Children composing: Creating communities of musical practice

Abstract

Music composition has traditionally been regarded as a sophisticated skill or ability that requires many years of formal academic training, possibly beginning in a secondary school context and continuing into conservatoires or academies of higher learning. However, there is evidence of sophisticated levels of compositional skill in children aged 5 to 12 years and of qualitatively different ways of approaching composition tasks. For example, Joanna Glover (2000) in her seminal book Children Composing 4–14 suggests that children view musical creativity as the product of values, risks and courage, rather than as a technical endeavour. Teachers conducting research from within the learning environment emphasise the importance of providing time and freedom for children to compose.