“The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanely sensitive. To them… a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create — so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, their very breath is cut off… They must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency they are not really alive unless they are creating.” - Pearl Buck (Iglesias, 2001)
My students do not do enough creating. They sing, play, dance, and give very insightful answers to questions, but very rarely do they have the chance to organically create something musical of their own. My goal is to foster more creativity in my elementary music students, specifically through a composition unit in third grade. With a set of Chromebooks, a small group of "music mentors," and some extra time with those students and technology, I hope to help students bypass the learning curve of music composition software so they can spend valuable music class time creating original, individual songs. Instead of composing a song together as a class, students could create songs meaningful to themselves. Students would be challenged much more individually, resulting in a deeper understanding of music theory and the creative process. The unit could be culminated with a recording session, giving students the opportunity to record their songs to be included on a class album. I imagine a group of third grade students at the end of the school year who truly understand the concepts of rhythm and melody and have a sense of fulfillment from being able to use the creativity they are, unfortunately, so often asked to suppress in school.
This project can also be viewed as a PDF.