Outline

Overview

This unit of study will examine the teaching and learning of composition in schools with a models-based pedagogy. Through the completion of small-scale arranging and composition exercises students will develop strategies to successfully integrate composition into their teaching and experience ways in which composition can be seen as a site of music learning. Students will survey sampling, sequencing and notation software, develop skills in software evaluation suitable for composition, and discuss how technology can enhance the teaching and learning of composition. Strategies for assessing composition work will be considered.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Music Education
Credit points	3
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	James Humberstone, james.humberstone@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Jim Coyle, jim.coyle@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 31 March 2025

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Arrange a piece of your own choice for classroom ensemble using studied pedagogies (30%) Arrangement. Please see the Canvas site for more details.	30%	Formal exam period Due date: 09 Jun 2025 at 23:59	1000 words equivalent
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Compose and record an original piece for violin and piano that meets the criteria for the core composition for Music 2 HSC (50%) Composition that is worked on in-class and at home. Please see the Canvas site for more details.	50%	Week 04 Due date: 20 Mar 2025 at 23:59	2000 words equivalent
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Program content that scaffolds composition for students Resources that scaffold composition for students. Please see the Canvas site for more details.	20%	Week 13 Due date: 26 May 2025 at 23:59	1000 words
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ? = AI allowed ?

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

Please see the Canvas site for a custom marking rubric for every assessment task in this UoS.

For more information see guide to grades.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

Except for supervised exams or in-semester tests, you may use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessments unless expressly prohibited by your unit coordinator.

For exams and in-semester tests, the use of AI and automated writing tools is not allowed unless expressly permitted in the assessment instructions.

The icons in the assessment table above indicate whether AI is allowed – whether full AI, or only some AI (the latter is referred to as “AI restricted”). If no icon is shown, AI use is not permitted at all for the task. Refer to Canvas for full instructions on assessment tasks for this unit.

Your final submission must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of automated writing tools or generative AI, and any material generated that you include in your final submission must be properly referenced. You may be required to submit generative AI inputs and outputs that you used during your assessment process, or drafts of your original work. Inappropriate use of generative AI is considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

The Current Students website provides information on artificial intelligence in assessments. For help on how to correctly acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the  AI in Education Canvas site.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	HSC composition – introduction and assessment	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 02	HSC Music 2 Core composition masterclass on drafts	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 03	HSC Music 2 Core composition masterclass with musicians	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 04	Compositions – recording with musicians (Assessment Task 1 due)	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 05	Primary pedagogies and musical creativities (Burnard, 2017; Burnard & Randles, 2023; Frazee & Kreuter, 1987). Defining musical creativities. Orff-Keetman Schulwerk arrangements as a template for student improvisation and composition. What’s the scaffolding for composition?	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 06	The creative music movement influence on teaching composition today (Schafer, 1965, 1967). Graphic scores in the new K-6 Creative Arts syllabus; composition as 1/3 of the syllabi; experimental approaches to composition, and the composition journal. Introducing teacher identity, composition, and Baby Steps.	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 07	Australia’s place in international research and practice: the legacy of Richard Gill (Bolden, 2023; Devaney et al., 2023; Friesen, 2012; Giddings, 2022; Gill, 2003, 2017; Humberstone, 2023). Drawing on two chapters from the latest research: (i) Creating Music with Richard Gill, and (ii) composition in schools in next year’s ISME World Conference host country, Canada. What are the Baby Steps?	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 08	Randles "Teacher as Producer" and Hein’s "Learning Something Deep” (Hein, 2022; Randles, 2023; Souvaliotis, 2022). Composition/production as the starting and central point of music learning in modern cultures. Making without first performing or (formally) studying model repertoire. Drum beat programming as a primer for creativity.	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 09	Writing mixed bag arrangements, and poly-technicality including students who don’t read traditional music notation (Coyle, 2019, 2023a, 2023b; Karlsen & Väkevä, 2012). Commercially available mixed bag arrangements, and what we can learn about arranging from them. Plus, how do students who don’t read traditional notation learn music?	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 11	Randles "Growing Songwriting" (Randles, 2024). Songwriting, with a focus on Randles’ strategies for lyric writing. The baby steps are back.	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 12	Kuhn & Hein’s "Electronic Music School” (Kuhn and Hein, 2021). Future bass and other genre-based projects: models and baby steps from musical analysis. While we’re thinking about the Future (bass): can AI write my compositions for me, or my students’?	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 13	Mixed bag arrangements workshop. All students must bring a draft of their mixed bag arrangement, and an instrument to play others’ arrangements on.	Seminar (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Students must attend all classes.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 3 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 60-75 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed on the Library eReserve link available in the Canvas site for this unit. Only the Randles (2024) reading is mandatory in advance of class (week 11, please read pages 22-33), but referring to all texts will improve your success in the UoS. The readings referred to in the weekly learning activities are:

