Comments on: A great artist has to come from somewhere

By: Cary

Cary — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:14:36 +0000

Great post! And a topic that many of us have difficulty incorporating into performance classes. But for those of us who have never taken formal composition lessons (and for many of us who took composition lessons but beginning at an aspiring-professional level), finding strategies to guide young people through the huge range of options can be daunting. In fact, most new composers are more intimidated by the endless freedom that anything else!

Breaking the task down into smaller discrete tasks is the only way to go. Not just limiting the measures, but limiting the pitches available (as you did to only three options per measure) is very helpful for newbies. I actually start my kids at just one measure, three pitches and set rhythm to begin with; we gradually open up the possibilities over the course of three-four years before the students are required to compose an entire original melody with variations.

By: tjweller

tjweller — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 13:11:31 +0000

Hi Doug, Dan, Andrew, and Scott,

Thanks so much for stopping by and your interest in the project. The early returns from the students have been good – a couple of really good ideas have been generated. The one thing about setting rules and working with kids – they do figure out how to be creative!

As far as assessment goes with the project, I do have a rubric that checks all the objective points (i.e. correct notation both tonal and rhythmic, use of expression elements, staying within guidelines), but the rest of it is a work in progress. I am developing a series of open-ended questions for the students to reflect on their work and complete a self-critique. Ultimately I want them to write music for themselves, and not necessarily writing music just to please me. I am also hopeful that I can develop a way for them to critique each their peers’ work.

For our next assignment, they will be writing a piece for a duet with percussion accompaniment. Writing the duet won’t be difficult – I imagine the real fun will start when they ask one of their peers to perform one of the parts.

By: Andrew Beard

Andrew Beard — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:09:38 +0000

Hi Travis,
I am said friend of Dan’s. I love your project. What a great way to set it up so the students can be successful by giving them the right tools. How do you plan on assessing this? Are you going to be giving students a grade based on participation, or do you have a rubric that will judge students’ success. How do you see them them knowing the level of their work. I love this idea, and I would love your thoughts on these other issues!

By: Dan Leeman

Dan Leeman — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:03:29 +0000

Hi Travis,

I’m excited to see another post about incoporating composition in the classroom. I especially enjoy how you’re breaking the steps down for students to understand. My friend Andrew recently posted, using an example about Shakespeare and music theory- I guess you guys must be on a similar track

http://www.musicedforall.com/1/post/2009/09/sight-reading-in-the-choral-and-instrumental-realm.html

By: Scott Watson

Scott Watson — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:05:58 +0000

I love the rationale and the idea for this project, and I hope you’ll keep us posted on how it turns out. Those who know my passion for creativity-based projects and learning know I could discuss this topic for days on end (!), but suffice it to say that I think your students are lucky you’re taking some risks, teaching “outside the box,” and giving them this learning opportunity.

By: Doug Butchy

Doug Butchy — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:26:23 +0000

Travis,

Great idea! I know that I have often struggled with how to work this standard into our daily routines. Giving these guidelines to the students is a great place for me to start. Thanks for the idea!

PS – Great show the other night…thanks so much for inviting us!

Doug