can be found at:

http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/blueprint/fs1/assessment.asp

When assessing student achievement, assessment criteria can be developed from relevant
standards and associated tasks or activities. The table below shows a range of assessment
criteria, tools and strategies applicable to this unit. Teachers could choose to use some or
all of these or use the unit to assess other standards.

Please note: while this unit addresses elements from each of the strands listed below, and these elements
are an integral part of the unit, it may be that the teacher chooses only to assess directly against a smaller
number of domains. For example, it would be reasonable to assess only against The Arts (Creating and
Making and Exploring and Responding) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT for
creating).

ASSESSM ENT
Dom ain Dim ension Ass essm ent cri teri a – Ability to: Evid en ce

Personal The individual • monitor and reflect on their progress as Written evaluation of their work and
Learning learner autonomous learners areas for improvement in their learning.

• identify areas for improvement in their

learning

Managing • allocate appropriate time and resources Completion of short set tasks and
personal learning and complete tasks within set time frames planning sheets.

The Arts Creating and • create music sound tracks that Production of two varying soundtracks
making demonstrate development of a personal for one advertisement.
style

• realise their ideas and communicate their

interpretations by effectively combining and
manipulating selected arts elements.

• vary the content, structure and form of the

music to manipulate the message being
sent in a variety of ways

Exploring and • critically analyse, interpret and describe the Written and verbal analysis of the
responding stylistic, technical, expressive and aesthetic music used in a variety of existing
features of works created by a range of advertisement soundtracks and the
artists students’ own soundtracks.

• describe ways that their own and others’

arts works communicate and challenge
ideas and meaning

• use appropriate arts language and refer to

specific examples

English Writing • analyse the content and message of music
in advertisements
• use musical terminology to express musical
ideas succinctly, clearly and persuasively
Written analysis of the music
components of a variety of
advertisements, including their own,
and the impact of the music on the
message.

Unit prepared by Hildy Essex for the year 9 music program at Melbourne High School, 2007 Page 8
 • proofread and edit their own writing for
accuracy, consistency and clarity

Information and ICT for creating • select appropriate file formats that suit the Management of media and file sizes.
Communications software being used
Technology
• organise and manage resources involved in Use of the software to create music
creating music soundtracks soundtracks.

Conversion of final product to an

accessible file format, with thought to
file size and compatibility.

Thinking Reasoning, • make informed decisions based on their Written and oral analysis of a variety of
processing and analysis of various perspectives and, advertisements and the impact of the
inquiry sometimes contradictory, information. music and the techniques used.

Creativity • experiment with innovative possibilities Creation of musical soundtrack for an

within the parameters of the task advertisement.

Reflection, • select and use thinking processes and Written responses to brainstorming
evaluation and tools appropriate to the task (such as Sunshine wheel)
metacognition
Written analysis of the students’ own
soundtrack

• evaluate the effectiveness of the selected Written evaluation of students’ work

thinking processes and tools and learning process

Unit prepared by Hildy Essex for the year 9 music program at Melbourne High School, 2007 Page 9
Unit resources

Teac her material s

Teaching and learning resource

This document provides information about teaching and learning strategies referred to in
the unit. It is available at http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/support/teaching.html

Assessment resource
This document provides information about assessment strategies referred to in the unit. It
is available at http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/support/assessment_resource.html

Video
• Variety of advertisements

Documents
• Teacher resource – sample table
• Teacher resource – sample ‘Sunshine wheel’

Stude nt materia ls

Handouts
• Short ad analysis task
• Extended analysis questions
 NB. This resource has questions specifically tailored for four
advertisements: Kia, Mazda, Panadol and Boags. Unless teachers are
able to source copies of these advertisements, teachers will need to
record their own advertisements and write their own questions.
• In class ad analysis
• Music in Advertisement assignment sheet
• Advertisement Soundtrack Planner
• Analysis writing guide
 NB. This was initially created as a podcast including the actual
advertisements being discussed, but due to copyright reasons, this
cannot be distributed. Therefore, a text version of this podcast has
been included in this unit. Teachers may choose to create their own
podcast based on this text document, inserting their own
advertisements for use in their classroom with the appropriate
broadcasting permissions. Alternatively, they may just adapt the text
version of the document, and make advertisements of their choice
available to their students for viewing alongside the document.
• Music for Ads assessment criteria
• Student evaluation

