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Composition in Music Education: Moving Beyond Curricular

Marginalization

Presentation September 2016

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.19041.71526

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Michele Kaschub
University of Southern Maine
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Composition in Music Education
Moving Beyond
Curricular Marginalization

Michele Kaschub, PhD

University of Southern Maine, USA
mkaschub@maine.edu
6%
88%
 In todays session
Deep-seated myths
Realities of teacher education programs
Unhappy outcomes
Think differently about composition
Introduce Compositional Capacities

Challenge #1: Deep-seated myths
s
Composer
t k n o w m usic
mus Comp
theory. o
notate ser
their
o s ers music
Co mp .
l o n e. Composers
work a
are men.
Composers
Composers are dead.
s!
are geniuse Composers
are white.
Challenge #2: Teacher education

Pre-service teachers who wish

to specialize in composition
are rarely welcomed in higher education.
Pre-service teachers experiences with
composition are typically limited
to music theory coursework.

Music theory is usually taught

as a closed form.
Pre-service teachers rarely take
specific coursework in
K-12 composition methods.

Pre-service teacher practicums

rarely include composition.
Challenge #3: Unhappy outcomes
Focus on musical elements
implies music construction is more
important than student expressivity
Focus on notation skills
supplants students creativity and
musical imagination
 Challenge #3 (continued)
Focus on isolated techniques
distances sound from the students
lived experience of music
Focus on teacher-prioritized outcomes
eliminates students
artistic autonomy and
musical satisfaction
 Challenge #4: Think differently
Address the unique nature and value of
music
Welcome and engage student curiosities
Create opportunities for composers to
find themselves in and through their work
Provide teachers with practical guidance
and pedagogical surety
The Compositional Capacities
Approach
 Feelingful Intention

The ability to determine the musical

potentials of an experienced or projected
feeling or an extra-musical
connection or connotation.
 Musical Expressivity
The ability to recognize the feelingful
impact or potential impact of sounds as
they are perceived by the body.

Motion------------------------------Stasis
Unity------------------------------Variety
Sound-----------------------------Silence
Tension---------------------------Release
Stability-----------------------Instability
 Artistic Craftsmanship

The ability to use compositional

techniques in the shaping of musical
expressivities to invite feelingful
engagements with music.
 How it works...
Teachers present or students discover a
real artistic challenge
Students define a compositional goal
Students explore sounds; generate, test
and select/discard ideas; (repeat); refine
the product; practice for performance
 How it works...
Students share compositions with class
and receive feedback
Teachers ask questions, framed by
capacities or highlighting capacities, to
draw out and develop what students have
learned
Observations become part of the shared
knowledge of the compositional
community
 Why it works
Acknowledges and welcome breadth of
outcomes (no right/wrong answers)
Engages students by assuring artistic
autonomy and total ownership
Provides foundation to expand knowledge
Draws on human experience of music as
impetus for learning
 Questions?

Michele Kaschub, PhD

University of Southern Maine, USA
mkaschub@maine.edu

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