Do you ever feel that we spend so much time playing other people’s music that we sometimes forget to try if we could create our own? Many of my students feel a lot more comfortable looking at sheet music in front of them and playing from it than trying to come up with their own music! It is a natural progression from first starting to learn the basics and understanding how one’s instrument works. For many, this is the only way so far that they know how to play music and might never have even thought about trying out composing music themselves and playing around with their own creative ideas.

What I find interesting and what most students like to try out as well is coming up with simple melody progressions that can then be turned into a song. As a teacher, you can create a simple melody line first and then encourage your student to carry on from there. You can show examples of what chords might sound nice together and notes might fit nicely together. You can even give a list of keys and chords that they can choose from in their composition to make the task easier at the beginning.

What is also quite nice to do is to five a theme that they can compose the music for and a specific mood that they try and portray. For example, for a sad and melancholic song, you can give them a minor scale to use, and for a happier song, you can give them a specific major scale to use.

See what your students – or even yourself – can come up with! You might come up with such a nice composition that you want to share it on social media or other outlets with others!