It was my first “real” teaching job – the elementary music teacher for a small school. I was to share the class with the upper grades music teacher, who had been there for years and had many traditions.
One of those traditions was “Cool Dead Dudes.”
I found a poster labeled “Cool Dead Dudes”, with interchangeable laminated velcro images of Mozart, Bach, etc. “But what about all of the other composers? The ones who aren’t dudes. Or composers who are still alive?” I wondered.
I searched through all of those laminated pictures – and realized cool dead dudes was an apt name indeed. Let’s just say the school printer and laminator got some good use that week! I updated our “Cool Dead Dudes” repertoire to include women, living, and lesser-known composers. Teaching students about composers is important. Teaching them about “cool dead dude” composers is part of that, absolutely. But that doesn’t give them the most well-rounded education!
Why It’s Important for Students to See Different Types of Composers
Bach, Mozart, Beethoven – as a culture and society, most people know these names. And for good reason! We know exposing students to classical music is important. It is both art and history, and should be taught to students often. Exposing students to modern composers in no way means they shouldn’t also be continuously exposed to classical composers.
But we’re missing a large part of music education if we stop there.
Here’s why it’s important for students to see that all composers aren’t all old dead white guys:
Our students aren’t old white dead guys!
One month (at the school mentioned above), I featured Duke Ellington as our Composer of the Month. As soon as she walked into the classroom, a young girl recently moved from Ethiopia looked at the Composer of the Month board and yelled, “Oh my goodness! He looks like me!”
This girl was hooked the entire month on everything I taught about Duke Ellington – and her excitement was contagious. Students wanted to know more about his life than any of the previous composers. The simple act of having a point of connection gave her – and by proxy, other students – a genuine curiosity for this composer.
There are so many varieties and types of composers to study. Students may not feel an inherent connection to Mozart. But Wendy looks like someone they could have as a teacher, or a neighbor. Knowing that she’s living makes her music feel a bit like it’s living.
Learning about living composers can be the key to a door of interest. And once the door is open, it’s easier for students to invite in Chopin or Brahms.
What Can A Composer of the Month Do for Your Students?
Here are just some of the ways a Composer of the Month study can enrich your students studies:
- Music Is History: It is absolutely fascinating to see how world events changed or inspired composers. Shostakovich is just one example of this. Learning how music (or art in general) can be used to make a statement is something that older students especially really grasp onto.
- Composers’ Quirks: Have you heard the story of Haydn cutting off the pigtails of a classmate? This story sends my students into fits of laughter every time – and it makes them want to try and find the “surprises” and mischief in his Surprise Symphony. Even if they forget his name, they remember the symphony (and his brief foray into hairdressing).
- Build Studio Camaraderie: Make learning about a composer a studio-wide event (Melissa Glorioso does a wonderful job of this, and her ideas are below!)
- Exposure: The reality is that if they’re not exposed to it during their music lessons, students may not realistically hear the many varieties of music that we can sometimes take for granted. Their family may never put on classical music, a jazz album, or something more 20th century in sound.
- Build Active Listening: Passive listening is what most of us do throughout the day – you take in the music, enjoy it, and that’s about it. Active listening is what we want our students to do. You’ll see more on this below, but asking your students to listen to specifics in a piece teaches them active listening.
Meet the (Living) Composer Can Kick It Off!
Wendy has created a series of videos (see below!) called “Meet the (Living) Composer!”. This is a great way to start a Composer of the Month, as all of the work has been done for you! You just have to show your students the videos.
A Guide for Doing a “Composer of the Month” In Your Studio: 3 Levels
1. Easiest
If you don’t want to commit to doing a composer of the month, you could do a simple “Composer Spotlight” and feature a living composer like Wendy Stevens or Diane Hidy. Here’s an example using a photo of Wendy – simply have students watch her new “Meet the (Living) Composer!” videos mentioned below, and have a quick discussion about it. You can even save the image below and use it in your studio!
2. Somewhat Easy
If you’re wanting to be a bit more involved, or do a Composer of the Month every month or sprinkled throughout the year, this route could be for you. Here’s what you need:
- a picture of the composer (or their picture displayed on an iPad)
- a short biography, or even a few key bullet points
- a fun fact to draw students in and help them remember the composer
That’s it! Every week you can have a brief discussion about the composer, listen to a minute or two of their most well-known works, and ask students questions. You can further enhance this with things like the new Meet the Living Composer Feature on ComposeCreate!
3. More Involved: Melissa’s Composer of the Year
Melissa Glorioso only does a Composer of the Month once a year – which means she can enroll the help of piano parents in having their students listen to pieces and learn about the composer!
