Creating online composition: I Can Compose

With more than a decade's secondary teaching under her belt, and feeling the need for more time with her young children, Rachel Shapey could have been forgiven for putting the classroom behind her. But, when reflecting upon the best aspects of her career, she realised that teaching GCSE and A-level composition had given her great satisfaction.

‘Over the years I'd developed many resources, and not only did I miss teaching composition, I also felt it seemed a shame to let it all go to waste,’ she says. ‘There isn't much material out there to help with composition so I thought I'd see what I could create to deliver through a website.’

Shapey composed and arranged many pieces for ensembles at her schools in Coventry (Blue Coat Church of England School) and Oldham (Hulme Grammar). In the classroom, this allowed her to demonstrate to her students the skills required for a successful composition. ‘If I composed a piece alongside my classes, students could see how it could be conceived and developed. It was great for differentiation as more confident students could go in their own direction, while less confident pupils could follow my model more closely.’

Her new website, I Can Compose, is aimed at students from Year 9 upwards. Teachers can also use it to develop their own ideas, and institutional packages will be available soon.

‘I hope it will inspire confidence in students and give them ideas to create their own music,’ says Shapey. ‘Market research has shown students often seek further guidance to provide greater structure to their composition process. I Can Compose is based on three key principles: inspiration, solid structures, and developing individual creativity.

‘In many respects, I think this is how all the great composers learned their artform! I Can Compose delivers this via a contemporary learning platform, accessible either at home or in the classroom.’

Feedback has been excellent, with students from Manchester High School for Girls including ‘fun and very helpful’, ‘wish we could use this at school’, and ‘I found great tips on how to compose in a short space of time’. Manchester High's director of music, Aidan Bradley, helped test the site, calling it ‘a fantastic resource’.

‘The courses tackle skills which don't necessarily come naturally to all musicians, regardless of proficiency. Our Year 10 GCSE class trialled the platform and found it very helpful, demystifying what they often view as an impenetrable process. Each course deals with a different aspect of composition in a logical, coherent and, most importantly, an enjoyable way. We'll certainly encourage students to use it, in class and at home.’

The website has been launched with six courses including ‘How to get started with composition’, ‘How to compose a great melody’, and ‘How to compose a jazz piece’. Lessons are interactive, with colour-coded activities and plenty of video and audio tracks to complement each lesson.

Shapey intends to add more shortly. There is also a blog and a composition troubleshooter for common composition problems, such as ‘my piece is too short’ and ‘my piece sounds boring!’

While Shapey has plenty of experience of teaching composition, the construction of the website was a steep learning curve. ‘I thought I could put up dozens of modules really quickly,’ she says. ‘But I now know, through the help of my designer, Rajeev Arora at Nettl in Stockport, that it's not as straight forward as you might imagine.

‘Rajeev has done a brilliant job of developing this interactive site. The challenge was to translate my classroom teaching methods into an online training platform and it's worked so well.’

www.icancompose.com