10 Ways to Encourage Composition in your Studio

Here are 10 ways you can encourage composition in your studio:

1. Feature student compositions at a recital
This year I told my students, “Any student who composes a piece of music and helps me write it down can perform it at our spring recital.”  Of course, my students had to also play a published piece of music, but I don’t think there is any harm in allowing students to be programmed with other living and dead composers!  Creative students will be excited that their piece will be performed with other, more established composers.

2. Be in contact and encourage your students to be in contact with living composers.
If they have a special piece they love, have them write a question about the piece to the composer. Composers typically love it when kids love their pieces, so they’re usually very good about answering correspondence to them.  Updated 9/21/09: Learn how your students can submit interview questions to a living composer on the Interview with Kevin Costley, a successful FJH composer.

3. Have a composition theme or a contest and invite all students to participate.
Hire a judge to critique their compositions and give a prize for the best or just prizes for all who enter the contest.  This can be done within your studio or local association.   Some possible themes: dance music, book or movie characters, space music, halloween music, earth day, summer music, zoo animals, etc. 

4. Do a “Story in Sound” event where each student comes up with 1 idea to match a group of words in a story.
I’m going to be writing a post on this soon. It’s a great way to get ALL students involved in writing short motives.

5. Enter the Piano Explorer Composition Contest.
The issue describing the composition event comes out in January.  Visit The Instrumentalist for more information on subscribing.

6. Have a festival at your local association and bring in a composer.
Make composition a part of this festival.  Our local association had an olympic festival during the summer ’08 olympics.  We hosted a composition contest in which students were divided by age and were asked to write a piece about the olympics.

7. Have a studio Theme and Variations challenge:
How many ways can you make the same song sound different?  Pick a folk tune and have each student make an arrangement of it. (I often say “do something fun with it”).

• Change just 1 or 2 notes for interest.
• Change the rhythm.
• Change time signatures.
• Change modalities
• Use a different L.H. accompaniment pattern

8. Bring in a composer to talk to your students about composition.
You’d be surprised at how many composers might be in your area.  Don’t restrict yourself to composers of piano music, though they are often very motivating for students.  Choral, band, and symphonic composers should all have interesting insights for students.   Update 9/21/09: Read about Linda Kennedy’s Adopt a Composer program.

9. Follow up on student’s comments about their current pieces.
Sometimes my students insist that they don’t like the ending of a song.  That’s a great opportunity for me to ask them to write their own ending.  I love the fact that the Fabers often ask students to compose special endings to their lesson pieces in the Piano Adventures series. 

One student I have just loved the Hiccup Song in her Hal Leonard Level 3 Lesson book.  But, she was adamant that it did not sound like a hiccup song.  So, I asked her to write a piece that did sound like a Hiccup Song.  She seemed a little hesitant, so I told her that I would write one also and we would compare them next week.  We ended up writing very different pieces: mine had lyrics and was pretty easy.  Hers was more like sound effects and movie music, but we both told each other what we liked about each other’s songs and had a great time.  Her brother was even inspired and wrote a hiccup song of his own.   

10. Arrange a lesson with a living composer.
There is really no replacement for a student getting feedback or lessons from another composer.  Don’t hesitate to contact composers and arrange to meet for a few lessons with your students who show considerable promise.