Composition and Improvisation

I have stepped outside of the text for this summary….

In commenting on creativity, Bennett Reimer says ‘the difference is not in kind, only in degree’ (2003). Contrasted with Gardner’s distinction (persons perfecting a domain – e.g. Mozart, those that create new domains e.g. Freud, those that influence others e.g. Ghandi, those who reflect e.g. Virgina Woolf), this makes for a thought-provoking contrast. In terms of education in music, improvisation and composition have dominated the creative process of learning music. The early 1960’s saw a plethora of creative approaches to music education to encourage and enhance creativity in young children. These included the ‘Young Composers Project’ and ‘Manhatannville Music Curriculum Project’. Many of these approaches extended to the public schools and significantly influenced the 1994 ‘National Standards for Music Education’ that includes composing and arranging.

Creativity/generative process for improvisation and compositions are very similar i.e. specific stages that are refined. Research has distinguished specific stages of imitation and composition in young learners and generally, the consensus is that 10-years are required to gain the knowledge and skills to acquire high levels of performance. (not overlooking the entrepreneurial perspective of learning by modeling, experimenting, and feedback)

Model for compositions (Wallas, 1926)

Preparation

Incubation

Intimation

Illumination

Verification

(include sketching/trial-and-error process, Sloboda)