Each Monday evening at 8PM EST, music teachers get together and share ideas about important topics within music education. It’s a great chance to interact directly with educators from all over the world and to get new tips and tricks to help you succeed in the classroom. The entire #musedchat discussion is organized and moderated by Joe Guarr.
A1 I have attempted to compose a few pieces, never finished them though. Only ones I have finished were forced and didn't feel right because I did it for a class. #musedchat
A1: a little bit from high school jazz, methods classes, and orff training. It's not my strength or my favorite for my own music making but I do try to work on it #musedchat
A1: The most I've ever composed or improvised has been for classes at CSU. However, these are skills I really want to improve upon and I know composition especially is really important to many students! #musedchat
A1: I have no formal training, I have been writing songs since high school and started dabbling in choral pieces since college. Would love some coaching! #musedchat
A1 - I have little experience in composition or improvisation outside of mandatory class composition assignments! I’d love to explore more, though! #musedchat
A2: kindergartners coming up with an animal to sing about, fifth graders composing blues songs over several classes and performing them in groups, and everything in between! #musedchat
A2: Back in January I taught a two week long choir intensive (6 hours a day) for 6-12 grade students. During that class, we worked on 'formal' composition projects, using Noteflight, and then had opportunities for the students to compose their own pentatonic songs!#musedchat
A2 - I structure my lessons so my sts have opportunities to think, discuss, & make open ended choices. Sometimes that leads to composition & improvisation in a “traditional” sense. #musedchat
A2- I am still in uni for choral music education, but the way improvisation and composition has looked in my classes is just mandatory assignments. We have had a few guest speakers come in and speak on improv in the choral classroom, and I want to use it for sure! #musedchat
A2: My piano classes did a comp project where they had to write a chord progression and then either a melody for another instrument or voice. Some took a pop song approach, some went in their own direction. #musedchat
A1 I re-arranged parts of pieces for my high school's show choir, but never an entire work. I'm currently working on an Irish folk medley for my middle schoolers. #musedchat
We do some MIDI compositions in Soundation with the pentatonic scale. I introduce it with this great Bobby McFerrin video https://t.co/mkiPcYe3uZ#musedchat
A1 absolutely no background in improv or composition! Classically trained. Doesn’t stop me though! I teach both regularly. Kids do great when they have clear rules to follow (and then later we practice breaking the rules) #musedchat
My principal is still amazed every time she hears younger grades playing xylophones when I set them up in pentatonic... I've tried to explain that it's music theory, not magic 😂 #musedchat
Q2 It's a lot of pop-style embellishment and understanding of when and where that is appropriate. With MS Ss I hardly see them enough to put together a full composition without losing valuable rehearsal time. #musedchat
It's a national music standard! I use it where it naturally fits. When I assess, I'm primarily looking for following guidelines (compose eight beats, use re, etc) and some attempt at novelty or creativity #musedchat
Q3 Research suggests that many Ts are reluctant to teach composition b/c they didn't experience it as a student. Do you agree? How can we break this cycle? #musedchat
A3 - I do agree. Also, the loss of “instructional” time is a factor. Composition is where the rubber can meet the road and sts can show what they truly know. #musedchat
A2.b When I was a GA at uni in group piano instruction, we did a lot of improv on pentascales and simple blues scales with 1st and 2nd semester students. Very effective and satisfying for students! #musedchat
A3: I do feel unprepared to teach improv for sure. Never had a teacher expose me to it! Composition I feel more comfortable mostly because it’s something I enjoy doing, but I teach it as a way of mixing theory knowledge and creativity. #musedchat
A3: I would agree! The most important thing as Ts is reaching as many students as possible and providing quality education. Especially "non traditional" music students who don't want to be a part of ensembles! And composition classes are a great way to do that! #musedchat
Q3 Um yupp that describes me to a T. Never experienced it except for one time I had to play a "Chromatic solo in E" on Flugelhorn. I don't know how it went, nor did it make sense to me. #Musedchat
A2 & A3 - we have to be careful that our structure does not stifle creativity. The more parameters on sts compositions research suggests the less creative the sts will generally be. #musedchat
A3 We read pieces "backwards" in band once in awhile but rarely did much more than that in my school. I think my only saving grace is that in college I took vocal jazz and taught group piano (which had a mandatory improv component each of 4 semesters) at undergrad lvl #musedchat
Q3 - I am scared of composition because I’ve never been all that successful at it, but I believe that giving just key elements to student can help them create but not be overwhelmed. Additionally, a respectful classroom culture is critical to students being comfortable #musedchat
And I think the lack of early exposure perpetuates a lack of comp/improv in our own classrooms, yes. We're afraid to be wrong or set kids up for failure in an already very vulnerable part of our profession. #musedchat
What are your thoughts on providing some structured experiences (compose a 16 beat rhythm using quarter rest, quarter note, and paired eighth notes) and some unstructured or less structured (Feierabend arioso or just "make a song")? #musedchat
A3: just start small with teaching composition! Take one line in your method book and have kids change it and make it their own. Give them rules and boundaries and slowly take that away. #musedchat
I think a good way to start introducing improv and composition to students, especially if you're not comfortable with it, is by allowing them freedoms within the traditional ensemble classes! #musedchat
The reason I said not successful is because I never felt good about any of it. So, I would very much like to create a culture where students can feel successful about themselves whilst still knowing they can and want to grow. #musedchat
Q4 What resources can you recommend for those wanting to incorporate composition/improvisation into their classrooms, but aren't sure where to start? #musedchat
A3: As an elem music educator, I think it is super important to teach comp young. I make sure Ls are getting music literacy outlets often via short 8-16 beat compositions w/ Orff inst. We also use tools like flipgrid to upload and reflect. Also good for small groups. #musedchat
Q3 Composition was non-existent in my musical education. I refuse to let this most basic element of music be nonexistent in my teaching practice. #musedchat
A4: Not so much a resource, but a simple activity I used! Take a short 4 line (ish) poem, and have groups of students compose a pentatonic melody for just one line. Put the melodies together, and the students feel very successful because it sounds like a real song! #musedchat
A4: For improv, I start with some limitations. Put on a backing track, ask students to pick one pitch, and have a rhythm conversation with me. #musedchat
I do a found sound comp project each year with my 5th graders (a la “Stomp”) and every year I’m amazed by what they come up with... not just in terms of the use of non-instruments but also the comps themselves! Priceless! #musedchat
A4: Improv is a tough skill for young Ls but allowing them the freedom to make confident mistakes creates a safe opp. I find a lot of African Marimba pieces for Ls gives a nice authentic opp (Walt Hampton - Mojo Marimba, Hot Marimba & Jeremy Phillips - Zimma Rimba) #musedchat
A4 be ready for messiness! As I work with elementary, we start with improv through voice, move to UP percussion then on to fly is, yes, recorders, etc. #musedchat@jguarr
I just had a student show me how he composes in GarageBand and it blew my mind. However, he didn’t understand the theory behind what he was doing. At all. Thoughts on that? #musedchat
I've had a lot of students explore composition through our #geniushour projects. Always interesting to see their finished product as comp is not something I generally have patience for. #musedchat
.@LStaniszewski1's students compose simple duets/trios for my Ss to perform. Sets them up with basic theory early in the year and then has them compose w/in parameters to write for MS students. #musedchat
