Blog Reflection 6

The subject of class on Friday was teaching students how to make their own compositions. Professor Riley showed us some examples of compositions made by students he was worked with in the past. I think that you'll find you will be impressed by what your students can come up with. Hearing the compositions of the young students of Professor Riley, I was shocked by their abilities. It can be a challenge, but for a student who thrives in creativity, it can be an expression of their true genius.

Just this past weekend I learned a technique for teaching students how to write a song of their own. I went to a presentation at the OMEA conference that was devoted to better catching the attention of "tween-agers". In this presentation Trishah Snowden engaged us the way she would her middle school classroom. She then showed us examples of different projects that her students do throughout the year. The project that she presented that was relevant to Friday's class was a rap composition. She would have the students start by taking a short amount of time to determine the subject they would rap about, write some rhyming words that were related to the topic, then write some short sentences (not necessarily rhyming) to get some ideas. The next step was to create eight bars of rhythm for two verses and a chorus. Finally, she had the group put lyrics to the rhythms they created to finish their song. She downloaded a generic back beat from iTunes and the students would perform their raps for the class. It was a really neat idea. The only thing is that it didn't include writing a melody, but this activity could be used for a younger group before introducing a more difficult concept.

Teaching kids how to compose their own music can bring out the best in some that may not have strengths in other areas. Conversely, there are also going to be students who find it to be challenging and uninteresting. The greatest benefit of this task, I feel, is that all aspects of music are encompassed in it. There is also an element of teamwork that gives each student responsibilities to the group, and not just to themselves. Teaching composition to students may be a bit challenging for a first-year teacher, but with more experience, it can be a great way for students to exercise their musical knowledge.