Defining Purpose: The Who, What, How, Where, and Why of Composition Pedagogy

Some see music composition as an independent endeavor, reserved for the elite few, “advanced” or “musically gifted” students. For others, composition may be defined by an ability to notate one’s musical ideas in a particular form or fashion, or perhaps more broadly as any organization of sounds and silences. It might be an opportunity for collaboration or creative practice, a tool for the assessment of musical skills, a pathway toward cognitive development, an embodied emotional experience, or even a vehicle through which one can create an artistic statement.

Composition can be synonymous with songwriting or it might take place through a digital modality. It can be a career path, a hobby, a creative exercise, or a lifelong passion. There is not a single, unified definition for who, what, how, where, and why when discussing composition. How one responds to these questions is determined by ideological beliefs and directly impacts the ways in which one explores, teaches, and engages in and through musical creation.

These definitions are further complicated by music education’s complex history with composition pedagogy. Since the Tanglewood Symposium of 1967 (Choate, 1968), music educators and scholars in North America have called for an expansion beyond the traditional Western performance-based paradigm so heavily present in music education.

This includes, among other ideas, the fusion of composition and creative projects into curricula. Studies on compositional processes as well as guidance for music educators and music teacher-educators wishing to engage in compositional practices with students has thus increased over the last two decades, leading to the breadth of definitions, contexts, and rationales listed (e.g., Burnard & Younker, 2002; Hickey, 2003 and 2012; Kaschub, 2009; Kaschub & Smith, 2009 and 2013; Ruthmann, 2007 and 2008; Stauffer, 2002; Upitis, 2019; Webster, 2011, among others).

When composition is incorporated into the music curriculum, its use varies significantly in terms of how and where. For example, in the United States, opportunities for composition often occur in general music classes. One might find it unsurprising that composition might more readily find a home in these classes, where the flexibility and fluidity of a non-performance-based setting can lead to curricula designed to meet more diverse musical learning goals. Stephanie Cronenberg (2016) noted that general music is “simultaneously one of the most often used and least well-defined terms within music education” (p. 9).

Frequently described by what it excludes, rather than what it includes, general music is often positioned in contrast to performance-based courses such as band, choir, and orchestra and is generally defined as being inclusive of all students and comprehensive in nature (Abril & Gault, 2016). Beyond these characteristics, however, there is little consensus as to how these classes, varying in length, focus, function, and character, are conceptualized. Though such variability can lead to opportunities to explore a wide array of experiences, such openness can also lead to “rudderless” trajectories (Reimer, 2003, p. 246) and ambiguous, amorphous goals (Regelski, 2004). In these cases, compositional engagements may focus on the how and what of musicmaking without necessarily thinking through the why and with whom.

Conversely, the openness presented by general music can also result in curricula that is co-designed with students based on their interests and ideas. When co-created, this type of music curricula is often responsive and possibility-oriented, rather than pre-defined and prescriptive. Compositional practices may be driven by students’ musical inquiries or serve as an opportunity to respond to and engage with the world. Here the how and what are driven by the why. Developing a purpose-driven compositional pedagogy that begins with the students and their wonderments and curiosities can help encourage the development of dispositions and literacies that are both critical and functional.