Technology
• GarageBand software (see http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband)

Unit prepared by Hildy Essex for the year 9 music program at Melbourne High School, 2007 Page 10
Teacher resource:

Sample “Sunshine wheel”

catchy

annoying

music
in jingle
media

film music
 Name: _____________________ Form: ______
Year 9 Music – Ad analysis introductory task
Watch 3 different advertisements and make notes under the following headings.

Advertisement 1 Advertisement 2 Advertisement 3

Product/service
being advertised
Name of music
and composer
used (if known)
Music style

What instruments
are playing?

What is the mood

of the music?

How does it
match the
ad/What impact
does it have on
the ad?
Any other
comments/
observations?
 Year 9 – Music In Advertisements
Extended Analysis Questions Melbourne High School
Year 9 Music

Kia

What message is the advertisement trying to convey about the product?

What is the primary melodic instrument being used in this advertisement?

What is the purpose of this instrument in relation to the message of the ad?

Mazda

Describe the kinds of instruments being used in this ad.

Why were these instruments selected instead of other, more traditional

orchestral instruments?
Panadol

What message/s is the advertisement trying to convey about the product?

Circle the musical characteristics that are present in the music for the Panadol
ad.

Slow tempo Moderate tempo Fast tempo

Low pitch Medium pitch High pitch

Lots of different musical Use of
Loud volume
ideas repetition/ostinato
Reverberant sound
Dry sound quality Moderate volume
quality

Why do you think the composer chose to use these musical characteristics in
an ad for Panadol?

James Boag

What do you notice about the sound quality at the beginning of the ad?

What atmosphere is the clarinet setting up at the beginning? How? (Describe

the specific musical characteristics that help set up this mood.)
What are the instruments (and overall ensemble) used in the ad?

What is the musical style used in the ad?

How does the music correspond with the action/narrative in the ad?

When the man begins to walk towards the door towards the end, what musical
elements combine to further intensify the drama? Answer under the following
categories:

Pitch:

Dynamics (volume):
Rhythm:

Other:

After considering all these musical elements, what is the viewer supposed to
think about James Boag the man?

What does this have to do with Boags the beer?

 Advertisement analysis 1

Analysis of the product:

Product name: Melbourne High School

Year 9 Music
Target market:

Characteristics of the product:

Analysis of soundtrack:

• Instrumentation

• The intended effect of the music

• The musical components used to create this effect

• How successful the use of the music is

 Advertisement analysis 2

Analysis of the product:

Product name:

Target market:

Characteristics of the product:

Analysis of soundtrack:

• Instrumentation

• The intended effect of the music

• The musical components used to create this effect

• How successful the use of the music is

 Year 9 Music
Assessment Task 1 (DUE DATE: ) Melbourne High School
Year 9 Music

Music for Advertisements: creation and analysis

Music of some form is invariably used to enhance the power of visual and oral
advertisement on television or in cinema.

This assignment consists of two parts:

Part 1 - Composition

Using the GarageBand software, compose two different music

soundtracks to accompany a given ad. Each soundtrack should support
the message of the advertisement and should be quite different, using
different techniques and mood, as described below.

Soundtrack 1
• Select an existing piece of music that will manipulate the audience’s
view of the product in a particular way.

Soundtrack 2
• This soundtrack should be an original composition using a combination
of:
o your own music input via the midi keyboard
o loops from GarageBand
o imported sections of other music files
• It should reflect and support the narrative of the advertisement.

Part 2 - Analysis

Analyse the two music soundtracks that you have composed

• This should be in the form of a written document of around 300-400

words for each soundtrack.
• You should pay particular attention to how the music helps to support
the message of the advertisement.

