Most of us grew up being trained to be accurate at the piano, not necessarily inventive, and it's a mindset many teachers are still trying to unlearn. Today, I'm chatting with composer Chrissy Ricker about guided composition, a practical way to lead students through creating their own music using melody, harmony and rhythm as building blocks. We dig into her roll the dice worksheets for reluctant composers, why she starts every student on pencil and paper before notation software, and how repertoire pieces can double as composition models.
- Tim explained why creativity was rarely a focus of music lessons decades ago.
- Why Chrissy believes all musicians are inherently creative performers.
- How guided composition uses templates to ease students into composing.
- She explained functional music theory as putting concepts into musical context.
- How guided composition builds on melody, harmony and rhythm as building blocks.
- Why splitting composition projects across several lessons reduces time pressure.
- How roll-the-dice worksheets help reluctant composers get started.
- Tim highlighted Mozart's own musical dice game as the inspiration.
- Why Chrissy always starts students with pencil and paper before notation software.
- How composing strengthens students' aural skills and note-reading ability.
- How repertoire pieces can be reverse engineered into composition models.
Watch the Interview in YouTube
https://youtu.be/Tgl9LvBaPMM
Links Mentioned
Today’s Guest
Chrissy Ricker is a pianist, teacher and composer from North Carolina, holding a Master's degree in piano performance and pedagogy and certification as a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM). A prolific composer and arranger, she has published over 40 collections of piano solo and duet music for students through Piano Pronto Publishing and Neil A. Kjos Music Company. As a "Signature Artist" arranger with Musicnotes.com, she also maintains a catalogue of over 1,000 arrangements spanning video game themes to pop songs for pianists at every level.
Chrissy Ricker is a pianist, teacher, and composer from North Carolina. She holds a Master’s degree in music with a concentration in piano performance and pedagogy. A Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM), Chrissy enjoys sharing her ideas with other piano teachers. Her articles on piano teaching have been featured in American Music Teacher magazine, and she blogs regularly about piano teaching and composing at her website, chrissyricker.com.
A prolific composer and arranger, Chrissy specializes in creating exciting music for piano students of all ages and skill levels. She has published over 40 collections of piano solo and duet music for students that are available from Piano Pronto Publishing and Neil A. Kjos Music Company. Chrissy is also a “Signature Artist” arranger with Musicnotes.com, where she has a catalog of over 1,000 arrangements, from video game themes to pop songs, for pianists at every level.
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