Creative Composition in the Classroom
Topology
Booking Details
Event details
A music composition incursion for Foundation to Year 12, where students write an original piece together and take a recording of it away.
What to expect
Topology’s musicians work with a class to build a piece of music from nothing. Students generate ideas, then shape them into a finished composition through rhythm, harmony, motif and structure. Sessions run with or without instruments and are pitched to the experience level in the room.
The program scales. A single workshop introduces composing and improvising (Inspire). A series of three to eight sessions takes students through arrangement and orchestration (Engage), and can end in a public performance (Perform). Teachers receive a recording of the finished piece, along with parts and lead sheets so the class can keep performing it.
Reviews
“From one little idea to a whole band playing it, it’s a feeling you can’t even fathom that you’re ever going to have.” Madison, student, Tully State High School
“To feel them play music that I know we’ve written, that we’ve written all together, feels amazing.” Eve, student, Tully State High School
“It is amazing, so many people had so many good ideas and we basically put them all together like a jigsaw puzzle and here we are, we’ve got a song!” Regan, student, El Arish State School
Key learning outcomes
Suited to: Music, Foundation to Year 12 (adapted). Multi-session programs suit Years 3 to 12.
Students will
- Generate and develop musical ideas using motif, rhythm and harmony.
- Shape those ideas into a structured composition as a group.
- Perform the finished piece and explain the choices behind it.
Curriculum links
- Music: composing, arranging, improvising, performing, motif, texture, dynamics, structure, refining musical ideas.
- Senior subjects: Music and Music Extension (General), and Music in Practice (Applied). Suits composition, musicology and performance.
- General Capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Capability.
Additional Information
Delivered as: Students take part in a composition workshop, as a single session or a series.
Year levels: Foundation to Year 12 (adapted). Multi-session programs suit Years 3 to 12.
Duration: One hour, a full day, or a series of three to eight sessions.
Cost: One hour with one artist $300, one hour with two artists $500, full day with one artist $750, full day with two artists $1,250. Two artists recommended for groups over 25.
Setup and space: A classroom or music room. Instruments optional.
Inclusions: Pre-workshop worksheet for the term before. After the session, an MP3 of the finished piece, a backing track, printed parts, lead sheets and lyric sheets, plus support for teachers to extend the work.
Contact for Creative Composition in the Classroom
About the Artist
Topology believes that EVERYONE is creative, and that cultivating creative thinking should start in the classroom. This is why we are passionate about music education and creating new music with young musicians. Topology’s Top Up in Schools program encourages young musicians to write and perform their own music through hands-on workshops. Topology has brought this program to schools throughout Queensland, working with students at all skill levels from an ethos of creative equality.
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