music composition as immersive learning in k–5 general

Visions of Research in Music Education Visions of Research in Music Education

Volume 35 Article 6

2020

Music Composition as Immersive Learning in K–5 General Music Music Composition as Immersive Learning in K–5 General Music

Education: Results of a 4-Year Study Education: Results of a 4-Year Study

Elissa Johnson-Green University of Massachusetts Lowell

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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Johnson-Green, Elissa (2020) "Music Composition as Immersive Learning in K–5 General Music Education: Results of a 4-Year Study," Visions of Research in Music Education: Vol. 35 , Article 6. Available at: https://opencommons.uconn.edu/vrme/vol35/iss1/6

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Johnson-Green, E. (2020). Music composition as immersive learning in K–5 general music education:

Results of a 4-year study. Visions of Research in Music Education, 35. Retrieved from http://www.rider.edu/~vrme.

Music Composition as Immersive Learning in K–5 General Music Education:

Results of a 4-Year Study

By

Elissa Johnson-Green University of Massachusetts Lowell

Abstract

This paper focuses on immersive learning in a composition-centered curriculum in K–5 general music education. It is one aspect of a 4-year longitudinal study of children’s musical development through composition. I collected data over 4 years on the work of students (N=300) who attended music classes as part of their general education. Data comprised video and audio recordings of student performances of and interviews about their compositional processes; photographs of student written work and of classroom activity; students’ written and drawn scores, notated scores, and other drawings; researcher written work, lesson plans, and observational notes of classroom activity. I transcribed and analyzed student compositions for theoretical constructs, analyzing scores alongside performances to determine musical connections. Spectrographic analysis provided deeper understanding of student work. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of one student’s work over 4 years as a representative example of how the immersive learning environment influenced musical development. Results show that the immersive learning environment (a) was effective in furthering musical skill development, which grew beyond grade level expectations for each year; (b) allowed for musical ideas to grow in complexity given time and space to develop; and (c) aided skills and knowledge retention, which positively influenced musicianship development.

Keywords: music composition, immersive learning, musical development, elementary general music

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Johnson-Green: Music Composition

Published by OpenCommons@UConn, 2020

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Background

Children are born improvisors. Beginning in early infancy, babies participate in

spontaneous musical interactions with caregivers (Malloch, 1999; O’Neill, Trainor, & Trehub,

2001; Trehub, 2001; Trevarthen & Malloch, 2009) during which they reciprocate and elicit those

interactions (Custodero & Johnson-Green, 2008; M. Papoušek, 1996; Trevarthen, 1999–2000).

This innate, improvised musical communication establishes a natural inclination toward music

making that continues over the lifespan (Dissanayake, 2000; H. Papoušek & Papoušek, 1995;

Trehub, 2003).

As children grow, music continues to surround them and infuse their learning and lives

(Campbell, 1998; Habibi, Damasio, Ilari, Sachs, & Damasio, 2018; Ilari, 2016; Marsh & Young,

2006; Young & Ilari, 2012). Much of the music that young children experience is improvisatory

(Sole, 2017) as they seek out opportunities for musical interaction through play, which often

includes invented songs, movement, and instrument playing (Campbell, 1998; Young, 2008). By

the time children begin formal schooling, they are highly experienced musical beings (Johnson-

Green, 2012). Each child brings a wealth of individualized, embodied musical knowledge to

kindergarten music class, which presents a challenge to the teacher: how to provide meaningful

music education for every child.

To answer to this question, I created and implemented a kindergarten through grade 5

general music curriculum that centered on composition. Given children’s propensity toward

musical invention, composition seemed like a natural fit for their music education. Given the

immersive nature of their musical lives outside of school, I designed a comprehensive program

that would imitate the conditions in which they learned intuitively. The program encompassed

musicianship skills such as listening, music analysis, aural training, singing, movement, rhythm,

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conducting, instrument playing, reading and writing notation, and improvisation. Students often

worked collaboratively and had time and space to develop their ideas. I challenged them to apply

their previous musical and general knowledge to learning new skills for every project.

