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/
I am especially interested to read about what you learn about why teaching composition often doesn't work, or why it is often seen as something so difficult. It'll be interesting to research making this into a fun activity.
ReplyDeleteHello. Who are you?
DeleteSam S. ??
DeleteHey Brett, Yes wow I remember music comp being so difficult and quite unenjoyable. I am interested in seeing what strategies you find to make this task more fun and engaging for students. I am guessing it will definitely help to break the project into smaller tasks, and get feedback from the students during and after the project. -Charmayne
ReplyDeleteThanks for including your name, Charmayne
DeleteThis sounds like a great opportunity for you to learn from. It would be great to see what types of methods and techniques you find. It is always important to include fun and charisma into a topic like music theory!
ReplyDeleteLearning more about the composing process both in terms of music theory, the creative cycle, and revision could be very interesting to students, especially if they do some beat mixing of their own. I believe that there are several videos of musical artists and composers discussing their creative/composing process.
ReplyDelete