Running head: RATHGEBER FREE CHOICE DOMAIN 1 … · · 2013-10-23soundtracks of John Williams, Hans Zimmer, ... Therefore, for this presentation, a solid rationale is necessary

Book-Based Compositions:

Integrating Literacy Development Tools into Music Composition

Jesse Rathgeber

Northwestern University

June 13, 2012

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Prelude

Music’s Narrative Capacity

Music is often used to tell stories. During any time spent listening to popular music radio

and/or YouTube streams, a listener will experience a torrent of stories set to music. Artists like

Adele, the Beatles, and Kanye West, among many others, have relied upon music’s narrative

qualities to reach their musical audiences and create works that deeply connect with and engage

them. If not for music ability to aid in telling a story, there would be little need for the grandiose

soundtracks of John Williams, Hans Zimmer, and Danny Elfman that accompany blockbuster

movies.

Classical composers knew this very well as they created so-called “Programatic” pieces

of music that sonically, with or without the use of lyrics, led listeners through vivid and intricate

story lines filled with richly defined characters. Schubert’s Der Erlkönig, Wagner’s operatic

works, Berlioz’s Symphonie Fatastique, Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the

Animals, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, and Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf remain

relevant by still delighting musical audiences of all ages because of their strong reliance on

narrative. Perhaps it is because of this that program music can make up the profusion of classical

masterworks that are heard in general music classrooms.

Program music and music that express narratives are routinely the focus of music

listening activities for elementary school students in and out of music class. However, it is the

view of this author that music’s narrative qualities possess great potential for developing

compositional abilities in a straight-forward and structured manner. Stories provide young

composers with an entry point for them to transition plot elements and characters into sonic

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representations, truly beginning to think in sounds.

Likewise, poetry and music have a strong and time-tested connection. Since composers

have been creating musical works for voice and lyrics, poetry and rhyme have been employed as

a means of conveying emotional and/or narrative contexts. During the late Classical and

throughout the Romantic periods, lieder was a dominate musical form in which composers like

Schubert and Schumann, among others, took poetic works and set them to music. Often times,

these musical settings can be perceived to be much more powerful than their source material

alone.

In many lesson plans, picture books, short stories, and poems (Gromko, 2003; Kaschub &

Smith, 2009) are not only used as a jumping off point for compositional activities, but also to

help students understand what a composer does and assist them in developing their own

compositional “toolbox.” Music educators need to find ways to demystify the compositional

process for their students and develop strong compositional encounters that will challenge and

build upon students’ creative musical thinking. Using stories or poems as inspirational starting

points provide students with a scaffold to build upon that will not only allow the compositional

outcome to be unique to them, but also organized in such a way that its form may yield a higher

level of aesthetic appeal, as suggested by Hickey (2003).

The Intersection of Music Education and Literacy Development

Music can be found interwoven throughout the fabric of most “non-musical” areas of the

school curriculum. Barrett, McCoy, and Veblen (1997) identify affective, social integration,

subservient, and cognitive integration styles of music’s use in classrooms. Music is often used to

provide for transitions between one activity to another as is the case in welcome songs, or as a


social bonding agent in the form of school songs and music that support community traditions.

Music is very often found in non-musical classrooms in a subservient style in which songs are

used to reinforce curricular aims. These ways are all present within this author’s educational

setting. However, in an attempt to reach out and create more cognitively integrative and

interdisciplinary connections between music and non-musical curricula, music educators

sometimes must reach beyond their personal comfort zones. As such, I began to seek new ways

of integrating music with outside educational concepts.

