Songwriting pedagogy is in its infancy in music education. This article presents a new way to think about pedagogy that utilizes student workgroups that more closely align with the ways songs are written in the real world. Implications for music education's connections to the world of contemporary commercial music are provided.

Framed as part of a broader project focused on the creative process of music composers, this study aimed to investigate their perceptions of the sources of inspiration behind their music composition process. These perceptions were explored through a thematic analysis of published interviews conducted with a sample of vanguard contemporary music…

Songwriting has been used in music therapy for decades to help address trauma, alleviate depression and build confidence in both children and adults. With components that great music education models point to--composition, agency, collaboration, and means for self-expression, songwriting seems to be a useful tool for music educators as well. Yet,…

The study aims to consider the issues of vocal creativity by analyzing students' song-creating processes. To achieve this goal, survey methods were used. They greatly contributed to the determination of the important data. The survey demonstrated that among all styles of musical compositions, students give the greatest preference to folk and…

Instrumental music teaching traditionally emphasizes the cognitive, motor, and motivational processes of score reproduction, often at the expense of creative musical activities, such as improvisation or composition. Since today's international art school curricula prominently include creativity competencies, opportunities to integrate creativity…

The purpose of this study was to examine the development and characteristics of invented notation for musical representation. A total of 168 young children aged 3, 4 and 5 years participated in this study. The children listened to rhythm and melody, which represented music, to reveal their use of invented notation. The Korean children used various…

Background: This research aimed at investigating the effectiveness of online digital audio software Logic Pro X and offline audio studios in creating an original folk-style track. The goal was to define the more effective method for the perspective and quality of musical compositions that students create during learning. Objectives: This research…

Middle school students are old enough to be capable of abstract thought and critical thinking while still being playful and joyfully goofy! Through music composition in general music classes, middle school students can be challenged to make musical decisions. Composition can be especially exciting in middle school because they will be motivated to…

This study aims to assess personal creativity and the development of higher-order thinking skills in improvisation. The authors evaluated higher-order thinking skills in music improvisation and creativity of improvised musical compositions. The results of the t-test showed significant progress in both creativity and thinking skills among students…

Scholars have often highlighted the intrinsic features of technology to support the generation and sharing of ideas (Craft 2011). By studying user interactions within informal online communities, researcher can elucidate the ways technology impacts creativity and learning within these groups. This qualitative content analysis (Hsieh and Shannon…

Since the late nineties, composition projects inviting artists and contemporary composers into schools and communities became more established and written about in German speaking countries (see for instance Henze, 1998; Schneider, Bösze & Stangl, 2000; Schneider, 2000; Schatt, 2009; Schlothfeldt, 2009; Schneider, 2012). Additionally, music…

Music students, their teachers, composers, and school communities experience deep, long-lasting growth in music-making and artistic perspective when provided with opportunities to engage in the commissioning of new musical works in conjunction with composer residencies. Through consideration of relevant literature and case-study examination, the…

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to chronicle high school students' creative experiences in a songwriting course. Ten students in Grades 10-12 composed original songs, learned to accompany themselves on keyboard and 'ukulele, and performed their songs in class and at a coffee shop. Data sources consisted of classroom observations,…

This multi-study dissertation explored technology and creativity within three different technology-rich creative musical spaces. Through the use of three contrasting empirical methods (qualitative content analysis, intrinsic case study, and phenomenology), I explored the complex ways technology and musical creativity are linked. In the first…

Making Music: Composing "with" Young Musicians is a multi-year, multi-site research project partnered with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the Canadian Music Centre to commission composers to collaborate with teachers and students (age 11 to 18) to write a piece of music. This article outlines findings on the analysis and…