Composition in the Classroom - Words, Music and Industry Connections is a process oriented residency for students with a built in professional development component for teachers.  The format was developed by Planet Arts over the past decade as part of projects created for Young Audiences/ New York , Bertelsmann’s World of Expression, NARAS (GRAMMY career Day) and Region 9 of the NYCDOE.

This project outline articulates an example of a 8 unit program with one unit of Professional Development, on-going planning time, five days of direct services to students, one culmination unit and one evaluation/assessment unit.  The project can be adjusted to accommodate a variety of school budgets including a 1 day overview; a 3, 5 or 10  unit direct service to students program with or without the professional development component.

Composition, arranging and improvisation are essential to the music classroom.  Planet Arts Inc. proposes to implement an interactive residency program that will impact both students and teachers.  While the residency will focus on building student musical skills, it will also provide an opportunity for teachers to further understand the origins and depth of the creative process and establish classroom models that can be used beyond the  term of the project and shared with music educators throughout the system.   The goal is to construct creative bridges that will:

Composition in the Classroom – Words, Music and Industry Connections is a "standards" based journey into the world of music adapted to coincide with the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Music.  The basic elements of music are introduced and immediately utilized in such a way that student’s of all ages are able to create original compositions.  The core of the project is the creative process (composition arranging, improvisation and songwriting).   Using this as a jumping off point, educators and students are connected to the industry through direct contact with and observation of working professionals.  The project model will open the possibility to explore, expand and create a portfolio of new music and ideas. Observing and participating in the activities of different musical art forms will provide an in depth look at the creative process of various artists and familiarize the participants with the tools and materials with which the artist works as well as the cultural context from which the music emerges.

Develop critical thinking skills as well as basic music skills through creating, performing and analyzing their own compositions;

Develop an understanding of different styles of music through listening exercises and the study of compositional form and structure;

Learn the historical connections to various styles of music;

Receive an in-depth look at the music industry and the people involved in the creation, production and performance of music.

Students will learn by doing and develop their own musical identities as they discover the similarities and differences of the language of music.

The project is set up as a Professional Development Residency where educators work directly with Planet Arts teaching artists from both outside and inside the classroom. 

The first part of the Professional Development Residency will consist of a workshop for educators where they will explore how to use songwriting and composition as tools in their classrooms.   The content of the workshop will provide music teachers with simple, concise, educationally sound techniques which allow students of all ages and levels to gain the confidence to write a musical composition from beginning to end.

The workshop will also focus on strategies for teaching and improving student musical skills in alignment with the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Music with an emphasis on Music Literacy and Careers in Music.

The workshop content will include:

·        Vocal and instrumental composition

·        Form and structure

·        Songwriting

·        Poetry and lyrics

·        Composition in the general music class

·        Strategies for teaching and improving student musical skills

·        Blueprint connections

The residency will continue with 5 workshops for students and teachers inside classroom.  This component will offer students an opportunity to learn about the complete songwriting/instrumental composition process from idea to demo recording.  Planning sessions will be built into each day of the residency where teachers and artists will come together to discuss residency structure, project goals and curriculum focus.  The intent is to establish a relationship between the artist and teacher that will be cultivated over the course of the project.  This will allow artists and teachers to interact and model teaching techniques where artistic and educational ideas, resources and philosophies are shared.  

Residency content will include:

• Getting started

• Instrumental and songwriting techniques

• Form and structure

• Making creative choices

• Analysis

• Editing

• Collaboration

• Utilizing music technology

• Preparing for the studio

• Making studio choices and decisions

• Recording process

The project will conclude with a culmination session where students will share their work with their peers and receive constructive feedback from industry professionals.  In addition, a post project assessment session will be scheduled with artists and educators to evaluate the general impact of the program, allow participants to discuss the content and explore future collaborations and replication.  

Related Professional Development Workshop

The Composition in the Classroom PD workshop is a creative experience where music educators explore how to use songwriting and composition as tools in their classrooms.   The content of the workshop will provide music teachers with simple, concise, educationally sound techniques which allow students of all ages and levels to gain the confidence to write a musical composition from beginning to end.

The workshop will also focus on strategies for teaching and improving student musical skills and explore connections to the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Music with an emphasis on Music Literacy and Careers in Music as well as UbD planning and assessment concepts.

This interactive workshop conducted by Planet Arts Inc. teaching artists will focus on a variety of creative process topics and related software applications as arranging and composition tools (Sibelius, Garage Band, Audacity, Pro Tools, etc.).  Music educators will be guided through exercises that will: introduce them to various composition techniques; explore practical instrumental and choral arranging; and provide useful applications to specific instrumental and choral ensemble situations.

Additional topics will include: Links to MAC and Window recording software; recording student ensembles and classroom utilization and applications.

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