Creativity is a “popular but heterogeneous word” (Gibson 2005) in current educational discourse.
Composing is creative act, and the National curriculum for music in the UK places a statutory
requirement on the teaching and learning of composing music for all pupils in schools up to age
14. The notion of creativity is to be found in many curricular contexts, some more dubious than
others, yet in the case of composing in schools we, as teachers, are asking our pupils to bring
Description:
1: The extent to which teachers and student teachers feel themselves to be composers. I suspect that
despite all the innovations that have taken place in the music curriculum over the last thirty years
with composing supposedly being treated as of equal importance as performing and listening, there is
still the feeling that composing is something that only 'special' people do and consequently music
teachers are less likely to personally engage with it. This then has an impact on their
understanding of the processes of composing and their confidence in teaching it.
2: The extent to which we should intervene in children's composing. I know that we feel that we
ought to help pupils extend, develop or organise their ideas- that's what we're paid for and it
justifies our existence! Sometimes when listening to music I really enjoy, I put on my music
teacher's hat and think how I would respond to a particular tune or idea were it offered to me by a
pupil. In most cases I would advise them to develop or extend it and of course, in the process, ruin
it (second subject Schubert Quintet- just goes round and round, using limited notes. C- must do
better!) It might well be that we ought for most of the time just leave them alone unless
specifically asked to intervene.
3: I think you are absolutely right to say that we should focus on the process of composing. It's
probably also well worth getting children to understand that in many musical cultures/genres the
idea of a product (in terms of something fixed) is quite alien. This can be a quite liberating
thought!
Gary
gary.spruce July 15th, 2009
