A New Approach to Teaching Composition i

A New Approach to Teaching Composition in the 21st Century

December, 2006

Music composition has long been a specialized area of study at the college level. As a general rule, composition teachers are almost exclusively college professors who are professional composers themselves. However, in recent years, more and more students have begun to compose at younger ages. The New Senior Secondary Curriculum of Music even requires composition as a major part of its assessment of students’ creativity. Suddenly, a major problem occurs: how do we find enough qualified composition teachers to teach and to assess students’ works at school levels?

As we all know, most current music teachers are not trained as composers. Forcing non-composers to teach composition is highly problematic. Composition should be taught by professional composers who are also good teachers. On the other hand, inviting college composition professors to teach at secondary school levels would be unrealistic. Even though some professional composers might be willing to do so, they are not trained to teach at school levels. Therefore, the outcome would not be ideal. The best solution to this problem would be training music students as both educators and composers now, so that the future music teachers would be confident and competent in teaching basic composition at school levels.

This new approach of training music students as both educators and composers requires some re-thinking of the traditional concepts in the disciplines of music education and music composition. Can music educators also be composers? Can composers also be music educators? How can a fine balance be achieved between the two disciplines? How can music composition be successfully implemented into the New Senior Secondary School Curriculum?

This paper intends to propose a new combinatorial pedagogical approach to music composition and education at college levels, and to offer composition teachers new insights into teaching music composition at secondary school levels. The contents of the paper will include discussions of the importance of music composition in music education, the special relationships between music composition and music education, issues concerning a combinatorial pedagogical approach to music composition and music education, and a proposal of principles for teaching music composition at senior secondary school levels.

Importance of music composition in music education:

a. Composition as a U. S. National Content Standard for Music Education:

The U. S. National Content Standards for Music Education include:

Singing, alone or with others, a varied repertoire of music.
Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
Composing and arranging music within specific guidelines.
Reading and notating music.
Listening, analyzing, and describing music.
Evaluating music and music performance.
Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
Understanding music in relationship to history and culture.[1]

According to Reimer, successful composition instruction in general music will incorporate each of the other standards as each relates to composition activity. Singing and performing experiences impinge directly on composers who create music for performances. Similarities and differences between composing, improvising and arranging need to be understood. Notations of various sorts need to be called on as relevant to what is being composed, and skills developed accordingly. Analyzing, describing and evaluating are essential components of the compositional act. Understandings how composition is comparable in various ways to creation in the other arts and creativity outside the arts broaden the perspective of youngsters about what composing is and does. And viewing the role of the composer in history and in various cultures also situates learning within a base of reality. Listening is a primary requirement, not only within the act of creating compositions, but also as the basic source from which ideas and possibilities spring.[2]

b. Composition as a special type of intelligence:

Gardner considers music as one of the nine Multiple Intelligences.[3] Reimer further subdivided seven different types of intelligence within music: composing, performing, improvising, listening, music theory, musicology, and music teaching.[4] According to Reimer, composing requires a particular combination of musical discrimination and interrelations, in which each particular sound chosen, with its pitch, duration, timbre, volume, articulation, and expressive effect, is chosen also as linked with every other particular sound in the event being formed. The linking of sounds into meaningful configurations through a process of decision making, reflections about previously made decisions, and altering and adding to and deleting sounds previously decided on as new implications and possibilities arise, requires both memory for what has transpired and imagination for what might transpire next. These two mental operations – memory and imagination – are enabling conditions for all manifestations of intelligence. The particular discriminations on which one is focusing, and the connections being made among them, are what determine the particular intelligence being manifested. The particular role a composer plays is to facilitate the intelligence necessary to bring meaningful and completed sound structures into being as events subsequently to be shared with others. Doing so successfully requires making the exquisitely subtle and sensitive discriminations among sounds that music depends for its existence, and connecting them in ways that both embody and expand personal/cultural meanings as only music can do.[5]