There are a wide range of studies on children’s music composition. Researchers have

focused on the following areas: Creativity and musical thinking (Aranosian, 1981; Barrett, 1997,

2005, 2006; Burnard & Younker, 2004; Giddings, 2013; Hickey, 2001; Hickey & Webster, 2001;

Jorgensen, 2016; Kaschub & Smith, 2009a; Webster, 2009; J. H. Wiggins, 1999); techniques for

teaching composition (Hickey, 2003, 2012; Kaschub & Smith, 2009b, 2016, 2017; Major &

Cottle, 2010; Menard & Rosen, 2016; Sætre, 2011; Stringham, 2016; J. H. Wiggins, 2015);

musical expression through composition (Barrett, 1996, 2001, 2004; Bucura & Weissberg, 2017;

Burns, 1997; Pramling, 2009; Reybrouck, Verschaffel, & Lauwerier, 2009); and musicianship

skills learned and practiced through composition (Breeze, 2009; Bucura & Weissberg, 2017;

Bugos & Jacobs, 2012; Burton, 2017; Chandler, 2018; Deutsch, 2016; Getino, González-Martin,

& Valls, 2018; Guderian, 2012; Hickey, 1999; Kuo & Chuang, 2013; Lau & Grieshaber, 2010;

Lee, 2013; Magnusson, 2014; Reybrouck et al., 2009; Southcott & Cosaitis, 2015; Stringham,

2016; J. H. Wiggins, 1994). However, few studies exist on the outcomes of creating an

immersive learning environment that focuses on music composition (Barrett, 1992)

Immersive Learning

Beginning in gestation, human beings are immersed in musical environments (Kisilevsky,

Hains, Jacquet, Granier-Deferre, & Lecanuet, 2004; Parncutt, 2016; Woodward, 1992), which

continue to impact them after they are born (Granier-Deferre, Bassereau, Ribeiro, Jacquet, &

DeCasper, 2011; Partanen, Kujala, Tervaniemi, & Huotilainen, 2013; Ullal-Gupta, Vanden

Bosch der Nederlanden, Tichko, Lahav, & Hannon, 2013; Wilkin, 1995). Children grow up in

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the musical contexts of family, school, and community life (Johnson-Green, 2012) and inherit

the musical culture into which they are born (Custodero & Johnson-Green, 2003). The

immersive nature of musical experience allows children to develop musically as they fully

integrate music use into daily life.

Immersive learning relies on certain core elements that define it and make it effective. A

person immersed in learning uses all their previously gained knowledge and skills and draws on

all materials present in their environment to learn new things (Bruner, 1996; Harel & Papert,

1991; Papert, 1980; Piaget, 1926/1960). The person feels completely engaged in and focused on

the learning process (Csikszentmihalyi, 2008), where knowledge acquisition is oriented toward

creative problem solving (Buchanan, 1992; Lucas & Hanson, 2016; Resnick & Ocko, 1991;

Watson, 2015). In formalized settings, students learn through a curriculum that provides clear

structure and creative freedom simultaneously (Cronjé, 2006; Hanson & Herz, 2011; Onarheim,

2012; Sagiv, Arieli, Goldenberg, & Goldschmidt, 2010; Stokes, 2006). Finally, it both relies on

and teaches resiliency, adaptation, flexible thinking, and risk taking (Trilling & Fadel, 2009).

Immersive learning has primarily been associated with medical education (Caldwell,

Tenofsky, & Nugent, 2010; Zink, Halaas, Finstad, & Brooks, 2008), language learning

(Burkhauser et al., 2016; Jared, Cormier, Levy, & Wade-Woolley, 2011; Steele, Slater, Li,

Zamarro, & Miller, 2013), preservice teacher education (Dalton & Smith, 2012; Emmanuel,

2003, 2005; Lavery, Cain, & Hampton, 2014; Waddell, 2011; R. A. Wiggins, Follo, & Eberly,

2007; Zhao, Meyers, & Meyers, 2009), and educational technology (Bhattacharjee, Paul, Kim, &

Karthigaikumar, 2017; Chen, Ho, & Lin, 2015; Dalton & Smith, 2012; Dawoud, Al-Samarraie,

& Zaqout, 2015; Hamari et al., 2016; Huang, Chen, & Chou, 2016; Johnson-Glenberg,

Birchfield, Tolentino, & Koziupa, 2014). Researchers have also studied immersion learning in

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the arts (Blatt-Gross, 2013; Chapman, 2015b; Sinclair, Watkins, & Jeanneret, 2015; Vuk, Tacol,

& Vogrinc, 2015) and in music teaching (Chapman, 2015a; Klinger, Campbell, & Goolsby,

1998; Rifai, 2016).

Across diverse fields of education, research has shown immersion learning to be effective

learning (e.g., Chapman, 2015a; Hamari et al., 2016; Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2014; Sinclair et

al., 2015; R. A. Wiggins et al., 2007; Zink et al., 2008). Dawoud et al. (2015), Klinger et al.

