AAPF presentations are free and open to the public. Please join us!

10:00am - Meet and greet with refreshments

10:30am - Presentation begins (approximately 1 hour)

For any teacher who says “but I’m not a composer so how can I teach composition?” This is a jumpstart on how to introduce composition in your teaching and what to expect along the way.

There are numerous benefits to exploring creativity through music composition with students.  These include increased student engagement, reinforcement of musical concepts, goal setting, and follow-through. Many students think they need permission to be creative and may feel scared to “make a mess” by playing notes not printed on a page. Validating student creativity by giving them space to experiment and ownership of their own music often leads to renewed engagement in their musical studies. Composing with students gives the teacher the opportunity to reinforce musical concepts in an organic way by opening the door to discussions about musical elements such as melody, harmony, rhythm, form, etc. Each composition is a chance to set clear goals, such as writing for specific styles, forms, key signatures, time signatures, instruments and their techniques, etc. Additionally, composition competitions can be goalposts that give students helpful limitations, feedback from professional composers, and recognition for their creativity. Each composition is an opportunity to push students to follow through with their creative projects and see firsthand that they can do hard things.

This presentation will give teachers guidance on what tools are most effective and accessible—including notation software and simple applications for capturing ideas—and will share tips on how to give helpful feedback and structure to the process of composing. This presentation will conclude with examples of award-winning student compositions of various levels and ages and will show the writing process by including drafts, videos, recordings, and finished scores.

Dan McCurry is a Piano and Composition teacher based in Charleston, SC.

His students have received recognition for their compositions in competitions by MTNA, NFMC, Piano Inspires Kids, Piano Guild, Piano Explorer Magazine, and SCMTA.