Melissa was kind enough to let us use her ideas and verbiage for parent communication. As a matter of fact, Melissa was who inspired Wendy to create the new Meet the (Living) Composer feature on ComposeCreate! Melissa has been doing a Composer of the Month in her studio for years, and sends emails out to parents each week in the month. The emails include links to what students should listen to, information about what they’re doing in the studio that week, and a fun story or piece of information about the composer or piece. Here’s the full breakdown:
Week 1 Email to Parents:
“Hello! I’m always delighted when [month] rolls around and we can begin a new composer study. Today I’m sending the introduction to our study on [composer]. Please have your student listen to this clip sometime over the next few days and we’ll discuss it in their lessons next week. Thanks so much! We’re off to a great start!”
What to include in the email:
- A YouTube link (or Melissa uses a wonderful resource called Classics for Kids) of the piece you want students to listen to
- Links to books students may be able to find in the library about the composer (or articles)
- Optional: questions you’ll ask students the following week about the piece. Ex: This symphony was called “The Surprise Symphony”. Why is that? What about the instruments and sounds made it feel surprising?
Week 2 Email to Parents:
Hello,
Hearing your kids tell me what they learned about [composer] this week was a highlight for me. In addition, many have chosen to learn a piece composed by him/her and I’ve been impressed at how well they’re doing after just one week.
Today I am sending this weeks program that focuses on [composers] Symphonies/etc.. You’ll discover [an interesting fact (ex: Haydn’s sense of humor carried over into his composing)]. We’ll be discussing this program in next weeks lessons.
Thanks for your help in making sure your students hear this before next weeks lesson.
What to include in the email:
- Another link to a different piece of work from the composer
- A fun fact about the composer (in the body of the email)
- Optional: questions you’ll ask students the following week about the piece.
Week 3 Email:
This week I have really enjoyed spending just a few minutes with each student discussing [composer]. It’s remarkable how much they remember from a short radio program and we’ve had lots of fun talking about [fact about composer. Ex: Haydn’s sense of humor and how that shows up in his music.] I’m sending along Clip #3 this morning. We’ll discuss this next week in lessons. May I also suggest two things to enhance your students learning?
First, here is a picture book about [composer] that would be a delightful addition to your family’s library. Second, would you
consider making this beautiful piece of music a priority this week? Perhaps you could watch a video of it being performed. The video included here is very fun to watch.
My goal is that you’ll all recognize this famous piece throughout the years and remember the things we’ve learned about [composer].
Thanks for your help!
What to include in the email:
- Another link to a different piece of work from the composer
- A fun fact about the composer (in the body of the email)
- Include something that can continue to keep students interested in the composer. Melissa suggests a book – but it could be anything that you think would help students!
- Optional: questions you’ll ask students the following week about the piece.
Week 4 Email:
Greetings to you all at the end of [month]!
Our Composer month is nearly over and I cannot tell you how many students have said they wished we could continue on into February. I’ve had so much fun discussing the antics of [composer] – he/she really makes it easy to love him/her. Maybe you’d like to celebrate the end of the month by playing [composers pieces] during this weekend. The 4th and final audio clip is below. I like it because [reason this piece is interesting].
Thanks for your help in making this a great month.
What to include in the email:
- Another link to a different piece of work from the composer
- The reason you particularly enjoy this piece (in the body o the email)
- Optional: questions you’ll ask students the following week about the piece.
Meet the (Living) Composer! – New Series!
This enter post and what Wendy did was inspired by Melissa Glorioso. She asked Wendy to be her Composer of the Year and she event suggested that Wendy make it available to teachers like you. (Thank you, Melissa!)
So Wendy has created four videos that you can use with your own students for Composer of the Month! She talks about her background, influences, compositional process, and even advice to student composers. These videos are completely free, and are designed to make it easy for you to share about a modern, living composer with your students! You can access all of the videos here.
We hope to share a Meet the Living Composer about Diane Hidy as well!
Your Turn! Have You Done a Composer of the Month?
Have you ever done a Composer of the Month with your students? What tips and tricks do you have for making it successful? We’d love to hear!
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I do a similar thing after spring break. We each choose a composer from the statues they have earned, female composers, and/or living composers. Since the students love your music so much, Wendy, (there is always a few of your pieces in every recital we do!), I am introducing “Audacious” and “Diddly-Squat” from Jazz Shorts to the recital this Saturday. I know some of them will want to work on these for Achievement Day in March. I know you don’t want to brag about your talents, Wendy, but we do have a living composer right here on ComposeCreate so why not include you?? Right!
Hi
I’m would like this information,.,linked or added but am not figuring out how ?
Greetings and thanks, Susan Hubacker