Opportunities in Teaching Music Composition

The composition activities described in this chapter demonstrate that teaching students to compose is different from nearly every other music learning activity that teachers typically lead because the final music product does not exist at the outset. Listening lessons begin with a recording and ensemble preparation starts with a score, but with composition there is nothing.

There is no product to analyze or discuss until the young composer begins to create. The lack of access to an immediate performance, a recording, or even a score, requires music teachers to think differently about their pedagogy. But “differently” is definitely possible.

The following pedagogical pointers can be used to guide planning and interactions with students. These pointers, particularly those that address the provision of feedback, must be used with caution. Feedback is most effective when it addresses concerns that have been voiced by the composer. Conversely, teacher-driven feedback may be overwhelming if it exceeds the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978) with regard to the student’s compositional capacities.

10 Pedagogy Pointers: 1. Design activities that draw on the natural interests and curiosities of students. Composition can be rewarding, but it can also be frustrating in the “hard work” stages. When students are connected to the work through their interests and when they are actively engaged in solving problems that they have invented or identified, they are more likely to persist through challenges.

2. Keep composition tasks real. The activities that students experience should be similar to the compositional work undertaken by composers outside of K-12 settings. The feeling of doing real compositional work allows students to integrate “composer” into their musical identity.

3. The ability to ask probing questions that illuminate student thinking is a critical skill. When we ask questions, we learn what students are thinking and trying to do—and we are more likely to avoid making assumptions that may not fit their intentions. Some of the questions we ask simply seek details, but others must evoke imaginative responses so that students can see new possibilities.

4. Consider how music composition will be included within the music curriculum. Developing the skills and knowledge of young composers requires multiple opportunities for them to explore, create, and share their work.

5. Follow the student’s lead in determining the introduction of concepts and pace of instruction. Listening to recordings as well as in-class sharing sessions often result in new interests. These are “need to know” moments where new information is more likely to be remembered and applied in future work.

6. Encourage students to explore a wide range of instruments, sound sources, and technologies. Breadth of experience allows students to identify the media that best capture their artistic aspirations.

7. Remember that notation is a tool, not a necessity. Use recordings and encourage the use of invented symbols as needed. These will serve as a gateway to the use of traditional notation if it becomes necessary for sharing or preserving student work.

8. Be an advocate for your students’ work. Provide opportunities for them to share what they have created and for others to perform their works. When sufficient artistic freedom is present in the compositional tasks, students are often quite proud of their work. Having that pride affirmed by others motivates future compositional activity.

9. The definition of “musically right” is made by the composer. Honor student work by supporting their musical decisions and resisting the urge to “fix” their work.

10. Help students discover and develop their innate artistry by constantly reinforcing that music is a process. It always involves feeling, knowing within the body, and exercising creative, musical, and artistic actions.

References: Brain and Creativity Institute. (2020). Music education and brain development. Retrieved January 5, 2020, from https://dornsife.usc.edu/bci/brain-and-music.

Brown, A. R., & Dillon, S. (2016). Meaningful engagement with music composition. In D. Collins (Ed.), The act of musical composition: Studies in the creative process (pp. 79-110). Routledge. Damasio, A. R. (1994). Descartes’ error: Emotion, reason, and the human brain. Putnam Publishing.

Damasio, A. R. (1999). The feeling of what happens: Body and emotion in the making of consciousness. Harcourt, Inc.

Hewitt, A. (2008) Children’s creative collaboration during a computer-based music task. International Journal of Educational Research, 47(1), 11-26.

Johnson-Green, E. (2020). Music composition as immersive learning in K-5 music education: Results of a 4-year study. Visions of Research in Music Education, 35, 1-41. Retrieved from http://www-usr.rider.edu/%7Evrme/v35n1/index.htm