While in a staff meeting that focused on the teaching and assessing of literacy targets, I

began to discover the profound connections that literacy development has to music education,

specifically in the areas of listening/responding to and creating music. Upon rereading

Ruthmann’s (2007) article, “The Composer’s Workshop: An Approach to Composing in the

Classroom,” and attending a presentation by Kelly-McHale (2011) regarding composing using an

adaptation of the “Writer’s Workshop” model, I began to seek out information about the

“Writer’s Workshop” and other literacy education methods that might be useful when helping

structure activities that would help develop my students’ music composition skills. Upon

consulting numerous literacy coaches within my district, I was led to the work of Calkins (2006)

as well as Boushey and Moser (2006). As I read The Daily 5 (Boushey & Moser, 2006) and A

Guide to the Writing Workshop (Calkins, 2006), my mind began to race with countless

possibilities to integrate and build upon literacy development tools and concepts that my students

were familiar with and could easily make use of in the area of music composition.

As I toyed and experimented with “literacy-based” compositional activities, I noticed

how much my students seemed relaxed when composing and fully engaged in their activities. I


decided that throughout the following year, I would apply my energy towards developing a

philosophically and research supported framework for using literacy education tools in

composition as well as create a handful of succinct compositional activities with student

examples that I could share with other music educators. By proposing and presenting a session

entitled “Book-Based Compositions” at the Illinois Music Educator’s Conference of 2012, I

found a way to share my findings with music teachers from all over the state of Illinois. The

remainder of this domain paper will highlight the work that was done and the products created

for this presentation.


Book-Based Compositions: The 2012 Presentation

Rationale

At state-level conferences, presenters often avoid giving their work strong research-based

grounding or they dive far too deep into research as to “spook” their audience. Beginning any

presentation with a strong rationale is important as it affords the audience with the “why” behind

what they will experience. Therefore, for this presentation, a solid rationale is necessary. The first

step of providing such a rationale involves broaching the task of integrating literacy into music

class. In a meta analysis of literacy and music education research findings, Darrow (2008) notes

that “preliminary evidence suggests that music has influence on children’s acquisition and

mastery of literacy skills” (pp. 25-26). In a similarly structured study, Hallam (2010) suggests

that similar structures and functions of the brain are involved in both engagement in music and

language/literacy skills.

With more and more pressure being put upon all educators to integrate literacy

development concepts within their classrooms, music educators may be worried that such

increased focus will take away from musical concepts that needed nurturing. However, a deeper

look into literacy publications divulge that such integration my be easier for music educators

than teachers in other curricular areas. A brief reading of Calkins (2006) yields similar

terminology between vocabulary used in the “Writer’s Workshop” model and those used to

discuss musical works; revision, climax, tension, introduction, and resolution. Also, in the 2008

article “A Harmonious Duet: Music and Children’s Literature,” Miller notes that music can easily

support general academic goals and lead to a truly integrated and holistic education for students.


A Conceptual Framework

To help guide my thinking and help others to understand the underpinnings of how the

information would be presented, I developed a conceptual framework (Figure 1) to use for

literacy-based compositions. This conceptual frame work is based upon a compositional process

adapted from Calkin’s (2006) “Writer’s Workshop” model that includes playing/exploring

(adapted from Calkin’s “rehearsal for writing” (p. 15), drafting, revising, editing, and publishing

(which in music comes in the form of a performance and/or recording of the musical work). As

for the steps that contribute to the overall structure for this unit of instruction, I made use of

Boushey and Moser’s (2006) “Three Ways to Read a Book” of reading the pictures, reading the

words, and retelling something that was read before as the inspirational stepping stones to guide

student thinking. After I formed this framework, I set out to explore each compositional step in

more depth.


Figure 1: Conceptual Framework

Compositional Steps, Guided Activities, and Suggested Literature

For the remainder of the presentation, the audience was led through each compositional

step. Each step included theoretical grounding through the findings of literacy scholars, musical

considerations, research-based connections, guided compositional activities, and selection of

suggested literature. During the session, audience members participated in hands-on

compositional experiences centered around the guided activities suggested for each step along

with listening to examples of student works. Finally, I created a graphic organizer and student-

use assessment rubrics for each compositional step that participants could use and adapt

(Appendix A, B, C, and D). In the following pages, you will find information for each

compositional step that was included in the session handout, A more interactive form can be

found at composingk12.wikispaces.com.