Reimer further states that every person’s capacity to be musically intelligent in this way is amendable to fulfillment through education. Education for composing has not been provided, except sporadically and perfunctorily, in American music education. The attempt to rectify this shortcoming needs to be a major characteristic of music education in the United States in the foreseeable future.[6] In Hong Kong, music composition has already been included into the recently proposed New Senior Secondary Curriculum and Assessment Guide for the new program to be carried out in 2009.

c. Composition as an intellectual investigation of musical styles and languages:

Compositional skills are based on theoretical foundations. Therefore, composition is the practical application of music theory. Through the process of composing, music students can gain an opportunity to put music theory into live practice. Such processes can greatly enhance students’ understanding of musical structure. Attempting to utilize different musical languages in compositions of various musical styles not only can help student composers better understand a diversity of musical styles, it can also inspire them to search for their own language and to investigate in new stylistic development which represents their generation, and the time and culture in which they live.

d. Composition as a problem-solving discipline:

Many composers consider composition as a problem-solving process. This idea is shared by some educators as well. According to Crowl, Kaminsky and Podell, “Creativity is variously defined as a characteristic that a person possesses, a product or outcome that is regarded as original, and a process by which an unusual outcome is obtained. For a solution to be creative, it must be both novel and suitable.” Also, “Knowledge in a domain is necessary for creative production. Most creative individuals are, or have been, heavily involved in their area of expertise. Good problem solving and creativity are related, most creative individuals find unique or unusual solutions to accepted problems.” Should this be true, composing not only can enhance students’ understanding of musical structure and enjoyment in creative music-making, it can also enhance their problem-solving skills in life. From personal experience, the author finds this to be true.

Relationships between music composition and music education:

All disciplines in the musical arts are interrelated. Music is created by composers, interpreted by conductors and performers, studied by scholars, and taught by teachers to students. Therefore, music theory, composition and performance, conducting, musicology, and music education have been the main areas of musical studies in higher education. Music conservatories focus on professional training of composers and performers, while universities focus on the academic studies of music theory, history, and education.

The relationships among composers, performers, theorists, musicologists and educators are quite interesting. Composers work closely with performers and conductors. Composers write music with strong theoretical foundations, but often do not like to analyze their own music; theorists analyze the structure of composers’ music. Musicologists who are interested in contemporary music would study their composition colleagues’ musical styles in historical and cultural perspectives. Performers seldom have direct interaction with academic scholars in theory and musicology, even though they must observe performance practices and interpret music in appropriate styles. Music scholars seldom perform. Despite the differences among different domains, nearly everybody must teach music for a living. Music educators apply their performance and conducting skills, general knowledge of music theory and history, and appropriate teaching methods to classroom teaching. Traditionally, the only area they would not touch is music composition. It would appear that the relationships between music composition and education are the most remote.

Generally speaking, composers are not taught to teach, and educators are not taught to compose. Their principles are fundamentally at odds with each other. Many composers consider composition a highly specialized area of study which only belongs to a small number of gifted students at college levels. Teaching composition in school classrooms is unconceivable. On the other hand, music educators consider music in classroom to be an aesthetic experience and part of a whole-person development for all students. This “nature vs. nurture” scenario prevails as music composition is about to be implemented into new school curriculum.

The integration of listening, performing and creating is the current approach of music education. Since composition belongs to the “creating” aspect, it should be taught in classrooms. This idea does not settle very well with many composers who insist upon the fact that composition cannot be taught, particularly at a low level. Composers believe in high quality of compositions, while educators believe in students’ learning experiences. As long as the conflict of ideology between composers and educators persists, implementation of composition in music education will remain problematic. The ideal solution would be a new combinatorial approach to music composition and music education, which can enable music composition to be successfully taught at school. Can it be done? Yes.

Combinatorial approach to music composition and music education:

1. Ideology:

Since the major hindrance to the implementation of composition in music education lies upon the conflict of ideology between composers and music educators, a re-examination of the ideology is the first step to solve the problem. Composers and educators should both open up to concepts that traditionally belong to the other domain.