(1998), Lavery et al. (2014), and Waddell (2011) credited it with furthering specific intellectual

skills development, and Hamari et al. (2016), Lavery et al. (2014), and Sinclair et al. (2015)

further found it created learning environments that encourage the development of social-

emotional skills. Studies on immersive learning in the arts have shown positive impact on the

development of students’ creative processes and approach to creative thinking (Blatt-Gross,

2013; Chapman, 2015b; Lowe & Coy, 2016; Sinclair et al., 2015). In music education, research

has focused on teaching applications of immersive learning in different environments (Chapman,

2015a; Emmanuel, 2003, 2005; Klinger et al., 1998; Lowe & Coy, 2016; Rifai, 2016). However,

few studies have addressed immersion learning in music education from the students’

perspectives (Lowe & Coy, 2016; Lum & Campbell, 2007).

Research Question

What are the outcomes of an immersive music curriculum focused on composition

implemented in K-5 general music education?

Methodology

Overview

The present study is one aspect of a longitudinal, qualitative research effort that happened

over 4 years (see also Johnson-Green, 2018). As the teacher–researcher, I was aware of my dual

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role and the possible biases I might bring to the observations and data analysis (Schmidt, 2014;

Stanley, 2014). To mitigate these biases, I performed a comprehensive, multipronged data

collection that offered multiple perspectives on my students’ learning processes. I elicited expert

and nonexpert perspectives on the data analysis to ensure validity and to maintain objectivity as

much as possible.

Context and Participants

From 2011 to 2015, I taught at an independent K–8 school outside of Boston, MA. The

students there, about 300 of them, came from economically diverse families (30% of the children

were on scholarship) and from diverse family configurations. A third of the students were on the

equivalent of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), and some of them worked with one-to-one

paraeducators. Among these children, there was a high incidence of attention deficit disorder or

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, executive functioning disorder, and emotional regulation

disorder. Class sizes were 22 students on average with two regular teachers in the general

classroom and one regular teacher in the arts-focused classrooms. There was one music teacher

who was responsible for administering the program, designing and implementing the curriculum,

and directing all musical activities for the general school population.

Students attended music lessons once per week for 50 minutes and were invited to an

open music studio during their lunch hour. For their music lessons, the students worked in a

dedicated music classroom where they had access to several types of percussion instruments,

recorders, and a keyboard laboratory, which grant funding had made possible. Each student sat at

a station with a keyboard, desk, and headphones. Other materials, such as drawing and staff

paper, colored pencils, markers, and crayons were freely available and kept out where the

students could access them independently.

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Curriculum

While the K–5 curriculum focused on composition, it also encompassed several aspects

of general musicianship development. The students cultivated skills and knowledge in music

analysis, aural training, conducting, singing, movement, keyboard, pitched and nonpitched

percussion, score reading and writing, and notation. Each year, the students focused on a

different aspect of composition that connected with their general education (see Table 1).

Table 1

Composition Curriculum, K–5 Structure

Grade Level Composition Curriculum Focus General Education Connections

K

Grasping abstract musical concepts

through using music as a

manipulative material.

Mathematics: Patterning, concrete

operations, sorting, and connecting

mathematical concepts.

1

Programmatic music: Focus on

musical settings to poetry and

stories.

Literacy: Reading and writing poetry

and stories.

Science: Study of animals

2

Absolute music: Focus on musical

patterning through Jazz education,

two-hand keyboard pieces,

atmospheric music, and

orchestration.

Mathematics: More complex

mathematical thinking, patterning,

understanding how parts/whole work

together.

Science: Study of the natural

environment.

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3

Musical skills: Notation, rhythmic

dictation, complex music analysis,

collaborative composition,

imitation and other techniques,

peer-to-peer teaching, and

American musical cultures.

Social Studies: Regions of the US,

American culture.

Mathematics: Fractions, ratios, complex

multiplication/division, and

manipulating part-to-whole

relationships.

4

Music as engineering: Music

analysis, music as architecture,

large-scale, multi-movement

pieces, and collaborative

composition.

Mathematics: Complex computation,

application of basic operations to

problem solving, and mathematical

design.

Science: Engineering and architecture.

5

Song writing: Poetry analysis,

setting original poetry to music, and

collaborative composition—writing

a concept album.

Literacy: Studying and writing poetry

and stories.