Compositional Step 1. Read the Pictures

What the Literacy Scholars Say:

“This new thinking is empowering to our youngest or most inexperienced students who

until now have believed that reading means the words or nothing at all” (Boushey & Moser,

2006, p. 48). Calkins (2006) notes that “reading the pictures” is one of the strategies for guiding

early readers on their path to literacy development and independence. “Reading the pictures” as a

strategy is ingrained in the way that children (and adults) “read” from an early age. By having

students begin to infer character and plot details from the images in a book, students can begin to

develop metacognitive tools.

Musical Considerations:

The powerful inference skills used when a person “reads the pictures” of a book are not

only extremely important in literacy development, but also in the development of musical

listening, performance interpretations, and music meaning making skills.

The powerful information contained in the pictures of a book can be likened to the

dynamic, tempo, articulation, and other “extra” symbols found in music notation, as well as the

emotional and artistic interpretations of a conductor or musician. By paying attention to and

having students infer information from the pictures in books, we can make a direct connection

from this to music notational literacy and all the “extra stuff” of notation that turns sheet music

from a series of black lines and dots into a living piece of music.

Guiding a Soundscape Composition: 2-3 class periods. Use “Read the Picture-Soundscape

Compositions” organizer (Appendix A).

1) Select a picture book with vivid images, limited text, and filled with sound possibilities.


2) Engage the class in a picture reading of the book (block out the text, if possible). Have

students note what they see and infer the story.

3) Read the story aloud (discussing the picture to text connections).

4) Have students review and retell the story.

5) Select a single page to discuss at depth. With the class, discuss the sonic possibilities of

the selected page (“How could we create a musical version of this layers and elements on

this page?”).

6) Identify the layers, characters, and other important components of the images that need to

be included in a musical retelling.

7) Playing: Communally, select instruments that can be used to perform character motifs

and/or sound effects.

8) Drafting: Decide upon (through students suggestions and teacher redirection) elements

of rhythm, tempo, texture, dynamics, and melody for each layer.

9) Assist students in creating an iconic or symbolic score.

10) Rehearse the soundscape.

11) Revising: Guide the class in a discussion of any problems and/or confusion experienced

when rehearsing.

12) Editing: Make student offered changes and refinements to the score.

13) Publishing: Perform the soundscape and record it.

14) Upon modeling this method, allow students to compose soundscapes for other pages of

the book.

15) Collect the recordings and create a complete soundscape to accompany the book. Have


students record themselves reading the text so that the books can be placed in their

classroom’s “Listening to Reading” center.

Suggested Books for Page Specific Soundscapes:

In the Small, Small Pond (Fleming, 2007)

In the Tall, Tall Grass (Fleming, 1995)

Beetle Bop (Fleming, 2007)

Barnyard Banter (Fleming, 2008)

Lunch (Fleming, 1996)

Imagine a Night (Thomson & Gonsalves,2003)

Imagine a Day (Thomson & Gonsalves, 2005)

Imagine a Place (Thomson & Gonsalves, 2008)

Why? (Popov, 1996)

Why Are Your So Grumpy (Lichtenheld, 2007)

Fortunately (Charlip, 1993)

The Black Book of Colors (Cottin, Faria, & Amado, 2008)

Like Likes Like (Raschka, 1999)

The Gigantic Robot (Gauld, 2009)

Yes Day! (Rosenthal & Lichtenheld, 2009)

The Feelings Book (Parr, 2000)

One Boy (Seeger, 2008)

Olivia Forms a Band (Falconer, 2006)

Suggested Books for Whole-Book Soundscapes:


Build a Burrito: A Counting Book in English and Spanish (Vega & Diaz, 2008)

Stone Soup (Muth, 2003)

Bone Soup (Evans, 2008)

Rain Talk (Serfozo & Narahashi, 1990)


Compositional Step 2: Read the Words


In their book New Approaches to Literacy, Marzano and Paynter (1994) note that syllabic

awareness and identification of sentence patterns are among the list of important literacy skills

that readers must practice and master within a “skills approach” of literacy development. Poems

draw primarily upon syllabic structures and phrase/sentence structures and, therefore, can

provide an excellent resource for literacy instruction. Also, to truly understand a poem, a reader

must read deeply and infer meaning from the text alone.