For composers, the expectation of training professional composers of the next generation should be reserved to post-secondary students at a more advanced level. Reimer states that the mistake we have made in general music is to have so overemphasized the professional/amateur aspects of education as to have overly neglected the base of our responsibility – the overwhelming majority of people who do not and will not aspire to those levels.[7]

Teaching secondary school level composition is to provide students with fundamental concepts and basic compositional skills, so that they can experience the process of composing through which they can gain a better understanding of musical structure and styles. Individual students who demonstrate commitment in compositional studies may take private lessons from professional composers or pursue advanced studies in college or a music conservatory in the future.

Educators on the other hand, should go beyond the scope of motivation through experimental sound projects, to more systematic training of solid composition techniques, which is necessary for raising the standard of students’ compositions. According to Reimer, everything aficionados learn about experiencing music is equally relevant and important for amateurs and professionals if they are to fulfill their roles intelligently. But this is not sufficient. That is why specialized experiences are needed, and a program devoted to supplying them.[8]

According to Swanwick’s Spiral of Musical Development, adolescents are capable of composing music with “technical, expressive and structural control” (Level 6), “strong sense of personal commitment” (Level 7), and “expanded possibilities of musical discourse” (Level 8).[9] Therefore, teaching basic compositional techniques at secondary school levels is appropriate.

2. Practice:

In order for composers to become better educators of composition, composers should receive some training about education. Being able to communicate with students at different levels is very important. Good composition teachers can nurture better composition students and motivate more students to compose.

Likewise, in order for educators to be better educators of composition, educators should receive more advanced training in composition, both traditional and contemporary musical languages. Being able to demonstrate how to compose in different styles is very important; being able to evaluate the quality of students’ compositions objectively and to offer immediate feedback for improvement is equally important. This requires both expertise in composition and experience in teaching.

Training good composition teachers should be the new goal in higher education. In a well-established university music program, there should be more collaboration between the music education and music composition divisions, where composition majors are encouraged to take education courses and education majors are encouraged to take composition courses. Eventually, the gap between composers and educators will be narrowed, and there will be more qualified composition teachers in the classroom. In a teaching institution where a music composition major does not even exist, extra training of composition would be necessary. Otherwise, the future music teachers will continue to be unqualified for teaching composition in schools.

To supplement the current music curriculum at HKIED which does not offer professional training for composition majors, a group of music education students who are interested in composition have undergone intensive training in music composition outside the curriculum and accomplished outstanding results during the past year. The remarkable success proves that music education students can be trained as composers and arrangers, should they be encouraged and trained to do so by their teachers. This is just the beginning. More music education students can also receive regular training on composition should the curriculum be modified to meet the serious need for qualified composition teachers in the near future. Besides receiving training on the discipline of composition, students should also receive training in composition pedagogy. Composition pedagogy, a subject which has never been offered in Hong Kong higher education, must be offered as soon as possible in order to train future composition teachers at secondary school levels.

Principles for Composition Pedagogy at Senior Secondary School Level:

Systematic training of music composition starts with the training of basic musicianship. Integration of listening, performing and creating in music classes is a good approach to stimulate students’ interest in learning and to offer a well-rounded musical experience for the students, particularly at elementary and lower secondary levels. Listening to a wide range of repertoire and engaging in various performing and creating activities would establish a basic foundation for further musical training.

For senior secondary students, musical training should be more substantial. In order to further appreciate music in different styles, general knowledge of music history and theory is necessary. If students can identify the musical styles and basic structures of a piece of music when they listen to it, they can appreciate and enjoy the music at a deeper level. A wide range of musical styles should be discussed. Due to time constraints and abundant amounts of musical repertoire and materials available, choices for the appropriate teaching materials are essential. It is preferable to choose musical examples which can clearly demonstrate good musical structures and stylistic characteristics uniquely belonging to certain composers, certain periods or particular cultures. Good choices can allow the teacher to integrate different cultural aspects such as theory, history, geography, arts and sciences into one meaningful teaching unit.

