It's out with the old and in with the.....old.

One of the pieces of work I am currently undertaking is to compile an ebook which will be uploaded onto this site in a few months. An area I am currently looking at is how we teach composition. It is interesting to look through the published materials on this subject which tend to follow similar patterns. These patterns are often reflected in the education of composition in a school environment. The approach generally starts by looking at the notes on a stave, maybe followed by time signatures and the rhythms of notes. From here we move onto scales and key signatures and then possibly dynamics. There is a certain linearity about this approach which assumes that you have to know 'A' before you can move onto 'B.' Now, I am not for one second down playing the importance of developing a technical knowledge and compositional craft, but it is also worth taking into account a range of other factors including, the social, emotional and cultural capital of the young composer, the developments in technology, our increased globalisation and accessibility to music, and the wide recognition of the importance of developing creativity skills. If we are taking these factors into consideration, then the linear approach appears less relevant. Through the research, I have been looking at different teaching methodologies throughout the ages. I came across Rameu's 'A Treatise of Music containing the principles of composition,' published in 1779. This was a widely used handbook by both students of composition and their teachers. What really struck me however was the opening of the book which starts by describing scales, followed by intervals, then clefs, and onto time signatures and rhythmic features. Sounds pretty familiar doesn't it?

It is worth drilling down to the core of what is important when we teach composition, the connections that can be made, and also the starting point based on the experiences of each young composer. The key to this is relevance and ensuring that the compositional voice of the young composer can be developed through exercises and projects which foster a sense of curiosity and open mindedness.