The power of poetry lies in the way that it acknowledges the aesthetics of our world.

Calkins (2006) states that poetry’s inclusion in a literacy/writing program of instruction teaches

“children to look carefully at everyday objects and pay close attention to their surprising

beauty” (pg. 33). The author also expressed the importance of poetry as an “out loud” form of

writing. So, whether with student written works or works of more “notable” poets, poetry has a

central role in literacy instruction.


The link between poetry and music is obvious, especially since the two art forms share a

similar set of vocabulary (Thibeault, 2010). A poem’s syllabic and rhythmic basis makes it a

wonderful source for musical inspiration. Poetry places an importance on artistic phrasing, a skill

that even high-level music performers struggle with. Also, poetry’s use of pattern and form

provide music teachers with an easy pivot point for teaching musical understanding and aural

discrimination of musical works.


Poetry, like music, is an aural art form. A poem is not a thing to be kept on the page; it

yearns to be spoken aloud. In the performance of a poem, the musical possibilities of the human

voice can be experienced, explored, and enjoyed without the concern of technicality and high-

order musical performance skills. Thibeault (2010) points out this important aspect of poetry

when discussing how recorded poetry can be explored as a musical outlet for both the seasoned

performers and those who do not take part in lessoned and/or ensemble study. Poems can be

starting points for composers by inspiring rhythmic ideas and soundscapes, among others.

Guiding a Poetry-Based Composition: 1 class period. Use “Read the Words: Poem-Based

Song” organizer (Appendix B).

1) Select a poem that has an easily repeatable meter, identifiable pulse, or rhythmic device

and whose text is both imaginative and fun. Look for works that also have identifiable

rhyming patterns and phrase/stanza structures.

2) Have students read the poem aloud a few times. Ask students to find the rhyming words

and patterns. Ask students to find the repeated phrases, rhyme sequences, or form.

Discuss the meaning (if any), text painting, metaphors, and/or similes used.

3) Reread the poem aloud to students, asking them to visualize the poem.

4) Playing: Ask students to explore different ways of saying and singing the words. Guide

them in finding the pulse of the work. Have students experiment with recreating the

rhythm of the poem with body sounds.

5) Using a rhythm from one phrase as the basis, ask students to create an ostinato that can

accompany a recitation of the poem (Gromko, 2003).

6) Drafting: Break up the stanzas of a poem and have smaller groups of students (4-6 in


each group) select 3-5 words that could be emphasized through the use of sound effects

or musical fragments. Have them work together to create and write down the musical

cues.

7) Revising: After students have rehearsed their musical cues and ostinato parts, perform

the drafted work. Afterward, note any issues that need resolving

8) Editing: Discuss solutions to problematic parts of the work. A common issue arises when

two or more different words use the same instrument. Discuss how this could be

confusing to a listener. Have the class decide which instrument should be used for a

specific word. Ask the group to help come up with replacement instruments for the words

that need to be set.

9) Create a master score for the poem that includes the ostinato pattern/s and the musical

cues.

10) Publishing: Perform the poem composition for the classroom teacher, principal, parents,

and/or record it.

11) After the whole class composition, allow students to partner up in smaller groups. Have

them select their own poem and create a new composition on their own. At this point, it

may be fitting to have students compose using their own poetry. A musical poetry

anthology could be produced to be shared with the school community.