For example, studying Bach cantatas involves chorale (four-part harmony), basso continuo (short-hand of harmony similar to modern chord symbols, for improvisation), ritornello form, German texts, religious reforms, European history, etc. If Bach’s music is presented in this multi-disciplinary context, then four-part harmony and figured bass realization will no longer be limited to boring theory exercises and “cantata” and “ritornello” would not just be difficult terms to memorize. All of the ingredients would become meaningful because they are all related within a unique context.

After gaining a broader understanding of different musical styles, students would become better interpreters when they perform and would feel more confident to compose. To give a good example, extending from the figured bass lessons, students can explore different realizations of the same harmonic progressions. Keyboard harmony and improvisation could be implemented, and the same principle of harmonic realization could also be applied to jazz and rock styles. These practical applications of music theory would greatly improve students’ musicianship and their ability to compose. At this stage, principles and techniques of composition and arrangement would be necessary in order to further the training.

Basic compositional skills such as conventional melodic writing, harmonization, instrumentation and form would be the core training. Introduction of 20th century styles and techniques would be gradually implemented according to students’ backgrounds and their pace of learning. Senior secondary students, after three years of systematic training of composition, should be able to write short compositions with logical structures, such as piano solo pieces, songs with piano accompaniment, small instrumental ensembles, and arrangements for western or Chinese ensembles.

Conclusion:

Music composition is one of the U. S. National Standards in Music Education, a special form of intelligence, an intellectual investigation of musical styles, and a problem-solving discipline. Despite controversies over teaching composition at secondary school level, music composition will be implemented into the Hong Kong New Senior Secondary Curriculum beginning in 2009.

In order to successfully implement music composition at secondary school levels, qualitative and systematic training becomes essential. The biggest problem lies upon the severe shortage of qualified composition teachers at school levels. Training of qualified composition teachers is an urgent need and should be a new focus in music education. A combinatorial approach of music composition and education would be necessary, and the subject of composition pedagogy should be offered in higher education dedicated to the training of future composition teachers.

Many students are afraid of composing because they were told or they believe that they do not have the talents, and were never given an opportunity to do so. It is proven that students can compose when they are encouraged and given opportunities to do so. Compositional skills can be learned after students attain an adequate level of musicianship. Student compositions are far from being perfect. Beginner composers need plenty of positive reinforcement of their efforts in order to build up their confidence and sustain their motivation. A sensitive teacher would start from where they are, and then gradually bring them up to higher levels. Composition is an ongoing learning process. Improvement comes with efforts and dedication; it will take time. Both composition teachers and students must be patient. The more compositions students write, the better their music will become. Being able to take ownership of a creative output is a matter of pride. When student composers acquire this pride, they become more excited about their learning and continually improve in the discipline. Eventually, they can apply their compositional skills into classroom teaching, and become confident and competent composition teachers.

The quality of education should not be compromised. In order to upgrade future music teachers’ qualifications, the overall academic standard and musical training at the teaching institutions must first be upgraded, among which the training of music composition should be a priority. The responsibility of providing systematic training on both the subject and the pedagogy of composition belongs to the teaching institution; the only institutions which best can rightfully produce qualified composition teachers for the future.

[1] National Standards for Arts Education: What Every Young American Should Know and Be Able to Do in the Arts (Reston, VA: Music Educators National Conference. 1994).

[2] Reimer: p. 260

[3] Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences include linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, and possibly existential.

[4] Reimer: pp. 221-229

[5] Reimer: pp. 221-222

[6] Reimer: pp. 222

[7] Reimer: pp. 255.

[8] Reimer: pp. 256

[9] Swanwick’s Spiral of Musical Development suggests eight levels of criteria for assessing compositions by school children: 1. sensory, 2. manipulative, 3. personal expressiveness, 4. vernacular, 5. speculative, 6. idiomatic, 7. symbolic and 8. systematic.

References:

Crowl, T. K., Kaminsky S., and Podell D.M. (1997). Educational Psychology, Windows on Teaching. Brown & Benchmark Publishers.

Reimer, B. (2003). A Philosophy of Music Education. 3rd ed. New York: Prentice Hall.

Swanwick, K. (1994). Musical knowledge: Intuition, analysis and music education. London & New York: Routledge.