Teaching- Introducing Composition To Students

Traditionally, elementary school music students were not introduced to writing their own music until after several years of studying the fundamentals. In terms of some skills, that makes sense. Students learn how to add numbers before they learn how to multiply numbers.

On the other hand, think about how students are encouraged to create their own stories before they know how to spell every word or write a complete sentence. Also, think about how students explore working with colors before they know warm or cool colors or can even name all their colors.

There is no risk to having students experiment with creating their own music. There are also ways to make the experience frustration-free and enjoyable. Approaching the concept by way of an activity or process instead of a theory can help make composition an engaging time for students.

An easy beginner lesson for composing is to encourage students to create a variation on an existing idea. They could use percussion instruments to change a rhythm the way they would like it, they could take a limited number of notes (like B, A, G on recorder) and write a melody using just those notes, or they could sing a new melody to the same text.

Once students feel comfortable creating new music using variations, the teacher can extend the parameters to give the students more freedom. For example, the student could have more notes as choices but use the same rhythm. Another idea would be to give the students a box of different rhythm types that they can use in their creation.

As students’ confidence and abilities grow, the parameters can change. Students can practice writing music as they learn about different styles, composers, and cultural traditions. For example, a student might be challenged to write something to sound like Disco, Duke Ellington, or Samba music. If more advanced students have an understanding of chords and harmony, students can be asked to fit their music to existing chord progressions.

Putting parameters on a student’s focus can be very helpful, but if a student wants to push the boundaries, that is awesome and that should be encouraged.

As with many skills and concepts, technology can be a wonderful tool to encourage creativity. GarageBand is one program that I have used with my students to explore composition. The great thing about the program is that students can play their own notes into the timeline or drag and drop already written loops. The only downside to GarageBand is that it is only available for Apple products. So if your students use MacBooks or iPads, it can be downloaded for free.

For schools that use Chromebooks or Windows-based devices, Garageband is not available. The best alternative I would suggest is a cloud-based (online) program called Soundtrap. It is free with limitations or you can get the full version for a fee per student. Like Garageband, it has some pre-written loops that students can drag and drop or students can input their own sounds. It does not have the functionality of Garageband, but in my view is the best alternative for non-Apple devices.

Teaching students to write their own music should be a joyful activity for teacher and student. Creativity can be an exciting feeling and students of all ages will be very proud to share what they have made.