Suggested Poems:

“Crocodile” by Lewis Caroll

“Beautiful Soup” by Lewis Caroll

“Eletephony” by Laura Richards


“Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein

“Sarah Cynthia Silvia Stout” by Shel Silverstein

“Hug O’War” by Shel Silverstein

“The Porky” by Shel Silverstein

“Rain” by Shel Silverstien

“Fog” by Carl Sandburg

“Caterpillar” by Christian Rossetti

“Nonsenses – I” by Edward Lear

“Trees” by Sarah Coleridge

“The Land of Nod” by Robert Louis Stevenson

“I Bought Me a Cat” a folk poem/song

“Two Cats” a Danish Nursery Rhyme

“Song of the Train” by David McCord

Train Song (Siebert & Wimmer, 1981)

Suggested Collections/Anthologies:

Ioyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices (Fleischman & Beddows, 2004)

Where the Sidewalk Ends (Silverstein, 1974)

Falling Up (Silverstein, 1996)

A Light in the Attic (Silverstein, 1981)

Sol a Sol: Original and Selected Bilingual Poems (Carlson & Lisker, 1998)

Red Hot Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Being Young and Latino in the United States (Carlson, 2005)

Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse (Singer & Massee, 2010)


Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night (Sidman & Allen, 2010)

Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems (Sidman & Prange, 2005)

Noisy Poems (Bennett & Sharratt, 1989)

For a list of public domain works, go to: www.gutenberg.org


http://www.gutenberg.org

http://www.gutenberg.org

Compositional Step 3: Retell the Story


Retelling a story requires a great deal of metacognitive skills that many young readers do

not possess and it is these skills that hold the key to reading comprehension. The Daily Five

(Boushey & Moser, 2006) illuminates this point with an early mini-lesson that models this way

to read. In the lesson, a teacher returns to a previously read book and uses picture clues and

memory of the written details to think through the reading process aloud. Once children can

independently master and use the “three ways of reading”(“Read the Pictures”, “Read the

Words”, “Retell the Story”), they can begin to make the important connection that allows them to

move beyond the basic skills of literacy to the higher-order thinking that makes reading have

such a profound importance in everyday life.


This “retelling” step is of utmost importance in the field of music and music education.

The art of music is not in the ability of someone to sit quietly and read musical notation; it is in

the performance, the aural retelling of a composer or improviser's sonic storytelling. It is the

coalescence of a performer’s study in the rehearsal space and practice room. However, music’s

connection to this “retelling” step does not stop there.

Retelling is also what makes music listening so compelling to many. Being able to hum

the hook of a great song can brighten the worst day. Retelling is what allows improvisers to

quote other compositions when performing. Retelling, as a strategy, is what makes a great

musical work so great; it is the lasting power a composer or performer possesses to etch a

melody, harmony, or rhythm upon our internal sonic landscapes. Therefore, this step is of great


importance in a child’s music education.

Selecting a Focus for Retelling in Composition:

In order to easily employ this strategy in music composition, music teachers may want to

focus on one specific detail when introducing this compositional step. The easiest way to proceed

is by focusing first on Character/Voice and then adding Organization/Plot. Below you will find

two independent compositional tasks that can help draw students’ attention to each detail and

allow them to logically put it all together.

Guiding a Composition Focusing on Character/Voice: 1-2 class periods. Use “Retell the

Story: Character Theme and Variation” organizer (Appendix C).

1) Select a picture book with a small cast of easily identifiable and describable personality

traits. When guiding this task for the first time, selecting books with 2-3 characters will

work the best. As students become attune to compositional tasks like this, books with

larger casts can be used.

2) Read the story together in class. First read the pictures and try to discover the main

characters (make a list/mind map of these for later use). Second, read the words aloud

and have students discuss any new character details (add these to the list/mind map).

Finally, have students retell the individual personality details of the characters and

describe how the characters interacted with one another (this step can be visually

displayed through the use of a mind mapping program like MindNode).

3) Playing: Have students select their favorite character from the story. Provide students

with a list of the character’s personality details as a memory aid. Ask students to find a

musical instrument and create a musical theme for the character. Direct students to also


explore ways to change the theme that will show the character’s development throughout

the story (ask, “How would it sound when this character did _______?”).

4) Drafting: Have students perform their character pieces for a partner(s). Encourage

students to provide feedback to each other regarding what worked in their character

themes and what could use improvement. Then, have them return to their solo work.

