Composition
In the days before score-writing software, composition was
very much a minority activity. Identifying sounds heard in the
imagination and committing them to paper was a task demanding much
skill and perseverance. Unless student composers wrote material that
they or their classmates could play, there was little chance of ever
hearing them performed. Nowadays, synthesized or sampled sounds and
multi-track recording make it possible to hear music played on almost
any combination of instruments and to create new ones.
In 'Music Technology and Curriculum Access',
it was suggested that there are two main areas in which technology
should support composers: a) notation and recording and b)
opportunities for exploration and experiment. The software on offer is
heavily geared towards the first of these. There are examples of
people, of all ages and stages of development, using software to
express and record their musical ideas.
Music hardware makes
available a wealth of opportunities for exploration and
experimentation. Although, in software terms, there is comparatively
little to support the exploratory side of composition, there are a
couple of excellent resources, suitable for use from pre-school to
adult;
Midigrid,
from York University, was developed specifically to address this need.
(This software is thoroughly examined in the study. It is almost
impossible to describe it in a few words! It is now available from The
Full Pitcher Music Resources. See link below).
Soundbeam,
'the invisible, expanding keyboard in space' offers many opportunities
for exploration and has been used, with great success in a wide range
of situations. This is a hardware resource with supporting software.
A recent package, suitable for Key Stage 3 and upwards, Compass
(from Sibelius Software) suggests approaches to composition and
includes facilities to manipulate sounds in ways that promote
exploration and editing
Analyses and reviews of hardware and
software to support composition will be added, in due course. For
classroom resources, see the class section for the appropriate age
group.
See these Web sites:
Soundbeam
www.soundbeam.co.uk
"exhilarating opportunities for music composition and live group music- making, with the invisible, expanding keyboard in space"
Expressive Software Projects
www.espmusic.co.uk
ESP
specialises in Music Software and Hardware for PC, Mac and Acorn. Their
aim is to make music more accessible using technology as a tool.
The Full Pitcher Music Resources
www.fullpitcher.co.uk
a
publisher specialising in resources for creative and inclusive
music-making, including the GridPlay software packages, developed in
response to principles discussed on this website.