Bolden, B. (2023). Teaching composition in Canadian music classrooms. In K. Devaney, M. Fautley, J. Grow, & A. Ziegenmeyer (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Teaching Music Composition in Schools: International Perspectives. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003184317

Burnard, P. (2017). Teaching music creatively. Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group.

Burnard, P., & Randles, C. (Eds.). (2023). The Routledge Companion to Creativities in Music Education. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003248194

Coyle, J. (2019). An appraisal of the polytechnical works of Benjamin Britten [University of Sydney]. https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/20344

Coyle, J. (2023a). Spotlight Concerto Series—Olden Dances—Alto Sax. Matt Klohs. https://mattklohs.com/products/spotlight-concerto-olden-dances-alto-sax

Coyle, J. (2023b, February 21). Poly-technical arranging for your ensemble. Beginner Orchestra. https://beginnerorchestra.com/blog/poly-technical-arranging/

Devaney, K., Fautley, M., Grow, J., & Ziegenmeyer, A. (Eds.). (2023). The Routledge Companion to Teaching Music Composition in Schools: International Perspectives. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003184317

Frazee, J., & Kreuter, K. (1987). Discovering Orff. Schott Music Corporation.

Friesen, D. (2012). Creative Traction Ideas. The Canadian Music Educator, 53(4), 8. Arts Premium Collection; ProQuest One Academic.

Giddings, S. (2022). Technology for Unleashing Creativity: Practical Tips and Tools for Music Educators (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197570739.001.0001

Gill, R. (Director). (2003). The Creative Classroom with Richard Gill [Video recording]. MLC School.

Gill, R. (2017). Creating Music. Devirra Publications.

Hein, E. (2022). Learning Something Deep: Teaching to Learn and Learning to Teach Hip-Hop in New York City [Ph.D., New York University]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2674014315/abstract/2AAEC5455AFA49BFPQ/1

Humberstone, J. H. B. (2023). Battle Dances and 808s: Teaching music creation in Australia. In M. Fautley, K. Devenay, J. Grow, & A. Ziegenmeyer (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Teaching Music Composition in Schools International Perspectives (pp. 9–25). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003184317-2/battle-dances-808s-james-henry-byrne-humberstone

Karlsen, S., & Väkevä, L. (2012). Future Prospects for Music Education: Corroborating Informal Learning Pedagogy. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Kuhn, W., & Hein, E. (2021). Electronic music school: A contemporary approach to teaching musical creativity. Oxford University Press.

Randles, C. (2023). Music Teacher as Music Producer: How to Turn Your Classroom into a Center for Musical Creativities. Oxford University Press.

Randles, C. (2024). Growing Songwriting: Student Creativities in the Classroom and Beyond. Oxford University Press.

Schafer, R. M. (1965). The composer in the classroom. BMI Canada Limited.

Schafer, R. M. (1967). Ear cleaning: Notes for an experimental music course. BMI Canada.

Souvaliotis, T. (2022). Learning EDM The “Schooling” of Electronic Dance Musicians [Honours thesis, University of Sydney]. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.35891.71200

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. understand the nature of the creative musical process and how that process may be taught
LO2. understand and gain insight into strategies to teach composition by composing yourself
LO3. acquire an analytical perspective of the composition process, compose your own short works and apply this knowledge to the teaching of composition
LO4. obtain skills to instigate creative processes, supervise technical development and assist with the presentation of notated original compositions
LO5. develop assessment strategies appropriate to courses in the secondary music curriculum
LO6. explore different types of composition assessments
LO7. understand issues of assessing composition as part of your music pedagogy.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Unit of study feedback is not available to the UoS coordinator.

Additional information

Work, health and safety

Please consider wearing ear plugs during workshops.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

MUED3603: Composition in Music Education

Semester 1, 2025 [Normal day] - Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links