Composing and performing in the key stage 3 classroom: a study using multi-trait, multi-method analysis

Abstract

‘Music is both a creative and a performing art’ (Hallam, 2006, p. 70). Many musicians and music educators maintain that composing and performing, although related, are essentially different aspects of musical activity. In the professional musical sphere, composition and performance are almost invariably separated; academic studies have treated them discretely; GCSE and ‘A’ level specifications assess them distinctly, and many music teachers assess them in the classroom as if they were separate disciplines. It is common practice for students in the lower secondary school in England to work in a more integrated way, however (Philpott, 2001; Major, 2008), composing, performing to the class, and appraising each others’ work. Recently produced assessment guidelines for secondary school music teachers in England (NAME, 2011) encourage this more integrated view, accepting the assumption made by Swanwick and Franca (1999, p. 12) that ‘musical understanding is a broad conceptual dimension’ by considering composing and performing as inter-linked ways of demonstrating and communicating musicality. This study sets out to investigate the links between composing and performing in the secondary school classroom, through peer-rating, teacher rating and students’ self-report attitudinal questionnaires, analysing these using a multi-trait, multi-method technique.Evidence for convergent validity was found between performing and composing in the classroom, suggesting that they are closely linked and may indeed be related parts of the same trait. This may have implications for the ways in which composing and performing are taught and assessed. A larger-scale study could be undertaken to investigate this further.

Toward conceptualizations of musical creativities in secondary education: An integrative literature review between 1990 and 2020

“…Thorpe (2017) identifies difficulties in assessing compositional processes with peers and with teachers. This perspective is congruent with the correlation between students’ and teachers’ perception of quality in composition performances identified by Fowler (2014). The importance of ongoing feedback and communication between teachers and students is underlined (Leung, 2004).…”

“…The importance of listening in composition (Fautley, 2005b; Kennedy, 2002a) and improvisation (Augustyniak, 2014) is underlined as enhancing students’ musical skills and holding a central position in creative processes. Moreover, strong correlations between performance and composition suggest they are related traits (Fowler, 2014).…”

Creatividad participativa en la composición de bandas sonoras en Educación Secundaria

“…También, dependen de las diversas agrupaciones posibles, individual (Fowler, 2014), cooperativa o colaborativa (Murillo et al, 2019). Por su parte, Ruthmann (2008) o Bolden (2009), mostraron en sus trabajos la importancia de la composición de bandas sonoras tanto en Primaria como en Secundaria.…”