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Compositional Processes of High School Composers
Charles William Hesbacker
Saint Francis University
Submitted in partial fulfillment of
The requirements for EDUC533
November 17, 2009
Table of Contents
Abstract 3
Introduction 3
Statement of the Problem 4
Review of Related Literature 4
Statement of Hypothesis 5
The Participants 5
Experimental Design 6
Procedure 6
References 7
Abstract
Composition and improvisation are two forms of creative thinking. Composition is written and improvisation is performed. Mary A. Kennedy researched the compositional processes of high school composers and found that the composers had several similarities. Kennedy found that the composers listened to an extensive library of CD’s, that the music inspired the composers to compose their own melodies, the composers had little difficulty generating ideas, and that the composers spent little time composing the melodies (Kennedy, 2009).
Introduction
Is musical talent innate or learned? Are children born with musical talent or do they develop musical ability throughout early childhood experiences and music lessons? According to Dianna Richardson, Juilliard School graduate, musical talent is innate and learned (Wojcik, 2002).
Musical talent manifests itself in many forms. Music students demonstrate musical talent through compositional technique, reading and playing music simultaneously, and musical improvisation just to name a few.
Improvisation and composition activities are established components of the school music education curriculum (Consortium of National Arts Education Associations, 1994). Composition is defined as the creation of music on manuscript while improvisation is the composition of music during performance. While instructors devote a large part of their time incorporating state standards into their classroom lessons, little time is devoted to implementing creative thinking activities such as improvisation and composition on a regular basis (Kiehn, 2007). These studies indicate that teachers are not comfortable teaching creative thinking.
Composition is an important classroom learning tool. Research on composition and improvisation has yielded information about the steps involved within the compositional process and the ways to help children move through these steps with increasing understanding and skill. Here are a few statements made by teachers about the importance of music composition in the classroom: “Children learn more through composing.” “Composing enriches learning.” “Composing is a fun and creative outlet when time permits.” (Strand, 2006).
Music software has become an important tool to music educators and students. Music notation software is used to compose music and print out musical scores. Ear training software teaches students to identify intervals, chords, rhythms, pitch recognition, and timbres. Virtual instruments, also known as softsynths, are computer programs that produce sound without the need of sound producing electronic circuits. No more are we burdened with heavy instruments to lug around. Audio recording and mixing software have replaced the need for expensive mixing consoles and multi-track tape recorders. Mastering software allows musicians to master songs after the songs have been recorded to get that “commercial feel.” Samples and loops are prerecorded instruments and voice recordings that can be combined to produce the sound of a band, an orchestra, or a full choir. Music software had given music educators and students a vast assortment of new tools to learn, compose, and produce music with. Music software and the digital age have entered the musical arena.
Statement of the Problem
The purpose of the study was to conduct an investigation of the compositional processes of adolescents to clarify effective strategies for implementing composition activities in high school music programs. The research sought to uncover processes and steps that would help teachers design, plan, and carry out the teaching of composition at the high school level.
Review of Related Literature
Music compositional skill level was found to increase with age in an early study by Kratus. He reports that the students understanding of the rhythmic organization, melodic organization, and phrase construction increases consistently from ages 5 through 11. Songs composed 13 year olds rate slightly lower than those of 11 year olds; which may indicate that a plateau was reached (Kratus, 1985).
While the ability to improvise melody increases with age, a greater increase occurs between ages 8 and 9. This finding agrees with earlier research. This suggest that children are developmentally different from ages 6-8 than 9-12 (Brophy T. S., 1998). At age 7, the children improvised significantly more measures of repeated melodic motives than they did at age 8. The mean number of measures decreased at age 8 and increased slightly at age 9, suggesting a lesser tendency to improvise repeated melodic motives as the children grew older (Brophy T. S., 2005).
Composition and improvisation are two forms of creative thinking. Composition is written and improvisation is performed. Mary A. Kennedy researched the compositional processes of high school composers. Kennedy found that the composers had several similarities. Kennedy found that the four high school composers had an extensive library of CD’s to listen to and derive new ideas from, that the sound library inspired the composers to compose their own melodies, the composers had little difficulty generating new ideas, and that the composers spent little time composing these new melodies (Kennedy, 2009).
