Composing in primary education
Although a lot has been written, primarily in English, about composition in primary education, composition does not play a key role in music lessons in the Dutch practice, even though core objective 54 (‘teaching pupils to use images, music, language, play and movement to express feelings and experiences, and to communicate with’) alludes to that. This may be because the skills required for that are insufficiently addressed in the training of specialist teachers. The question is, therefore, how (prospective) specialist teachers can shape learning to compose in primary education and which didactic principles can be used for that.
A didactic concept that could provide guidelines for composition education is authentic arts education. Haanstra formulated four features that characterise authentic arts education: 1) connection with the professional arts 2) connection with the world of the pupil, 3) complete and complex tasks, and 4) collaboration and interaction. These features would make arts education more relevant to the pupils and enable the scholar to connect with the world outside the school. Heijnen has already focused these features on visual arts education within secondary education by adding a few context-specific features. This calls up the question what authentic music education in primary education looks like where composition is the main focus.
The aim of this research is to formulate features of authentic composition education for use in the upper years of primary education, on the basis of literature research, and to gain practical experience with designing and supervising composition assignments that meet this.
Biography
Reinhard Findenegg initially studied Music Recording at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague, followed by Music Pedagogy and Choir Conducting at the Kodály Institute of the Liszt Academy of Music (Hungary) and finally General Music Education/School Music at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. After his studies, he did an additional course in Music Learning Theory and worked as a specialist music teacher at various schools in Amsterdam and Diemen, and later as a consultant for the arts centre Kunstencentrum De Kunstlinie in Almere. He works as a conductor for various choirs. Since 2011, he has been lecturer in Methodology-Didactics and internship supervisor in the Bachelor’s programme Music in Education of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. In addition, he is currently occupied with the final phase of the academic Master’s in Music Pedagogy at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln.
Contact: reinhard.findenegg@ahk.nl
Publications and presentations
- EAS Conferentie, Freiburg (2021) presentatie Authentic Composition Education as Playground for Musical Development.
- Findenegg, R. (2021). Educatietool authentiek compositieonderwijs.
- Findenegg, R. (2021). Authentic composition education in primary school. Amsterdam. NL: Lectoraat Kunsteducatie, Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten.
- Findenegg, R. (2021) podcast Componeren in het primair onderwijs. Amsterdam. NL: Lectoraat Kunsteducatie.