Music students, their teachers, composers, and school communities experience deep, long-lasting growth in music-making and artistic perspective when provided with opportunities to engage in the commissioning of new musical works in conjunction with composer residencies. Through consideration of relevant literature and case-study examination, the…

Before our current notation system was widely adopted by musicians, improvisation was a key component of music throughout the Western world. One of the fundamental elements of the baroque style, namely, using improvised embellishment, offered musicians great artist liberty. During the baroque period, improvisation spread across Europe and beyond.…

It is vitally important for students to be creating music from the youngest age, and in all general music class settings. Now that the National Standards have been revised (renamed the National Core Arts Standards) and creating has been elevated to one of three artistic processes, the creative activities of composing, arranging, and improvising…

Creative musical experiences appropriate to children's cognitive and psychomotor development should begin in kindergarten. Structured creativity through the process of musical composition can be used at grade 4 and above. Lesson plans using Haiku poetry, penatonic scales, rhythmic durations, and melodic contour to create a song are provided. (VW)

Offers suggestions for students and teachers for learning jazz improvisation. Discusses listening, practicing scales, chords, phrasing, developing a sense of swing, and shaping creative ideas through structural features. Emphasizes the relationship between chords and scales as a critical key to improvisation. Recommends educational materials to…

Describes a strategy called phone-ominal composition for teaching students in fifth through twelve grades about jazz and musical composition. Explains that the students use their phone number to create the composition. Provides examples of this technique and guidelines. (CMK)

Discusses the importance of developing second grade student listening, singing, and composing skills. Explores the second-grade singing apprenticeship where students can sing alone, as a group, or listen to other groups. Focuses on teaching singing skills and allowing students to experiment with music. (CMK)

Focuses on how music teachers can make choral rehearsals more interesting for students by incorporating creative lessons and activities. Explores what it means to be creative and includes examples of creative lessons that can be used in the choral rehearsal. (CMK)

Describes how to teach elementary students about vocal improvisation using the Kodaly-based approach. Discusses the three steps involved in this technique: (1) develop familiar singing patterns; (2) use a question and answer format; and (3) begin improvisation. Includes examples of solfege patterns and a vocal question and answer. (CMK)

Offers ideas for teaching musicians to be improvisors. Suggests that structure, organization, and continuity are problems that can be solved by learning to improvise. Recommends exercises in building phrases to help students acquire a sense of the developing whole. Concludes that improvisation can be taught by showing students how to teach…

Discusses how to encourage creativity in the music classroom for upper-elementary students by focusing on musical composition. Includes a description of a nine lesson unit that focuses on creativity in musical composition. States that students can continue working on compositions at home. (CMK)

Music motivator projects that enable the elementary teacher to use social science methods (known as ethnomethodology) to observe and learn about students without testing are described. Working in groups and guiding each other, students compose a musical composition and then notate it. Discovery learning is encouraged. (RM)

Contends that band students who are taught composition techniques improve listening skills, make aesthetic decisions, and become more imaginative and creative. Presents ideas from five music teachers for incorporating composition into the music curriculum. Discusses the use of computer software in musical composition. (CFR)