Visualization

Why Compose Music?

I initially struggled with finding a way to visualize music composition as a process. I felt like a more effective way to teach and practice composition would be through hands on activities in class. To circumvent this, I made my visualization process center on the why of composers throughout history. My goal was to highlight a variety of composers with different reasons for composing, different time periods, different styles of art music, and different geographic locations. I chose the resource "thinglink" to create this project because it would be a helpful tool to make my vision for the project. Using a map on thinglink allowed me to show the location of the various composers, provide a date for the work, and most importantly, link a recording. Having a recording to match the information was key, "sonifying" the content as well as visualizing it.

Through the process of putting this project together, it provided me insight as to why the composers I listed wrote their pieces. Having this background information made me understand the work more than I would have if I did not know the composer's reasoning. Inversely, this exercise proved to me that listeners can enjoy music even if they do not know the program or the thought behind the composition as well. In a classroom setting, giving the students a reason or a program to write a piece to could be a good starting point for their inspiration. 

Using visualization will definitely focus and engage students more in the course content rather than just a lecture on music history. Having an interactive platform that the students are able to listen to examples from will bolster understanding of course material. Visualization in the form of listening is a tool I will definitely use in future teaching. In a typical music ensemble classroom, visualization starts and stops with symbolic music notation. Having another way to visualize concepts is a useful tool for variety and comprehension. Thinglink is a very diverse resource to use with a variety of classroom activities to be created to visualize course content.

https://www.thinglink.com/scene/1126198075056979969

Disciplinary Text Set

My set of texts all involve the composing of music. I would use these texts in a high school general music classroom, either about composition, or as part of a composition unit. These students do not have to have a background of musical knowledge, so the course would need to take time to introduce basic musical concepts about notation and musical elements. These texts are meant to give the students insight into how various composers go about writing their music and some technical strategies they use.

Multimedia:
Ben Folds Composes a Song LIVE for Orchestra in Only 10 Minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BytUY_AwTUs

How to Compose Music - Lesson 1 - How to Write a Melody
From: Art of Composing on YouTube.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWbH1bhQZSw
Text Summary: This video serves as a lesson, and is focussed on how to write a melody. The author begins by defining a melody and what it does in a piece. Later, the author describes how to make a melody conform or fit into harmony, and ways to develop the melody into more musical material.

Text Complexity:
Quantitative- Storytoolz labeled this text as grade seven. I assumed it would be around this level, if not a little higher to 8th or even 9th grade, because the author explains the definitions that they use quite well. Words that may be needing of an explanation include: motive, harmony, rhythm, and conform.
Qualitative- The qualitative complexity of this text is around a grade eight or nine. This is because the core concept of creating a melody is very simple, however, there is a lot of subject specific language that is used. Besides simply writing the melody, the author goes into developing the melody, which has a lot of variables and can add a lot of complexity.
Reader and Task- I would have these students simply create a melody that is at least two measures long, then create a harmonic structure to accompany it.

Culturally Relevant:
Stranger Things Composers Break Down the Show's Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIrBQim8dzk    

Do androids dream of electric beats? How AI is changing music for good
From: The Guardian, written by Tirhakah Love, 10/22/2018
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/oct/22/ai-artificial-intelligence-composing
Text Summary:
This text discusses the topic of using artificial intelligence to compose music. It also talks about the role AI has in popular streaming services like Spotify. Other topics include the history of AI composition, who is working with this technology currently, and questions this technology poses for the future of music and AI.

Text Complexity:
Quantitative- The average grade level for this text is 12.1. I agree with this assessment, because there are some pretty complicated words in this text. Some vocabulary that might require attention in class include: theoretician, perpetuating, innately, parameters, semblance, and algorithms.
Qualitative- I would estimate this text to be around a grade level 12 because of the subject this text deals with, and the critical thinking it poses. It combines current events in technological advancement and how they relate to the medium of music. It also requires prior knowledge about streaming softwares and musical terminology like beat and musical styles and composers.
Reader and Task- For this reading, the task to be paired with it would be discussing students' thoughts on artificial intelligence as a whole and if it has a place in musical composition. This would involve students presenting their opinions and arguments, which is a fairly complex task, but attainable for high schoolers. This task can involve having prior knowledge of composition or AI, but it is not necessary for the discussion.

Print:
Practical Guides - A Beginner's Guide to Composing
http://www.bsmny.org/exploring-music/features/practical-guides/a-beginners-guide-to-composing/
From: Bloomingdale School of Music website, written by Nadje Noordhuis
Text Summary:
This text is a step by step process on how to compose for beginners. It lists the materials needed for the activity, and has steps that a composer needs to think about to start their composition. These include choosing a style and form of the piece before creating a melody and developing that theme. A great feature of this article is that it has listening examples that the author wrote while going through these steps in the article.

Text Complexity:
Quantitative- Storytoolz found this text to be an average grade level of 7.6. The text is concise and uses simple language, so I agree with this assessment. Difficult vocabulary might include: instrumentation, chord progression, bassline, riff, and motif.
Qualitative- I would call this text a ninth to tenth grade level because it is organized in a step by step format, but there are some difficult concepts discussed. Each step listed in this article will probably have to be explained further in class, because even though the author does a good job with their language, these concepts might not be known to the students.
Reader and Task- This article lends itself well to an introductory composition activity. It would be good after reading and doing the activity video on how to write a melody. This task is pretty complex and will take multiple class periods to complete. It will also be at the end of a course or unit on composition.

5 Big Misconceptions About Composing Music
https://soundbridge.io/5-biggest-misconceptions-composing-music/

Who I Am, and Where I Want To Go

Composition is a musical technique that is difficult to implement in the classroom. Even though it is one of the National Core Arts Standards' anchor standards, creating can be a daunting task. In a traditional ensemble music class like band, teachers often neglect creating with their students, in favor of spending that class time on rehearsal. From what I have seen and heard, teaching composition in a music classroom can be an unenjoyable project for students and teachers alike, and suffers a heavy handed implementation. Either the students simply put down notes on a music writing software without much thought, or they simply would rather play their instruments. Personally, I think too largely when I have tried to compose in the past, thinking I needed to make some grand, perfect creation, and getting stifled from simply allowing the creative process to take place.

What I do know about composition is the music theory, factors like melody and counterpoint, and the formal structures of music. Some things I would like to know are starting points for a composition, and how to develop a musical idea and where to go with it. I would like to explore in this project techniques for teaching and implementing composition in music class. I am expecting to find a variety of ideas and techniques for my future teaching, what does not work and why, and how to make composition a fun activity. 

Possible Resources:

http://www.bsmny.org/exploring-music/features/practical-guides/a-beginners-guide-to-composing/

https://www.kmea.org/CONFERENCE/handouts/practicaltechniques.pdf

https://nafme.org/plans-for-teaching-composition-at-all-levels/

https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/rethinking-how-we-teach-composition-part-1/

My name is Brett Kuehn and I'm in my fourth year at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, pursuing a BFA in Music Education-Instrumental/General. My professional goals are to become a band director after I receive my degree. I would enjoy working with students at any grade level(s) and would be happy to teach general music at any level as well.

Relevant Resource