Composition-oriented creative activities in music lessons of Turkish general schools

Abstract

Composition is an integral part of musical behaviors and takes place in music lessons in many countries. Through composing, students can gain fundamental experience in working with sounds. Although composition has had a place in music lessons in Turkish schools since the mid-20th century, the importance attributed to it and its prevalence has varied. Due to the curriculum change in 2006, which was carried out under the effect of constructivism, as a result leading to mainly student-centered activities being supported, musical creativity has become one of the compulsory learning fields. Thus, the terms associated with composition and other related activities have begun to be talked about among music educators more often. In this book chapter, the aim is to describe the place of composition in music lessons of Turkish general schools both at primary and secondary education. The position of creativity and composition in the music curricula of the 20th century is summarized first, then the composition-oriented creative activities in current music curricula and didactic materials for schools such as student workbooks and teacher guidebooks are outlined.