Overcoming the Roadblocks to Composition Instruction

Developing creative pathways for musicianship through composition is clearly a necessary and valuable part of a child’s music education experience. However, I also understand teachers’ valid concerns about how to effectively include music composition activities in their traditional music classrooms. Teachers worry about issues such as the amount of time needed to implement meaningful composition instruction and how composition activities may limit time to address the more traditional performance curriculum (Kaschub, 2013; Menard, 2015; Strand, 2006). There is no doubt that creative musical thinking and composition processes take time and dedication. However, providing time and opportunity for our students to construct musical meaning through composition activities is a critical area of instruction and should be a primary goal for music educators—worth finding time for.

Often educators believe that their lack of formal training in composing or composition pedagogy may inhibit their ability to provide meaningful instruction (Menard, 2015; Reese, 2003; Stauffer, 2013; Strand, 2006). Few music teacher education programs offer courses in composition pedagogy. While resources and professional development opportunities are plentiful, the amount of time needed, and lack of comfort in the process, may cause some teachers to turn away from this important opportunity. It is interesting to note that professional composers often experience apprehension about the level of teacher training they receive in teaching composition to their students.

Mark Applebaum (2012) shared concerns that composers are not trained to be composition teachers and that it is often assumed that since they are good composers, they will automatically be good composition teachers. He proposed a pedagogy that includes mentorship for graduate composition students and developing a “robust sense of community that helps us turn our students into teachers” (p. 262). We might take that advice as music educators. A sense of community involving teachers and students when planning and teaching composition might be a good approach. Applebaum also believes that in addition to preparing to teach others, a composer must also learn to teach oneself.

This is good advice for music teachers preparing to teach composition. Finding ways to explore and validate our own musical ideas as novice composers may be an appropriate way to begin the composition mentor training process. Clint Randles and Mark Sullivan (2013) share this sentiment and advise that it may be necessary for teachers to provide initial ideas to get a student started and encourage teachers to start composing themselves. “One must first do before one can teach” (p. 15). In addition, Applebaum’s (2012) idea of developing a shared community of composition may be a successful path to follow when approaching music composition experiences in K-12 schools. As a shared community—all stakeholders—teachers and students, should be involved in the process of composing and teaching.

Music teachers may also be concerned that students in their classes are not adequately equipped with the theoretical music knowledge necessary to support music composition activities in their classrooms (Hickey, 2012; Menard, 2015). If the vision for composition instruction is limited to traditional Western art music, and requires traditional harmonies and notation, composition may indeed seem to be an overwhelming layer of instruction to add to the music curriculum. It is important for teachers to identify and establish a level of shared musical knowledge, or a fundamental musical base from which to begin.

This does not have to involve concepts of notation or formal training in music theory. It is possible for students with no formal training to bring creative musical ideas from their informal musical lives to the composition community. Daniel Deutsch (2013) shared: “Children can ride bicycles without knowing the laws of gyroscopic inertia; they can make up stories without learning a list of grammatical rules. So, too, children can compose before they learn theoretical concepts” (p. 131). Exploration of musical ideas with the base understanding that: notes move up, notes move down, and notes stay the same, musical sounds are short, long, loud, soft, and can be in patterns, facilitates a beginning foundation for the organization of musical ideas and the composition process.

How then, can we best eliminate the roadblocks to composition instruction that are faced by music teachers? Let me share the experience of one band director, who grudgingly agreed to add composition instruction to his band program curriculum one day a week, for seven weeks, to help with a research project I was involved in. In an interview, Mr. Lee (a pseudonym) identified his concerns about adding composition activities to his band program. He felt that composition would interfere with the traditional culture of his band program by limiting time for performance. Time is so often seen as a critical factor.

He also felt that the large number of students (75 in his band), the traditional band classroom set up, and unmanageable noise levels would prohibit implementation of a meaningful experience. Mr. Lee also believed that he was not a composer, and therefore not qualified to teach composition. He felt that it was absurd to think that band directors could teach composition without training. His final concern was that his students lacked the fundamental musical knowledge necessary to compose. Mr. Lee is a wonderful example of a good teacher expressing valid concerns about how to add composition to the curriculum effectively.

After participating in the composition instruction program for seven weeks, Mr. Lee adjusted his opinions. He was surprised that the noise level was manageable, and that the large majority of students were highly engaged with the activities and often worked on the projects at home, even though this was not expected or required. The students were open to the experience and embraced the activities. He was surprised at how important it was for the students to share their ideas with classmates.

After each composition activity, students were eager to share with one another and their teacher. It was apparent to Mr. Lee that some of the students who may have been his “best” and most highly accomplished musicians were not always the most creative composers. Finally, Mr. Lee realized that his personal life experiences as a musician (conductor and performer of music from many genres) provided him with the necessary foundation to teach composition effectively. He came to understand that composition was not a waste of time because his students were experiencing music in a different way. His students were in the music—thinking about music using a pathway that complemented their performance, and did not diminish it (Menard, 2015).

This is the story of just one teacher, and Mr. Lee’s discoveries may not be applicable in every situation. However, this type of awakening to the powerful potential of creative thinking in music is possible for both students and teachers. Shouldn’t we strive for this? Maud Hickey (2012) clearly states the call to action, saying:

For too long, music composition has been put on a pedestal and viewed as a special skill that only an elite few could do. It is time to dispel that notion and offer classroom and studio teachers not only reasons for making music composition an integral part of their curriculum, but also provide ideas and activities for doing so. (pp. 13-14)

I propose that music educators heed this call and work to reframe the process of “teaching” composition. A more effective way to approach teaching composition may be to think of it as a necessary process of mentorship and musical collaboration between students and teachers. Thinking of teaching composition in this way can help to promote a composition community that provides opportunity for musical exploration and development of musicianship for both teachers and students.