Social studies: Mythology of diverse

cultures.

Connections to the general school-wide curriculum helped to structure the long-term goals of the

composition curriculum and served to strengthen the association between the music class and

other aspects of the children’s education. I worked with the homeroom teachers for each grade

level to ensure that these connections were relevant and correct.

I used specific teaching strategies to create an immersive learning environment. Based on

my understanding of effective and meaningful teaching/learning, I implemented the following

approach:

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• I created a highly structured environment through both the physical design of the

classroom and clear expectations for behavior and work;

• The music room was calm and safe, where my students were comfortable with risk-

taking;

• Students had open access to all materials in the classroom, which they used

purposefully to problem solve or to attain a specific objective;

• Students understood music as a learning material or manipulative, where the goal was

expression of musical ideas;

• I gave students scaffolded, open-ended instruction (e.g., “Write a two-phrase melody

line”) where I never suggested content, only structure;

• Students had space and time to develop their ideas into full compositions—each

student worked at their own pace;

• Students asked for teacher input, which I kept minimal and collaborative (e.g., when a

student would ask me what to do next, I would ask a question back such as, “What

would happen if you stretched that idea?”); and

• Students would reiterate the compositional process, developing their ideas until they

determined that they had finished a composition.

The students created scores for each composition project that served as mnemonic

devices or blueprints for their music (Johnson-Green, 2018). From grades K–2, they exclusively

used their own symbolic systems to write their pieces. In third grade they began to add notation

to their scores as they developed their skills in reading and writing music on the staff.

Projects ranged in length and complexity depending on the unit of study. For example, a

multimovement piece might take several weeks to complete, especially if students had

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collaborated on it. The students performed their compositions in class both in process and when

they had completed them.

Data Collection

The present study is one perspective on a body of data I collected over 4 years. Given the

complex nature of this longitudinal, qualitative study, the data collection was multifaceted. It

comprised video and audio recordings of student performances of and interviews about their

compositional processes (approximately 100 hours); photographs of student written work and of

classroom activity (several hundred of these); students’ written and drawn scores, notated scores,

and other drawings (approximately 2000 documents); my written work, including lesson plans

and observational notes of classroom activity (approximately 200 pages).

Since the school did not have an institutional review board, I gained permission to collect

data from the head and assistant head of school, the parents of my students, and my students. In

addition, my students’ general education teachers were aware of the research and supported it. In

terms of ethical considerations around video recording and photographs taken of children, all

families associated with the school signed a media release form at the start of each school year,

which covered the data collection. I also made clear that I would use the data for research

purposes only. My students understood that they could refuse to be video recorded or

photographed without penalty. As part of differentiated learning practice, I only recorded or

photographed my students when invited to do so.

Data Organization and Analysis

I grouped data electronically into portfolios for each student. This organization provided

a retrospective of students’ compositional processes over 4 years and also the development of

students’ individual composition projects over time during units of study. I considered each

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student’s portfolio as a unit of study. Each unit of study contained video and/or audio recordings,

drawn and written scores, transcriptions of pieces, and photographs of the students’

compositions.

Overall, I examined the data for various perspectives on the students’ general

musicianship, compositional development, and their use and application of knowledge and skills.

I used four levels of analysis to understand my students’ work comprehensively:

1. I examined video and photographic data for musical gestures, score reading,

movement, musical expression, and interpersonal musical interaction, where

appropriate. I checked these musical behaviors against specific timepoints during the

performances and then matched the behaviors to the students’ scores. This method of

analysis helped me to interpret the students’ ideas with a better degree of certainty. It

also helped me to understand their musical intentions from their point of view.

2. Videos of the children speaking about their musical thinking corroborated my

observations about their compositional development. Generally, I asked open-ended

questions about how they approached writing their pieces. The discussions of their

work gave me insight into the development of their musical thinking over time.

3. I used the video, audio, and photographic data to transcribe the compositions, which I

notated using MuseScore 3 software. I then analyzed them for formal components,

rhythmic structures, and melodic and harmonic movement.

4. As the final layer of analysis, I created visual illustrations of the music with

spectrographic analysis using Sonic Visualiser (Cannam, Landone, & Sandler, 2010).

This software program translated frequency into color, which allowed me to see my

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students’ musical thinking directly without the intervention of notation (Johnson-

Green, Forthcoming).

