Compositions (Comp)
Published: Oct 23, 2023 | Category: What's in Your Notebook
You're reading through the notebook and understand the Listening Assignment (LA) and Practice Pass, but now you see the words "Comp: Thunderstorm". What does this mean?
Music isn't just playing the notes some long-dead composer wrote, music is about creativity. When I was a kid, I could spend hours making up my own music on the piano. And while I no longer have the luxury of spending hours doodling around on the piano, it's something I still do for fun. Creativity is an outlet for expression, helps people process and decompress, and, in musicians, helps them develop and hone their skills in a way that "copycat" assignments cannot.
Enter the Comp. Short for composition, the comp assignment can be as detailed or as unstructured as the student wishes. The rules are simple. The student draws a piece of paper with a title (pink, thunderstorm, pirates, daydreams, etc.). The student then has a week to come up with their own piece that best fits the given title. Some students will actually write out the music, others will jot down some reminders and play from that. Some have a whole story in their head that they play soundtrack to, others freely improvise. With beginning students, we will often come up with a plan in lessons, but as students advance, the ideas are completely up to them. There are only 3 things I ask: 1) don't make it up the day of your lesson. 2) keep your comps between 15 seconds to 2 minutes. 3) you have to make sure the music matches the title or have a good explanation as to why it didn't.
Is the comp for everybody? Yes and no. Some students don't like comps. If that is the case, I respect their preference and don't assign comps frequently. Others love comps and have elaborate ideas that leave me in awe of their creativity. Being sensitive to the student's likes and dislikes, I will usually assign comps to all my beginning piano students. As they progress, the comps might be continued, dropped, or switched out for a different creative assignment like playing by ear or chording.
Regardless, "messing around" on the piano and making up music is strongly encouraged whether the student is 6 or 60. Without creativity and expression, music is a lifeless machine. It is people and their passions that make art.
Music isn't just playing the notes some long-dead composer wrote, music is about creativity. When I was a kid, I could spend hours making up my own music on the piano. And while I no longer have the luxury of spending hours doodling around on the piano, it's something I still do for fun. Creativity is an outlet for expression, helps people process and decompress, and, in musicians, helps them develop and hone their skills in a way that "copycat" assignments cannot.
Enter the Comp. Short for composition, the comp assignment can be as detailed or as unstructured as the student wishes. The rules are simple. The student draws a piece of paper with a title (pink, thunderstorm, pirates, daydreams, etc.). The student then has a week to come up with their own piece that best fits the given title. Some students will actually write out the music, others will jot down some reminders and play from that. Some have a whole story in their head that they play soundtrack to, others freely improvise. With beginning students, we will often come up with a plan in lessons, but as students advance, the ideas are completely up to them. There are only 3 things I ask: 1) don't make it up the day of your lesson. 2) keep your comps between 15 seconds to 2 minutes. 3) you have to make sure the music matches the title or have a good explanation as to why it didn't.
Is the comp for everybody? Yes and no. Some students don't like comps. If that is the case, I respect their preference and don't assign comps frequently. Others love comps and have elaborate ideas that leave me in awe of their creativity. Being sensitive to the student's likes and dislikes, I will usually assign comps to all my beginning piano students. As they progress, the comps might be continued, dropped, or switched out for a different creative assignment like playing by ear or chording.
Regardless, "messing around" on the piano and making up music is strongly encouraged whether the student is 6 or 60. Without creativity and expression, music is a lifeless machine. It is people and their passions that make art.