You need to include the following information in your analysis for each
soundtrack:

• Instrumentation
• The intended effect of the music
• The musical components used to create this effect
• How successful the use of the music is
 Advertisement Soundtrack Planner

Which ad am I choosing to write a soundtrack for? Melbourne High School

Year 9 Music

Who is this product and advertisement aimed at? In other words, who is
the target audience? Consider age, gender, class, ‘type’ etc…

For example, teenaged girls, parents, old people, sporty people etc…

What are the qualities of the product that need to be communicated?

For example, strength, durability, “cool” factor etc…

What musical techniques might be used to communicate these

qualities?

For example, electronic instruments, classical instruments, fast tempo, minor

key etc…

Resource created by Hildy Essex, 2007


Sample structure of table for conceptualising the written
analysis of a soundtrack
Levis advertisement
Intended effect of the music
Classic product that has
been around for a long time
and will remain classic
Strength and durability of
jeans, and making the
consumer feel more powerful
and strong
Serious product, for people
who are serious about their
jeans
James Boag
Intended effect of the music
Sexy
Romantic
Classy
Old school, retro, cool
To create drama and
suspense surrounding the
character of James Boag, to
make him seem mysterious
Teacher resource created by Hildy Essex, 2007
Teacher resource
Melbourne High School
Year 9 Music
Musical elements combined to achieve this effect
Use of classical music (as opposed to popular music),
immediately apparent through use of string orchestra, plus
timpani.
Strong, powerful music, created by:
• long notes with emphasis on each note
• low pitch to begin with
• Use of deep percussion (timpani) for resonance and
extra bass, particularly at louder parts
• Loud dynamics and high pitch at dramatic points
(corresponding with bursting through walls)
Use of classical music
Intense nature of music, created by:
• extreme dynamic range
• sudden changes in dynamics, rather than gradual
changes
• extreme pitch range
• sudden changes in pitch from low to high
• slow tempo
• long, drawn out notes
• use of lots of vibrato
Musical elements combined to achieve this effect
Clarinet slide
Tango style
Use of heavy vibrato on solo violin when the man appears
Classical music
Pizzicato from accompanying instruments and stately tempo
– very dignified
Crackly sound recording
Increased tension when he walks up to the keyhole through
the use of:
• growing dynamics (through layering in of instruments)
• higher pitch
• dotted rhythm in accompaniment
• slight tempo increase
 Music in Advertisements
A guide to completing the written analysis of your ad soundtracks

Intended EFFECT of the music

Melbourne High School
Year 9 Music
When you analyse your soundtrack, it is very important that you go into detail not only about
the obvious associations that your music is trying to create, but also the subconscious
messages the music is trying to send.

For example, if we are discussing the Levis advertisement, an obvious association that you
might identify is that the music is trying to create a dramatic feel.

This is certainly true, but on a more subconscious feel, the You should think carefully about
drama in the music is actually suggesting that the all the different messages the
product will make the consumer feel more powerful or advertisement is trying to send.
strong. Some advertisements may be
sending only one primary
Going to this deeper level is very important in writing message, but most will have a
your analysis. couple of different messages
that you could identify.
Another example is with the use of the Drumstick ad. An
obvious association you might identify is that the music is
supposed to create a happy, carefree feeling.

On a deeper level, you can go further and identify that the music is trying to create a happy
and carefree feeling, but one that transports the listener back into their childhood, creating
feelings of innocence and simplicity, and encouraging them to purchase Drumstick’s in order
for them to be able to capture that feeling again in their lives.

Identifying the MUSIC COMPONENTS

The next important part of your analysis is identifying the actual music components that are
being used to create the effect or messages that you have identified.

