Examining Models of Composition Mentorship for Young Composers

It may be helpful to learn of some existing programs in K-12 music settings where composition mentorship is flourishing and changing the lives of both the students and teachers involved. First, we’ll examine a sixth-grade general music class, which provides an example of a single teacher providing mentorship in beginning composition experiences that were connected to traditional music concepts in a Music Creations class.

Next, the Very Young Composers (VYC) of Central Wisconsin features pre-service music educators serving as composition mentors for fourth- and fifth-grade students in an after-school composition program. Finally, Music Plus, a university partnership with a local urban school district, tells the story of undergraduate music education majors serving as composition mentors for high school musicians (choral, band, and orchestra students) in a service learning program.

Music Creations Class.To improve the level of interest and student engagement in a general music class offered at a middle school, the principal and band director reworked the curriculum to consist almost entirely of music creation activities. They changed the name of the class from the traditional General music class to Music Creations class. It was clear to students that this class would be very different than the previous general music class offered at the school.

Sixth-grade Music Creations was one semester long and had approximately 18 students registered. Ms. Baldwin (pseudonym used) had over 25 years of experience as a middle school band director and general music teacher and she faced the same challenges many music educators face in trying to implement composition activities in the classroom. While she did have some band students in the class, most of her students had little previous musical experience. The only available classroom in which to hold the class was the school band room, so she had limited instruments available and no student computers to use for composition notation. She did have bucket drums and a set of drumsticks for each student in the class, one upright piano, two electronic keyboards, and a number of typical mallet percussion instruments in the band room. This was a place to start!

The semester began with exploration and echoing of rhythmic patterns on bucket drums designed to create a comfortable atmosphere and encourage students to think creatively and explore musical patterns—a theme that would be reinforced throughout the Music Creations class. Students repeated patterns they heard, created their own, and took turns leading the drum sessions. Ms. Baldwin frequently shared with the students that she was not there to teach, but simply to help them explore their musical ideas. These sixth-grade students were intrigued with that concept. To them, it seemed “cool” and perhaps even a bit strange to have a teacher that was not there to teach. The most important rule in the classroom was that all compositional ideas created by the students were important, should be respected, and shared in the classroom. The students began to think of themselves as composers, so it was important to create a safe and welcoming space in which the students could explore, create, and celebrate their musical ideas.

Baldwin began the melodic composition activities with careful instruction on how to use the instruments (xylophones, marimbas, keyboards, etc.) in the classroom appropriately. Next, a common base of musical understanding was established. Ms. Baldwin explained that musical notes can move up, move down, they can repeat, move by steps, and by leaps. There can also be silence between musical sounds. The students were given the opportunity to explore musical sounds on the various melodic percussion instruments and encouraged to create short melodic ideas of their own. They worked in small groups (two or three students at an instrument) and took turns creating and sharing their musical ideas.

Students clearly enjoyed sharing ideas and listening to the musical ideas of their classmates. As their ideas were extended, the students used graphic notation symbols, or “composition maps" to help them remember their ideas. Composition maps consisted of drawings with swirls, steps, circles, and other graphic notations to create representations of the music that helped them to remember the ideas they had composed. Students were instructed to use the “play it three times in a row rule" A musical idea was considered composed when a student could repeat that musical idea three times in a row.

This number of repetitions seemed to solidify the idea for both the teacher and the student. Along with the graphic notation, Ms. Baldwin also recorded the ideas for reference, if needed. However, the reference was not needed very often. The students seemed to feel a sense of agency and ownership of their musical ideas. During one of my visits to the class, Ms. Baldwin asked a seventh-grade student who had been in the class the previous year to come in and share the composition she had created in the class. Without any hesitation, the student stepped up to the marimba and performed her composition just like it had been performed the year before. The musical ideas she shared were hers, and she had not forgotten them!

After creating opening compositional ideas, Ms. Baldwin asked students to expand their work by adding other ideas that worked well with the first one. The composition process took off! Students worked hard on their projects and extended and developed their ideas. During this part of the composition process, Ms. Baldwin first introduced the musical concept of form. This helped them to give structure to their compositions. As the compositions neared completion, students worked in groups to add accompaniment to their compositions. Students collaborated as they added non-pitched percussion instruments such as maracas, triangles, and small drums, and created rhythmic patterns to embellish their melodies.

Student collaboration in the projects was important to Ms. Baldwin, so she also required the students to teach their melodies to other members of their group. This “student teaching" component surprised Baldwin with its effectiveness. It seemed to be very important to each of the young composers that the student receiving the composition instruction played the new composition correctly. The final component of this part of the class was for each composer to perform his or her work for the class, and invited guests, in its extended form with group accompaniments. This process required musical rehearsing and collaboration between students in preparation for the performance. Students in the class were very receptive to all of the compositions shared by their classmates and celebrated all of these new works with applause and smiles.

It is important to note that no musical terms other that those that defined how notes move (steps, skips, repeats, up, and down, silence) were used to begin this process. Musical learning was occurring through exploration and student creativity. During class composition sharing times, Ms. Baldwin introduced musical concepts such as dynamics, articulation, rhythm, and form using the student compositions as models. For example, the young composers worked to identify form in their own compositions and in the compositions of their classmates. They also explored how their compositions might be made more interesting by adding musical concepts such as dynamic contrasts, accents, and tempo changes.

Creative thinking in music provided a spirit of teacher and student collaboration as the students took an active part in creating the learning environment. Their compositions provided a place to apply the information they were learning—and an understanding of why it was important to learn about these concepts. (Menard, 2013, p. 64)

As was discussed earlier in the chapter, teachers often feel that the creation of musical ideas is too difficult for students who do not come from a music performance background. However, participation in these composition activities provided an excellent context for constructing musical understanding. Creating their own musical ideas gave these students important and meaningful connections to important musical concepts such as dynamics, form, texture, and even traditional notation. While the process of teaching composition may intimidate some teachers, these middle school students were intrigued by the idea of creating their own musical ideas—with a guide instead of a “teacher.”

Webster (2002) encouraged music educators to “design environments that help learners to construct their personal understanding of music . . . to develop a sense of musical independence.” In this model for composition instruction, the students constructed their understanding of music in a general music classroom that was a safe environment for musical exploration. Ms. Baldwin facilitated and mentored the composition process for these students as they discovered musical ideas, created musical compositions, and then connected these experiences to meaningful musical learning.