Students should select a few episodes (2-4) from the book where their characters

interacted and use their themes as a retelling method. Direct students to think back on

how they explored altering their character’s theme and suggest that they find ways to

further develop those variations for each selected episode. Remind students that

composers create variations of themes by changing the following elements:

- Pitch: make the motif lower or higher and/or change the intervals of the motif.

- Rhythm: make the sounds shorter or longer.

- Tempo: make the motif slower or faster.

- Dynamics: make the motif softer or louder.

5) Ask students to find ways to notate their character themes and the variations (this is a

great chance to encourage students to use standard notation).

6) Revising: Have each student find another partner who chose a different character to

perform their work for. After the performances, the partners should give feedback to one

another (in a similar manner as before).

7) Editing: Each students will use the peer feedback to edit their work and notation.

Students will then practice their work so they can create a seamless performance.

8) Publishing: Students will perform their works in class. Performances will be recorded.


9) Distribute the performance recordings to student composers for personal reflection and

assessment.

Suggested Books:

Green Eggs and Ham (Seuss, 1960)

The Cat in the Hat (Seuss, 1957)

Duck Rabbit (Rosenthal & Lichtenheld, 2009)

Hop Jump (Walsh, 1996)

Rosie’s Walk (Hutchins, 1968)

Where the Wild Things Are (Sendack, 1998)

Grumpy Cat (Teckentrup, 2008)

Let’s Do Nothing! (Fucile, 2009)

A Soup Opera (Gill & Moose, 2009)

Lunch (Fleming, 1992) - This book has one character that changes throughout the book (Theme

& Variation).

Guiding a Composition Focusing on Organization/Plot: 4-6 class periods. Use “Retell the

Story: Plot Form” organizer (Appendix D).

1) Select a picture book, fairy tale, or short chapter book with a strong and identifiable plot.

Strong plot lines include a clear and solid introduction, an episodic development, a clear

climax, and a short but memorable resolution.

2) Read the story. If the story has pictures, use them as an early organizer. After reading the

story, draw students’ attention to the plot diagram (called Plot Mountain by many literacy

educators). Have students identify the main characters and how they fit into the


introduction (note this on the plot diagram). Have students discuss the climax and how

the author resolved any tension (note on plot diagram). Finally, have students make note

of important steps the main character made towards the climax (label these as the

exposition).

3) Playing: Using the story plot diagram, have students select the steps on the plot diagram

to create musical soundscapes for (this can be done in small groups). Have students

imagine the sounds and other sensations that the main characters must have experienced

during each selected step. Have them select multiple instruments to create an interesting

texture.

- If this project is done with the whole class (which is suggested), have each group

create the soundscape for one step on the plot diagram. For a longer and more

detailed project, consider having student groups create music for an entire story.

4) Drafting: Student groups will solidify their soundscapes, focusing on three key teacher

prompts:

- How will each step begin?

- How will it develop?

- How will it end, and how will your group know when that step has ended?

5) Revising: While the rest of the student groups are working, one group will perform their

soundscapes for the teacher. If possible, this should take place in a quiet area that is away

from the main compositional work floor to allow for student-teacher discussion. After

the performance, the teacher will ask students to discuss what they think did and did not

work well. The teacher will help provide feedback and guidance to assist students with


areas of their composition that need improvement.

6) Editing: The teacher will then discuss with students how tension builds as each step

draws closer to the climax. Composers build tension in their work by altering some of the

musical elements, such as:

- Tempo: make the motif slower or faster.

- Dynamics: make the motif softer or louder.

- Pitch: make the motif lower or higher and/or change the intervals of the motif.

- Rhythm: make the sounds shorter or longer.

- Texture: subtract or add musical layers.

- Harmony: include harmony and/or add dissonance.

The teacher will have students decide which strategy(s) they will use to add tension to

their work. The teacher will check on the work, providing feedback as necessary. After

each group has had a chance to solidify their work, they will be asked to create a notated

score for their work that displays each layer/instrument and specific directions to guide

the performer.