The four layers of analysis provided a comprehensive picture of each student’s

composition. Since I intended to examine my students’ compositional processes over time, I

compared the analyses within each student’s portfolio. The comparisons served to reveal how the

children’s musical thought processes developed, which gave insight into what they had

internalized over time. In turn, this perspective showed how the immersive/differentiated

curriculum successfully helped the students to work beyond expectations for age and grade level.

Results

To illustrate how the composition program worked over the long-term, I have focused the

results for this paper on the in-depth analysis of the work of one of my students, Ellie, over 4

years. I taught Ellie from kindergarten through third grade. The trajectory of Ellie’s compositions

represents the type of compositional development typical for the general group of students. I

have included the results from each layer of analysis: transcriptions, performance gestures,

scores, and spectrograms. I have changed students’ names to protect their identities.

Ellie in Kindergarten (5 Years Old): Composition for Xylophone

At the start of the kindergarten year, I asked my students to write a piece of music for the

xylophone. I gave this assignment as a precursor to the unit on patterning that we would be

working on later in the year. The instructions were to (a) improvise first (“Please play with the

instrument to find interesting sounds”), (b) decide on musical material that they wanted to keep

(“After you have played for a while, find some sounds that you like and that you think might go

together”), (c) create a score (“Please write down your music any way you can remember it.

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Your music needs to sound the same every time you play it”), (d) practice the music along with

the score, and (e) let me know when it was time to record the final piece.

My aim in kindergarten music education was to introduce my students to composition

without intimidating or frustrating them. The instructions gave them complete creative control,

provided structure, and allowed for immersive learning.

Transcription: Theoretical analysis. Ellie recorded this composition for soprano

xylophone on October 4, 2011. She wrote it in two class sessions. The transcription, score, and

spectrogram show the beginning of her musical thinking process, which continued to develop

over that year.

Formally, the piece comprises six phrases that are separated into two clear sections: A,

with two phrases, and B, with four phrases. Each section has its own character: Section A is in

time, with clear repetition of musical material. Section B is in time with unsettled melodic,

harmonic, and rhythmic movement.

Ellie created this piece out of four separate motives that she manipulated and played with

throughout the composition. In the analysis (see Figure 1), notice how these motives change yet

remain recognizable through sequencing, melodic inversion, combination, and embellishment.

Ellie also used rhythmic complexity to develop her ideas, to stretch or truncate them as a

compositional strategy.

6 8

4 4

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Figure 1. Transcription and theoretical analysis of Ellie’s xylophone composition. The piece is in

C major and is based on (I–IV–V–I) movement. The first section of the piece stays within that

structure. However, in the second section, the addition of ii in measures 9 and 10, I7 in measures

12 & 14, and a half-cadence resolution in measure 15 along with many passing and neighbor

tones creates tonal uncertainty (see Figure 1).

Score: Music and gesture. Ellie’s performance of this piece showed deliberate

movement that adhered to her score. In the A section, her playing was rhythmically precise and

fell within a clear, steady beat. She focused completely on the instrument to be sure that she

played the correct notes. While playing, Ellie stood still—her body movements were compact

and controlled without any extraneous gestures. In section B, the improvisatory section, Ellie’s

playing and mannerisms changed. Her movements became freer: Her playing gestures became

larger, she swayed in time to the music, and she occasionally looked away from the instrument.

Ellie maintained a steady beat throughout the piece, across two different time signatures and

through rhythmic complexity.

AA

B

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The score clearly shows these two different sections (see Figure 2). Section A shows a

logical numerical order and Section B shows a completely different and colorful design. While it

does not correspond to the music precisely measure by measure, Ellie’s intentions are still clear:

This section will be completely different in character and performance.

Figure 2. Score for Ellie’s xylophone composition. The A section (left) denotes the following

logical sequence of numbers:

m. 1 m. 2 m. 3 m. 4 m. 5 m. 6 m. 7

1, 2, 1, 2 3, 4, 3, 4 5, 6, 5, 6 7, 8, 7, 8 9, 10, 9, 10 11, 12, 11, 12 13, 13, 13, 13, 13

These numbers correspond exactly to the music written in this section. In the music, m. 7

contains quick, repeated notes, and m. 8 is silent. The B section (right) is still logical and

patterned; it is colorful, dynamic, and a bit wild. The drawing represents the improvisatory

nature of this section.

As in the music, the score shows little crossover material between the sections. However,

there are some basic color and line elements present in both. For example, Ellie’s uses the same

shade of blue in both drawings and the curved lines in section B reflect the open curved lines of

the numbers in section A.

