Music Outside the Lines

Informative and practical for all who are invested in making music composition an integral part of the curriculum this resource offers a well-grounded justification for teaching music composition as well as a compendium of useful instructional ideas and classroom activities. It begins with a rationale for teachers to begin composition activities in their classrooms with a thoughtful argument that demonstrates that all music teachers possess the skills and training needed to take children along the path toward composing satisfying musical compositions even if they themselves have never taken formal composition lessons. Some of the stickier issues that affect teaching music composition in schools are addressed, such as assessment, notation, and technology. Most importantly, it introduces a curricular model for teaching composition, a model that provides an array of composition activities to try in both the music classroom and the studio. These activities encourage musical and creative growth through music composition organized in logical units corresponding to well-known teaching modules. They offer jumping-off points for music teachers to exercise their own creative thinking and create music composition activities that are customized to their classes and needs.