7) Adding characters: Each group will have a few students work together to create musical

themes and variations for the story’s main characters (using the steps described in

Guiding A Composition Focusing on Character/Voice).

8) Publishing: The groups will come together and perform their soundscapes in order,(using

the plot diagram as a reference point) while other students will perform the character

themes and variations. Record the performances.

* If the text to the book is relatively short, a performance of the soundscapes could


accompany an oral reading of the story. A recording of the complete work can be placed

along with the book in the library and/or the classroom’s “Listening to Reading” center.

Suggested Books:

Shark vs. Train (Barton & Lichtenheld, 2010)

The King’s Chorus (Hayward & Goldfinger, 2006)

Lion and the Mouse (Pinkney, 2009)

Weslandia (Fleischman & Hawkes, 1999)

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Barrett & Barrett, 1978)

Li’l Dan the Drummer Boy: A Civil War Story (Bearden, 2003)

Shrek! (Steig, 1990)

Blueberries for Sal (McCloskey, 1948)

The Story of Ferdinand (Leaf & Lawson, 1938)

Even Monsters Need Haircuts (McElligott, 2010)

Shhh! (Willis & Ross, 2004)

The Musicians of Bremen (Puttapipat, 2005)

Alexander the the Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Day (Viorst & Cruz, 1987)

Time to Sleep (Fleming, 1997)

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! (Scieszka & Smith, 1989)

Drummer Hoff (Emberley & Emberley, 1967)

Suggested Books for Use with Instrumental Ensembles and/or Compositional Technology:

The Composer is Dead (Snicket, 2009)

The Remarkable Farkle McBride (Lithgrow & Payne, 2003)


Jake the Philharmonic Dog (LeFrank & Baranski, 2006)

Other “Retelling” Composition Ideas:

A) Using a book that has a solid cast of characters and a clear plot, have some students

create character motifs and alterations while other students create soundscapes for each

plot diagram episode.

B) Have students create or use their own stories (personal narratives or fictional works) to

compose to.

- Rory’s Story Cubes are great idea generators for use with solo or ensemble idea

generating.


Coda: A Reflection

The experience of developing, testing out, and presenting a composition unit that

centered around integrating concepts adapted from literacy curriculum was immensely

rewarding. During the initial steps of this project, I highly enjoyed the challenge of learning

about literacy education, gathering the resources, and imagining ways to make use of the new

information and methods. Also, when gathering the information, I developed a new

understanding and appreciation for the work that classroom teachers, literacy teachers, and

literacy coaches do to help students move from letter identification to reading and writing with

deep understanding and meaning. While working with these colleagues, I realized the somewhat

untapped potential that literacy education research and methodology holds with regard to music

education. This could be a rewarding avenue for further study and research.

After gathering resources, creating compositional activities provided to be a rather large

challenge, at first. After weeks of attempting to cobble together a coherent set of activities and

unsuccessfully trying them out with my students, I reached an impasse that nearly caused me to

rethink the entire concept. However, upon rereading my resources, I began to put together what

became my conceptual framework. After establishing a theoretical underpinning in the form of

the framework, the compositional activities quickly started to take form. As I worked through the

evolving activities in class, my students provided constant feedback and were very excited to

share their suggestions to improve the activities. In fact, the conversational, student-directed

atmosphere that developed has become a main fixture in my classroom management style.