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Spectrogram: Sound analysis. The spectrographic analysis, the one-to-one visual

representation of Ellie’s performance, shows a close relationship to her score (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Spectrogram of Ellie’s xylophone composition.

1Coincides with section A and also with the first page of Ellie’s score. Notice the sequential,

ordered, downward movement of the color points.

2Coincides with the break in the piece where section A ends and B begins. The full-length

vertical line next to “2” represents the measure of silence immediately before section B.

3Coincides with section B. The color points create shapes that mirror those in the score.

Ellie in Grade 1 (6 Years Old): Composition for Keyboard Duet

The first-grade year was highly connected to literacy, especially to poetry. I implemented

a series of lessons on specific compositional techniques that led to the study of poetry and

musical text setting in the composition curriculum. As part of this process, my students wrote a

series of keyboard duets, each of which focused on a different strategy (e.g., imitation, text

painting, or descriptive music). I instructed the students to use shapes and colors to represent

their music according to two rules:

1

2

3

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1. Each motive they wrote needed to be associated with a shape and color, and

2. The music associated with a particular shape and color needed to be the same every

time they played it.

Using this system, I taught my students to compose in patterns, which then became formal

structures. Later in the year, my students connected the shape/music patterns to patterns in

poetry, which transformed into a study of musical text setting. The piece presented here is an

example of the students’ study of imitation that Ellie and her partner Leigh wrote together.

Transcription: Theoretical analysis. Ellie and Leigh recorded this composition on

December 20, 2012: It was written in one class session. This piece shows the start of

collaborative keyboard writing. While it seems simpler than Ellie’s kindergarten composition, it

illustrates how my students began to learn and use various compositional strategies early in the

curriculum. For this lesson, I gave my students a fairly proscribed set of instructions, given the

specificity of the task. As before, they had complete creative freedom within a set of parameters.

In this case, I asked them to write a piece that used exact imitation throughout and that they

might teach to another set of students.

Formally, the piece is mathematically balanced: It comprises four phrases, each

containing two measures, and is in two sections of four measures each. The A section begins

with a two-measure introduction before the imitation begins. Section B contains new material

that draws from section A but is clearly separate.

Ellie and Leigh built their piece on three motives, which they used to create balance and

coherence. Motive 1 begins and ends the A section. Motive 3 provides some developmental

material, which creates interest and moves the A section back to Motive 1. Motives 1 and 2 are

then combined to create section B.

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Figure 4. Transcription and theoretical analysis of Ellie’s and Leigh’s keyboard duet with

imitation. The piece begins in C major with the following overall harmonic movement:

I–V–IV–V–IV–vi–V–I–V. The return of Motive 1 at the end of section A is in A minor, which

sets us up to hear the change to the B section with the return of G major.

Score: Gestural analysis. As shown in the transcription, Ellie and Leigh followed the

instructions literally. During the performance, they both sat at the low end of the keyboard and

took turns playing the same keys. They had practiced the piece so that they were able to play the

music within a recognizable beat with short hesitations when they switched players. The video of

their performance shows consistent eye-contact, nonverbal cues, and score reading (i.e., each of

them looked at the score before and during their playing).

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The score illustrates a one-to-one relationship to the music, with three distinctive

sections: the introduction, A, and B (see Figures 5 and 6). The score shows that Ellie and Leigh

thoughtfully designed their composition, inventing and reusing material in various ways to create

musical coherence.

Figure 5. Illustration of Ellie’s and Leigh’s score for keyboard duet with imitation. Each player’s

first initial is placed above each measure or set of measures. Each section contains a series of

numbers or shapes that indicate both musical structure and content. Numbers illustrate the

introduction, different combinations of blue shapes indicate the A section, and two shapes pulled

from the A section now colored red indicate the B section.

Figure 6. Ellie’s and Leigh’s score for keyboard duet with imitatio

9–10 11–12 13–14 15–16

E E L L

1 2 1 2 3

1–2 3 4 5 6 7 8

E E L E E L L

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Spectrogram: Sound analysis. The spectrogram clearly shows imitation along with

moments of silence while the players change hands (see Figure 7). There is clear structure to the

music: The spectrogram shows that the students not only successfully completed the assignment,

but also that they drew on their musical understanding to create a balanced composition.

Figure 7. Spectrographic analysis of Ellie’s and Leigh’s keyboard duet with imitation. Numbers

correspond to measure numbers in the transcription.