For example, in the Levis ad, it is not enough to simply say that the music is dramatic in
order to make the consumer believe the product will make them feel more powerful. You
need to discuss exactly HOW the music is dramatic and powerful. The kinds of things you
would identify include:

Strong, powerful music, created by:

• long notes with emphasis on each note
• low pitch to begin with
• Use of deep percussion (timpani) for resonance and extra bass, particularly at louder
parts
• Loud dynamics and high pitch at dramatic points (corresponding with bursting
through walls)

In the Drumstick ad, in order to identify exactly HOW the music is creating the feeling of
innocence, you would need to discuss the following elements:
• the use of a simple melody, broken up into short, singable phrases
• the use of constant repetition, as is found in many nursery rhymes and children
songs
• the use of an airy singing quality, to replicate the kind of tonal quality a child might
sing with
• the use of nonsense syllables (la la) in the accompaniment to the melody
• the chosen text for the singers, about being young and free

Resource created by Hildy Essex, 2007

 Start by creating a table

When you are beginning your analysis, it is a very good idea to start by creating a table.
Your first column should list the intended effect of the music, such as sending a message
that the product is a classic, long-lasting product. Your second column should address the
music components that combine to create this effect. This should be done in as detailed a
way as possible. By creating your table in this way, you will ensure that you are addressing
both aspects of the analysis.

Levis

Intended effect of the music Musical elements combined to achieve this effect

Classic product that has been Use of classical music (as opposed to popular music), immediately
around for a long time and will apparent through use of string orchestra, plus timpani.
remain classic

Strength and durability of jeans, Strong, powerful music, created by:

and making the consumer feel
• long notes with emphasis on each note
more powerful and strong
• low pitch to begin with
• Use of deep percussion (timpani) for resonance and extra
bass, particularly at louder parts
• Loud dynamics and high pitch at dramatic points
(corresponding with bursting through walls)

Serious product, for people who Use of classical music

are serious about their jeans
Intense nature of music, created by:
• extreme dynamic range
• sudden changes in dynamics, rather than gradual changes
• extreme pitch range
• sudden changes in pitch from low to high
• slow tempo
• long, drawn out notes
• use of lots of vibrato

James Boag

Intended effect of the music Musical elements combined to achieve this effect

Sexy Clarinet slide

Tango style

Romantic Use of heavy vibrato on solo violin when the man appears

Classy Classical music

Pizzicato from accompanying instruments and stately tempo – very
dignified

Old school, retro, cool Crackly sound recording

To create drama and suspense
surrounding the character of
James Boag, to make him seem
mysterious
Increased tension when he walks up to the keyhole through the use
of:
• growing dynamics (through layering in of instruments)
• higher pitch
• dotted rhythm in accompaniment
• slight tempo increase

Resource created by Hildy Essex, 2007

Other things to include in your analysis

The other aspects you should include in your analysis are:

• the instrumentation

o this should go towards the beginning of the analysis, and should include
information about all instruments you used in the soundtrack, including
voices.

• your evaluation of the success of your soundtracks

o this should go at the end of your analysis and should include both the things
that you thought were very successful about your soundtracks, and any
things that you think you might do differently next time.

The End
HAVE FUN!

Resource created by Hildy Essex, 2007

 Year 9 Music
Assessment Task 1 (DUE DATE: ) Melbourne High School
Year 9 Music

Music for Advertisements: creation and analysis

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

NAME: ________________________

4 3 2 1
WRITTEN DESCRIPTION
Written description –
identification of intended
effect of the music and
musical components to
achieve the effect
Written description –
appropriate use of
musical terminology
SOUNDTRACK
Appropriate selection of
music to match stated
intended effect
ORIGINAL MUSIC
Effective use of
contrast

Effective use of
dynamics
Matching the music to
the narrative
Effective use of
structure
Effective use of timbre

Total: Grade:
_____________ _______________
32

A+ A B+ B C+ C D+ D E+ E UG
32-30 29- 26-24 23- 21 20- 18 17- 15-14 13- 10-0
27 22 19 16 11
COMMENTS
 MUSIC IN ADVERTISEMENTS – STUDENT EVALUATION

Did I complete all the set tasks throughout the

Yes No
unit?

Did I complete the tasks on time? Yes No

If no, why not?

If no, how can I make sure I complete similar tasks on time in the future?

Did I learn the meanings of all the required

Yes No
music terminology?

Did I use the music terminology in my analysis

Yes No
of my soundtrack?

How happy was I with my final soundtracks?

Very happy Happy Just satisfied Not happy

What was the best part about my soundtrack?

What would I do differently if I were to complete the task again?

Melbourne High School

Year 9 Music