The final element of this entire project was putting everything together so that it could be

presented to and used by other music educators. Though I had presented on composition at the


past year’s Illinois Music Educators Association All-State Conference, the process and product

for this particular presentation was of a much different nature. The previous year, I presented a

virtual “show and tell” type of session. The session was received well and I received feedback

from many audience members that they were inspired to incorporate more composing in their

classrooms or that they were using some of the compositional activities I had mentioned with

their students. However, when getting organized for 2012’s session, “Book-Based

Compositions,” I wanted to aim for a more hands-on, experiential learning-based presentation

style where participants would be able to compose and experience the compositional activities in

a manner similar to how their students would. To accomplish this, I developed a few group

compositional tasks based upon the activities I created and talked about for the session goers to

explore. During the exploration, I embedded discussion points about rationale, research, and

compositional teaching tricks in a much more naturalistic manner. Also, to help understate the

presentation/lecture nature that can be typical in such sessions, I created an interactive handout

for participates to make use of on their own during or after the session. The overall affect of this

change in presentation style allowed for a more conversational atmosphere and allowed me to

introduce newer classroom management tools that I had learned along the way. After the session,

I began to receive a great deal of positive feedback and reports about the personal impacts the

concepts I discussed had on the participants. I will conclude this reflection with one such

correspondence:

“Hello! I attended your presentation at IMEA and loved it. I have done a few of

your ideas already in my classroom, but I was particularly inspired by the freedom

of composing without great concern over the "outcome". That sounds so basic,


but I have always felt that student compositions should sound polished and perfect

and pretty when, in fact, it just needs to get their brains going… I have not done

years of prep with composi[ng] like you have, so I was nervous for the outcome,

but they knew their instruments’ timbres well enough to pull it off just fine with

some practice. I was blown away by how abstract these kids can think when

challenged.” (A. Blair, personal communication, February 28, 2012)


Resources

Barrett, J. R., McCoy, C. W., & Veblen, K. K. (1997). Sound ways of knowing: Music and the

interdisciplinary curriculum. New York: Schirmer Books.

Boushey, G. & Moser, J. (2006). The daily 5: Fostering literacy independence in the elementary

grades. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Calkins, L. (2006). A guide to the writing workshop: Grades 3-5. Portsmouth, NH: FirstHand.

D’Agrosa, E. (2008). Making music, reaching readers: Making powerful connections possible

for young students. General Music Today, 21(2), 6-10. doi:10.1177/1048371308317042

Darrow, A. (2008). Music and literacy. General Music Today, 21(2), 25-26. doi:

10.1177/1048371308316408

Gromko, J. E. (2003). Children composing: Inviting the artful narrative. In M. Hickey (Ed.), Why

and how to teach music composition: A new horizon for music education (69-90). Reston,

VA: MENC Publications.

Hallam, S. (2010). The power of music: Its impact on the intellectual, social, and personal

development of children and young people. International Journal of Music Education,

28(3), 269-289. doi: 10.1177/0255761410370658

Hickey, M. (2003). Creative thinking in the context of music composition. In M. Hickey (Ed.),

Why and how to teach music composition: A new horizon for music education (31-53).

Reston, VA: MENC Publications.

Kaschub, M. & Smith, J. (2009). Minds on music: Composition for creative and critical thinking.

Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.


Kelly-McHale, J. (2011, January). Every child a writer, music composition in elementary school.

Illinois Music Educators Association All-State Conference. Conference conducted at a

meeting of the Illinois Music Educators Association, Peoria, Illinois.

Marzano, R. J. & Paynter, D. E. (1994). New approaches to literacy: Helping students develop

reading and writing skills. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Miller, B. A. (2008). A harmonious duet: Music and children’s literature. General Music Today,

21(2), 18-21. doi:10.1177/1048371308316413

Ruthmann, A. (2007). The composers’ workshop: An approach to composing in the classroom.

Music Educators Journal, 93(4), 38-43.

Thibeault, M. D. (2010). Recording students to bring poetry alive. General Music Today, 24(2),

42-47. doi:10.1177/1048371310285555


Appendix A

“Read the Picture: Soundscape Compositions” organizer




Appendix B

“Read the Words: Poem-Based Songs” organizer





Appendix C

“Retell the Story: Character Theme and Variation” organizer




Appendix D

“Retell the Story: Plot Form” organizer





Documents

Running head: RATHGEBER FREE CHOICE DOMAIN 1 … · · 2013-10-23soundtracks of John Williams, Hans Zimmer, ... Therefore, for this presentation, a solid rationale is necessary