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Search Results for: composition

Future Composers in Your Classrooms?

Do you notice any students of yours who do particularly well when composing in your music program? Let them know that young composers do get noticed! Recently, a 17 year old composer was the winner of 2 big awards and has since formed his own band that plays chamber music composed since 1988. Maybe students of yours will be winning composition awards in the future. Why not give your students a start by having them submit melodies to the Hartwick… Read More »Future Composers in Your Classrooms?

Sounds and Spaces around the world…

Thanks to David Wolf for the link to Soundtransit! While some people play music from around the world for their students, it is probably less common to have field recordings for our students to listen to of actual everyday sounds from spaces and places around the world. After taking a sound journey across the world our students will probably be more conscious and aware of the everyday sounds in their own lives and environment. Since the recordings on the site… Read More »Sounds and Spaces around the world…

American Idol and Music Education

Here is my response, with additions, to a question about the effect the show American Idol has had on music education. “I have addressed the show American Idol in my 5th grade general music classroom in relation to the idea of assessing performances. After my fifth grade students create original compositions and perform them for each other we speak about what criteria we would use to assess the compositions and performances. We use American Idol as a reference for discussing… Read More »American Idol and Music Education

Living Composers and New Music for students

Composer Belinda Reynolds, a member of the common sense composers collective, is doing the kind of work I was thinking about when I posted about contemporary music and music education a couple of weeks ago. Her recent article on Newmusicbox “Writing Music for Young Players” offers a refreshing and promising perspective on the creation of original music for youth. It would be wonderful if her perspective became a trend (as it was at one point in the 60’s and 70’s)… Read More »Living Composers and New Music for students

"To clap or not to clap….. "(the conversation continues)

Before my students perform their compositions in class we always have a conversation about clapping and how the etiquette for clapping is different depending on the musical and social situation. (We also have many conversations on audience etiquette in general including the importance of turning off cell phones when going to concerts — well at least in most situations other than this or more commonly this.) We talk about, for example, how a rock concert has a different set of… Read More »"To clap or not to clap….. "(the conversation continues)