Teach-Primary-Issue-19.2

COMPOSED... Focusing on four essential elements allows rewards to outweigh the risks when teaching children how to write music, says Ben Connor M usic is a subject that many non-specialist teachers find difficult. It requires a different set of skills and routines from any other discipline and, by its nature, involves noise. There is also a great deal of exploration, which is hard for teachers who like to have everything carefully controlled. However, music is vital, as it allows opportunities for pupils to explore creativity, hone cognitive skills, and develop emotional intelligence. Among the many aspects of teaching music, composition stands out as an especially valuable skill. It allows pupils not only to appreciate or understand music, but also to actively engage with it, creating their own musical ideas and expressions. Introducing musical composition at the primary school level can be both a fun and enriching experience that nurtures imagination,problem-solving, and collaboration. Understandably, though, many teachers are intimidated by the prospect of organising a composition lesson. Some of the common challenges I’ve encountered include limited musical knowledge, varying developmental stages, a lack of confidence (from pupils and teachers), and a lack of resources and/or support. After many years, I’ve developed a toolkit to address these issues, which I hope may be of some help to you: 1. Musical knowledge It is a misconception that pupils require a deep understanding of musical theory to compose. As with all learning, it is important to start with simple, repetitive tasks that can then be built upon in subsequent lessons. Don’t worry about notation to start with; instead ask pupils to create a simple motif based on their name or other significant letters. For example, get children to choose three or four significant note letters, A-G, (so I might choose the letters B, E and C from my name). The corresponding notes then come together to form a simple tune that can be the start of the children’s composition. When it becomes important to record their score, use graphic notation (find an explanation of this in the panel on the right) rather than notation. 2. Developmental stages Younger children may not yet have the coordination to play instruments fluently, but they can still experiment with sounds using their voices, body percussion, or classroom instruments like tambourines and maracas. Start with untuned or body percussion and work as a class to experiment. Introduce: rhythm (a mixture of long and short sounds – see the panel for activity ideas); tempo (fast or slow), for example, play children music clips and have them move on the spot – can they show different movements for different tempos?; dynamics (loud and soft), for example play ‘Be the Conductor’ where one child is the conductor in charge of the dynamics and can make the pupils play louder or softer by moving their ‘baton’. 3. Confidence Many children are hesitant to create music, especially if they don’t have prior experience. It’s crucial to create a supportive environment where mistakes are seen as part of the learning process. Provide pupils with a clear structure or suggested ideas, for example by linking their composition to the class novel. Can they create a piece of music to describe a particular scene from the book? This will help them to get over the initial difficulties with coming up with ideas. Model giving positive affirmation and constructive criticism to support pupils in working well together collaboratively. 4. Resources and support With budget cuts, schools might not have whole-class sets of instruments. The first job is to work out exactly what resources are in school “Composition stands out as an especially valuable skill” Stay T EACH PR I MARY MUS I C SPEC I A L I N AS SOC I A T I ON W I TH 66 | www.teachwire.net