Ellie in Grade 2 (7 Years Old): Composition for Solo Keyboard

The second-grade curriculum began with a study of jazz music, which focused on the

bebop form. I chose to teach this form for its structure and its seminal place in jazz history. As

the unit goal, my students would complete a piece in bebop form. The curriculum was structured

so that the students drew on their previous 2 years of composition lessons to develop their

compositional skills toward writing more complex music. Specifically, they continued using

compositional strategies based on the shape/color/music association begun in first grade.

For the assignment presented here, I asked the students to add written music to each shape/color

and then to arrange these blocks of music into various patterns. For example, during the first

lesson, I introduced a plan (see Figure 8). Next to each shape, the students wrote a line of music

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9-10 11-12 13-14 15-16

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using their own symbolic system. The students used the shapes and associated music in different

patterns, eventually adding more shapes/colors and music of their choosing. To raise the

challenge, I introduced a shape that indicated improvisation, which the students incorporated into

their formal structures. Ultimately, the students developed their ability to manipulate music in

highly complex ways.

Figure 8. Example of a shape and color plan introduced to second grade students.

Transcription: Theoretical analysis. Ellie recorded this composition on November 8,

2013. She wrote it in three to four class sessions. Ellie’s piece shows a leap in compositional

development from first grade. It demonstrates a wider range of compositional skills, which she

used to write a larger-scale piece that has elements of bebop form. Ellie used five motives that

appear throughout the composition in various ways and combinations to create repeated themes

and developmental material that she arranged in an overarching ABA form (see Table 2).

=

=

=

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Table 2

General Formal Construction of Ellie’s Piece for Solo Keyboard

A B A

Melodic form

Statement of the “tune”

(Introduction and Exposition)

Development of the “tune” Restatement of the “tune”

(Recapitulation and Coda)

Thematic form

Theme 1

(Motives 1–3)

Theme 2

(Motives 4 & 5)

Combinations of all

motives to create different

material

Themes 1 & 2 return, with a

restatement of measure 1 to

close the piece

Although the piece is structurally balanced, it feels tonally unsettled. The music is in

lydian mode, with the tritone outlined at the start of measure 1. From there, the composition

moves mainly among F, G, C, and D tonalities until the developmental section. Here, Ellie added

a major pentatonic scale spanning the keyboard. The piece ends on A (iii), which makes it feel

unfinished despite the structural balance (see Figure 9).

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(Figure continues.)

A

B

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Figure 9. Transcription and theoretical analysis of Ellie’s piece for solo keyboard. Shapes

correspond to those used in Ellie’s score (see Figure 10).

Score: Gestural analysis. The video of Ellie’s performance shows that she continually

referred to her score and then looked at her hands to make sure that she played correctly. While

she occasionally hesitated, she clearly knew this music well and had practiced it. Ellie’s playing

retained some of the improvisatory feeling that was present in kindergarten.

The score designates the main sections of the piece and also gives musical information.

Ellie’s drawings are reminiscent of her kindergarten score, with use of vibrant colors and

movement. The score shows the form that the students used as the foundation for their work with

some added structural elements (see Figure 10).

A

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Figure 10: Score for Ellie’s piece for solo keyboard. Notice how the score mirrors itself exactly.

The music essentially does the same with the developmental material in the center (marked in the

score with the letter I).

Spectrogram: Sound analysis. The spectrographic analysis for this piece gives another

perspective on how Ellie designed her composition. While the score does not seem to indicate a

one-to-one relationship with the music visually, Ellie’s performance of the piece alongside the

spectrogram gave insight into her musical thinking (see Figure 11).

(Figure continues.)

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Figure 11. Spectrogram of Ellie’s piece for solo keyboard. I added the colored shapes from the

score as a visual aid.

Ellie in Grade 3 (8 Years Old): Composition for Four-Hand Keyboard

During the third-grade year, the curriculum focused on musical skills—especially on

reading and writing music notation. I taught these skills in the context of composition, which

allowed the students to continue their general musicianship development as part of their

compositional development. This process was cumulative. Each composition project

incorporated both familiar and new skills to allow the students to build their knowledge. By the

end of that year, my students had written many smaller-scale pieces in various configurations

and collaborations. The piece presented here was one result of Ellie’s third grade music

education.

Transcription: Theoretical analysis. Ellie and her partner Sarah recorded this

composition on May 29, 2015. They wrote it in three class sessions. While this is a short piece, it

represents Ellie’s development as a musical thinker. She and Sarah quietly worked on this piece

together without asking for my help. They chose to work together and were solely responsible

for the outcome of this assignment.

