Composing Continues

This is Bree Alexander. She is a high school student and has been taking lessons for over a year. In the journey of her lessons, she has been bitten by the composing 'bug". In fact, she has recently created some music in the last month.

During the month of January and February she has been working on two originals, that are fun and different, not conventional. She uses tones, including 7th and unusual chords that will make you wonder. Her first song was called Winter Blues, where she expressed what gives her the blues during winter. Her next song is called Match. When I asked her why she called it that and if she actually meant a match. She said it sounded like a fun title and she was referring to an actual match.

Yet I don't say much, since she is creating. My philosophy at the beginning is let them decide what they like, with no right or wrong. "It's your song", is what I tell them. Of course, I provide suggestions, yet want them to experiment and see what they create.

In the past, I've had former students create songs about ocean animals, super heroes, including Super Cat, even music that sounds like movie soundtrack. Once the music is created, I write it out on MuseScore, which is easy to navigate through. After that, the student makes sure that the music is correct, I print it off and laminate the song. That is the icing on the cake for them. Their song is now in "print."

Composing is just one of the many ways to help students learn their notes and rhythms quicker, plus they develop confidence as a piano player. What have your students been creating? Would enjoy learning more about your ideas to help others succeed. Keep up the amazing work.

Thanks for your support.