Sample Composing Projects. Beginning Level Composing Projects

My own research (Hopkins, 2013a) revealed that orchestra teachers use a diverse array of composing activities in their classrooms. The most frequently described project was composing melodies to specified guidelines (48%). Composing variations on a theme (11%) was the next most common type of project. Other types of projects included: arranging folk, classical, or pop material (8%); using non-traditional notation or special effects or techniques (4%); composing chamber music (7%); and composing chorales (2%). All of these different approaches can be found in the literature. Many composing projects presented in the literature are adaptable for both band and orchestra. In this section I will limit the composing projects I review to those that have been published specifically for use in the string orchestra classroom. In the United States, string instruction commonly begins in fourth, fifth, or sixth grade (Smith, Mick, & Alexander, 2018). I will describe beginning level composing projects that will be appropriate for students in grades four, five, and six, intermediate composing projects appropriate for students in grades seven and eight, and advanced composing projects for high school students in grades nine through 12.

Beginning Level Composing Projects.Turner (2006) advocated for beginners to start learning compositional processes as soon as they can play three or four pitches. Many of the simple tasks she described involve writing in standard notation, once students have learned to write clefs, bar lines, notes, and rests, and can take simple dictation. Turner’s sequence began with writing rhythmic patterns on a single pitch, moving to melodic patterns that gradually increase in length and range, creating accompaniments, ostinato patterns, and harmonizing melodies. While none of the composing project ideas are described in detail, Turner’s article is one of the few places in the string education literature that present several simple ideas that can be used in beginning string classes.

Composition is an ideal way to combine creativity and music theory for beginning students. Norgaard (2005) presented three projects that he used in both string classes and private lessons. Norgaard’s simplest project, which could be used in beginning string classes, involved taking simple melodies from beginning method books that include only quarter and half notes (e.g., “Lightly Row”) and converting them into fiddle tunes consisting entirely of eighth notes by adding passing tones, neighbor tones, and appoggiaturas on the weak beats, maintaining the notes of the original melody on the strong beats. A slightly more advanced project involved creating variations on a traditional fiddle tune consisting entirely of eighth notes (e.g., Bill Cheatham). Students were asked to alter the pitches of the melody that are on the offbeats for Variation 1 by using other neighbor tones, which preserved the nature of the original tune.

In the second variation, students were asked to alter the last measure of each phrase. The only stipulation was that the last note should be the root. The third variation involved altering the tune by changing the pitches on the strong beats to other chord tones. Norgaard provided suggestions for how teachers can use the project for theory instruction on harmony and chord progressions. He advocated for students to write their variations in standard notation so they can receive instruction on stem direction, beaming, and note spacing. Norgaard’s third composition project involved students creating original melodies.

He suggested beginning the activity by giving students a piece of staff paper, asking them to compose a tune without giving any guidelines, followed by giving them a blank piece of paper and asking them to draw a picture without any guidelines. Norgaard suggested most students will find drawing a picture easier because they develop a mental image or model during the drawing activity. The teacher can then explain how composers use models of form that guide the compositional process, and provide examples of structural models that can guide the creation of a melody. Norgaard related the form of a melody to sentence structure, and recommended students analyze melodies by a diverse selection of composers for uses of repetition, fragmentation, and cadence points to help guide them as they compose melodies.

Some projects combine individual composing with collaborative elements. For example, Webb (2013) described a warm-up chorale project designed for orchestra students in their second year of study. The teacher wrote a diatonic chord chart on the board that indicated the Roman numeral for each chord and the names of all pitches in each chord. Students began by selecting a melody and then copying it to manuscript paper. Webb suggested using a line from a method book. The students then chose a suitable Roman numeral for each pitch of the melody by referring to the chord chart on the board and writing the numbers down on their manuscript paper. Students then harmonized the melody with pitches from those chords, and then added passing tones, dynamics, slurs, and bowings. Webb described the flexibility of this project and that there are many possibilities for varying the project. The project could be done individually or collaboratively, and the harmonization could be done using aural-based approaches, a notation-based approach, or a combination.

Straub, Bergonzi, and Witt (1996) described three composition projects. The first was a small group project for beginners to create a programmatic piece (e.g., jumping music, or a piece about a cat) by exploring sounds they can make with their instruments including pizzicato, col legno, ponticello, glissando, and non-pitched sounds like knocking on the instrument.

The second project involved students watching a horror film scene and providing a soundtrack using harmonics, bowing behind the bridge, snap pizzicato, trills, fingered tremolo, and the other techniques listed above.

The focus of the third project, “flight of the mosquito" was for students to brainstorm sounds they could make with their instruments to depict a mosquito flying through a line drawn on a chalkboard. Again, the authors suggested using special techniques and effects like tremolo, rubbing strings, pizzicato, and bending pitches to depict the mosquito’s flight.

Their project descriptions do not contain detailed procedures, but they do suggest students notate the compositions using either standard notation or alternative notation systems that they choose. The emphasis in these projects is about creating tension and release using elements like repetition, variation, and dynamics. They do not require students to have well-established technique or background knowledge of chords or scales to complete, and help students learn about the variety of timbres that can be produced on stringed instruments.