In other studies, the high school composers had access to computers, MIDI workstations, and music writing programs. MIDI stands for musical instrument digital interface. The computers produce a musical score as part of the program. Finale, Sibelius, and Magic Score are the current music notation programs on the market.
Composers, with today’s computer technology, have a great opportunity to create musical scores. SmartScore X is an OCR program (optical character recognition) that can scan a sheet of music and convert it into standard Music XML format. The Music XML file is then imported into the Sibelius or Finale program and a musical score is generated (Michlin, 2009). Music XML format represents common Western musical notation from the 17th century onwards. Once the musical score is generated, composers can alter the musical score in anyway they desire to produce a newly composed musical composition.
EarMaster is computer software that gives computer-aided ear training to students (Michlin, all things technology, 2008). EarMaster helps students identify, transcribe, and play intervals, chords, scales, modes, rhythms and melodies.
Statement of Hypothesis
If we investigate the compositional processes of adolescents, we can develop effective teaching strategies for implementing compositional activities in the high school music programs.
The Participants
The study was situated within the context of a school, but was not part of the music curriculum. Music teachers from secondary schools in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada were informed about the nature of the study. Finding schools who offered composition limited the choice of participants for the study. One school was a junior secondary in which concert band, jazz band, strings and concert choir were offered in addition to a course in electronic music in which students worked with MIDI workstations. Two participants, Matt and Lynn, attended this school. The second school was a high school that offered concert band, jazz band, stage band, concert choir, jazz choir, percussion ensemble, and a composition course. Andrew and Jenn attended this school.
The participants had various backgrounds in music. The four high school students, two boys and two girls, were recommended for inclusion in the study by their school instrumental music instructors. All participants were enrolled in the school music program and had different backgrounds in music.
Experimental Design
The design used in the experiment was the Posttest-Only Control Group Design. This design was selected because there were two different groups of high school composers. The control group, Matt and Lynn, had very limited music experience, no private lessons, lacked a solid grounding in theory or standard music notation. The experimental group, Andrew and Jenn, had extensive music training which consisted of private lessons, advanced music theory instruction, substantial exposure to writing in standard music notation, extensive jazz training, and understood chord structure and function.
Procedure
For the first task, the student shall set a short poem to music for voice and acoustic instrument. A Canadian poem must be selected. It is important to select a poem that is understandable by students ages 15-18. The selected poem must be of appropriate length. To stimulate creative potential, the student should use a poem that is free verse as opposed to one with a predictable rhyming scheme.
The second task is for the student to create a musical piece of their own choosing. The students should use the school owned electronic workstations. The number of tracks, sound patches, the form, and the length are to be determined by the student.
Data consist of transcripts of the interviews with the students, descriptive field notes of observations and interviews, one composition draft, notated scores of the acoustic pieces, and the CD with all recorded versions.
References
Brophy, T. S. (2005). A Longitudinal Study of Selected Characteristics of Children's Melodic Improvisations. Journal of Research in Music Education , 53(2), 120-133.
Brophy, T. S. (1998). The melodic improvisations of children ages six through twelve: A developmental perspective. University of Kentucky.
Consortium of National Arts Education Associations. (1994). 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.
Kennedy, M. A. (2009). Listening to the music: Compositional processes of high school composers. Journal of Research in Music Education , 50(2), 94-110.
Kiehn, M. T. (2007). Creative Thinking: Music Improvisational Skills Development among Elementary School Students. Journal of Human Development , Volume 1, Issue 2, 2007.
Kratus, J. (1985). Rhythm, melody, motive, and phrase characteristics of original songs be children aged five to thirteen. Unpublished doctoral dissertation.
Michlin, A. (2008). all things technology. Music Educators Journal , 94(4), 26-27.
Michlin, A. (2009). SmartScore X. Review of medium_being_reviewed title_of_work_reviewed_in_italics. Music Educators Journal , Vol. 95, Iss. 4; pg. 16.
Strand, K. (2006). Survey of Indiana Music Teachers on Using Composition in the Classroom. Journal of Research in Music Education , Vol. 54, Iss. 2; pg. 154.
Wojcik, J. A. (2002, Fall). Musical Talent: Innate or Learned? Retrieved November 13, 2009, from Duke University Talent Identification Program: http://www.dukegiftedletter.com/articles/vol3no1_article.html