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As with Ellie’s other compositions, this one is highly structured. However, unlike her

other pieces, I did not offer any instruction other than for her to write with a partner. This piece

is in tertiary form, which departed from the usual binary or rounded binary of Ellie’s writing (see

Table 3).

Table 3

Structure of Ellie’s and Sarah’s Piece for Four-Hand Keyboard

Section

Structural element A B C

Phrase 1 2 3 4 5 6

Motive 1, 2 1, 2 1, 3, 4 1, 3, 4 1, 5 1, 5

Repetition 3 0 0

All the motives are either related or interrelated to one another. The material in the A section

appears throughout the piece, which ties together a form that might otherwise seem unfinished.

This composition is in C Major. The A section begins with rhythmically syncopated

stacked seventh chords played together, IV7 underneath I7. The combination of rhythm and

harmony lends the piece elements of jazz, which makes it the most harmonically complex music

that Ellie had written. Section B comprises an ostinato in the bass paired with an embellished

line in the upper voice. In section C, both low and high voices play contrary motion, once again

outlining major seventh chords. The harmonic movement is more linear when compared to

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Ellie’s earlier pieces: It resolves in C Major, which gives it harmonic as well as structural

balance (see Figure 12).

Figure 12. Transcription and analysis of Ellie’s and Sarah’s piece for four-hand keyboard. Due

to space considerations, I have provided one grand staff that shows each player’s two-handed

part.

Sarah:

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Score: Gestural analysis. The performance video shows Ellie and Sarah playing

together exactly in time. Both students read the score throughout. There is no hesitation while

they play; they listen carefully to each other to stay together. Their posture and hand positions

have matured over this year as well and they play with confidence.

The score shows that both students chose to combine their own, familiar system and their

new knowledge of musical notation to write this piece (see Figure 13). This score is three pages:

The left-hand page is filled with numbers and letters indicating how and what to play along with

some performance notes. The center and right-hand pages are written on staff paper and show

notation with melodic contour, along with more performance notes. Ellie and Sarah clearly

marked each section of the piece on each page.

Figure 13. The score for Ellie’s piece for four-hand keyboard.

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Spectrogram: Sound analysis. The spectrographic analysis further reveals Ellie’s

change in compositional development over time. While it does not show an obvious connection

to the written score, it does demonstrate how she grew further in musical understanding and

sophistication. This spectrogram is densely packed with sound that is organized, structured, and

coherent. There is a striking similarity between sections A and C. Here, the visual illustration

provides a deeper understanding of how they wrote the composition and shows how much more

went on within Ellie’s musical thinking (see Figure 14).

Figure 14. Spectrographic analysis of Ellie’s piece for four-hand keyboard.

Discussion and Conclusions

Ellie’s compositions show evidence of effective learning in an immersive environment.

Each piece in the series built on the prior year’s work, which showed that the trajectory of her

musical skill development depended on retaining skills over time. Ellie retained certain elements

of her work over time, such as the design of her score writing, formal organization, and

tonalities. Her melodic writing remained stylistically consistent until third grade, where she

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showed focus on using more complex harmonies. Overall, Ellie grew in facility with

compositional skills and her strategies increased in complexity and sophistication over time.

Ellie benefited from the structured yet open-ended nature of the assignments. She took

creative responsibility for her work, which gave her the freedom to decide when she had finished

a piece. The ability to take time and space for each project allowed Ellie to work through her

ideas and to develop her musical thinking. Ellie’s formative musical understanding grew because

of this process.

While Ellie’s experience with the composition curriculum illustrates how the immersive

learning strategies worked longitudinally for one student, further questions about the overall

study need to be addressed across aggregated data for each grade level: For example, what were

the outcomes of the differentiated teaching and learning strategies that informed all aspects of the

program? How did knowledge and skill integration influence my students’ learning? What were

the outcomes of collaborative composition over time and how did this strategy influence the

students’ musicianship development? What were the processes for my students to develop

enduring understandings in music education? How did those processes influence the trajectory of

their development as composers?

These questions formed the basis of my enquiry into how an immersive, composition-

focused curriculum might be effective as a general music education program. With this research,

I aimed to determine how and why the composition curriculum was successful for my students,

which may contribute to future research and practice in music education.

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Elissa Johnson-Green ([email protected]) is Assistant Professor of Music and Music Education. A professional flutist and a teacher in K-8 music education, she received a professional master's degree and a doctorate in music education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

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