This is a pilot project aimed at providing pathways for young students to inspire composition.
It has been initiated by ASME Victoria. (Australian Society for Music Education)
It aims to provide classroom structures for composition activities using a picture storybook as a focus and an online space for sharing and developing creative ideas.
A number of strategies can be used to inspire student composition.
Some strategies can be introduced in a whole class setting or a studio lesson.
They can then be followed up by students in class in small groups or as an individual assignment.
It is envisioned that students can listen to the the ideas of other students in this online space and build deeper understandings of compositional processes.
Their understanding of the story 'Migaloo, The White Whale' should also be enriched by reading or listening to comments by the author/illustrator, Mark Wilson.
Professional composers will also be invited to comment on student's musical ideas and offer suggestions for developing their compositions.
Features of our Classroom Strategy
Before we can compose music for the story we need to really understand the story in detail.
We need to read each page carefully and think about the moods, the characters and the themes of the story.
For example; the first page shows a picture of a pod of whales playing in the warm waters off the Queensland coast.
Firstly we notice that the main feature of the picture is the water and that the whales are playing on the distance.
We notice that the colours used are warm colours. We also notice that the waves are small. It creates a peaceful feeling.
That means one layer of the music we create will need to make us feel peaceful and contented.
We then need to decide on one way to create peaceful and contented music. How can we show this in music?
Will we use long notes or short notes?
Will the rhythms be bumpy or smooth?
Can we combine bumpy and smooth rhythms to create the effect we want?
We can ask ourselves whether we will use high notes or low notes.
We can ask whether we want to use chords or a melody.... or even both together.
We can ask each other whether we have any other ideas we would like to add.
We can ask each other why we think this would be a good idea to add.
How can we go to 'other worlds' of sound and meaning?
What questions can we ask ourselves when we compose?
How is the music breathing?
What if I played the same pattern 5 notes higher.
We can look at how other people compose.
We can learn to 'talk about music' in ways which help us to compose.