Our Music Blog Children as Composers - A Manifesto Listen Imagine Compose Primary's New Manifesto Imagine walking into a noisy school classroom, children all engaged in creating sounds with their voices or instruments they hold, working in pairs or small groups, focused on exploring, experimenting and creating. The cacophony suggests chaos but what is happening is composing - the playful organisation and manipulation of sound to express and communicate ideas. BCMG’s exciting new project - Listen Imagine Compose Primary (LIC Primary) - is underpinned by the belief that composing is an inherently human activity and something children of all ages, even the very youngest, can do. This belief is the first of a set of 16 that form the Listen Imagine Compose Primary Manifesto developed by BCMG's Director of Learning Nancy Evans and Dr Martin Fautley, Professor of Education at Birmingham City University. We believe that composing is an inherently human activity and something children of all ages, even the very youngest, can do. We understand composing to be the playful organisation and manipulation of sound to express and communicate ideas. We believe that creating opportunities for children to compose music supports not only their development as composers but also supports their musical understanding, listening and performing. We believe that children arrive a primary school with a multiplicity of musical experiences and are not empty vessels. We believe that children should be given the opportunity to compose from their own intentions as well as from given external stimulus such as poetry, science, art and be inspired by a range of musics. We believe that children should be given the opportunity to compose for the instruments that they and their classmates play, classroom percussion, voices, found objects, visiting or school-based musicians, school/class ensembles and technology We believe that generalist as well as specialist music teachers can effectively support children’s progress as composers when given appropriate professional development and support. We recognise that even specialist primary music teachers often have a performance rather than composing background We recognise that composing in the classroom can present challenges to teachers in terms of space, noise, resources, time and wide differences of musical experience We recognise that understanding about children’s progress as composers is less well understood than in other subjects such as art, creative writing, maths. We recognise that understanding about children’s progress as composers is less well understood than children’s progress playing an instrument or singing. We see music notation (traditional and graphic) as a tool for sharing and recording ideas not a goal in itself. We recognise the need to develop knowledge and practice that works in a wide range of schools and that is flexible and responsive to context and community. We believe that knowledge and practice is best developed through collaboration between teachers and composers where both are seen as experts in their field We believe in using research and evidence to inform what we do All ideas presented in these resources support, complement, and extend the Model Music Curriculum and National Curriculum. LIC Primary is funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and in partnership with Sound and Music, Birmingham City University, Birmingham Music Education Partnership and Bristol Beacon. BCMG is leading this exciting project aiming to better understand children’s composing and how they progress as composers; improve the quality and frequency of composing in schools; and work with teachers and composers to develop meaningful and relevant composing activities for children. The project includes workshops and action research in 3 Bristol and 6 Birmingham Primary schools and reflective symposiums and professional development for teachers and our composers, including Richard Barnard, Michael Betteridge, Robert Crehan, Chloe Knibbs, Natalie Mason and Angela Slater. The findings will be shared through conferences, online resources, academic articles and further CPD. For more information please see BCMG's Listen Imagine Compose Primary project pages here. Manage Cookie Preferences