The Overlooked Rewards of Composing for Student Ensembles

Mozart had the Salzburg Court Orchestra.

Strayhorn had the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

You have… your students!

Many of history’s most successful composers had the opportunity to work closely with a performing ensemble early in their career. Hearing musicians rehearse and perform your music allows you to hone your craft by providing immediate and direct feedback about what is and isn’t working, and allows for real-time revision and experimentation.

Unfortunately, for many new composers, finding performance opportunities can be a struggle, and there is often a gap of months or years between when a piece is written and when it’s first performed. As a teacher of developing musicians, you have the advantage of an ensemble ready and eager to play whatever music you give them. And while working within these students’ limitations may seem to be a disadvantage at first, I’ve found that it can also force you to grow as a composer in ways you might not have otherwise considered.

Understanding the Instruments

When composing at the piano or in music notation software, composers often fall into the trap of writing music that sounds good in those mediums but falls flat when played by an ensemble due to considerations of the idiosyncrasies of each instrument. Although professional musicians can usually power through a passage that is technically awkward or in a non-idiomatic range, these flaws become much more apparent when students struggle with them.

When composing for your students, you may ask yourself questions such as:

• Do I really want clarinets to play that B-natural over the break?
• Do I really want flutes to play in their low register during this loud passage?
• Do I really want the brass to play sustained high notes at the end of this piece?

And even if the answer is yes, knowing you have to teach your students to do these things can lead you to make changes that improve the playability of your piece, such as:

• Approaching the clarinet B-natural from a C instead of an A.
• Doubling a low flute part with clarinet or saxophone or making the accompanying parts more sparse to give space for the flutes.
• Giving the brass several measures of rest before their high notes.

Saying More with Less

Another common pitfall for new composers is trying to fit too many musical ideas into one piece. Not only does this lead to compositions that lack cohesion, it also takes longer for students to learn the music because you have to take time to teach each one of those ideas.

I’ve found that building a piece from a few, simple motifs not only makes the music more engaging, but also speeds up the learning process by reinforcing the same ideas in different contexts.

These motifs can be melodic, such as in Pegasus Overture where I use a four-note, descending motif as the basis for both themes as well as the intro, outro and accompanying material:

…or rhythmic, as in Avenue Swing , where I use a motif of four eighth-notes ending in an accent in 41 out of 96 measures (yes, I counted):

Making Every Part Count

In every kind of ensemble, each instrument tends to gravitate toward certain roles. In a concert band, for example, flutes and trumpets often play the melody, saxophones and horns play accompanying parts, and low woodwinds and tuba play the bass line. While this division of labor often sounds good, compositions that stay with this texture for too long can start to feel bland.

Additionally, students on instruments that don’t typically play melodic parts will miss out on developing important musical skills and may complain that their parts are boring (I cringe remembering the shenanigans I got up to as a bored middle-school trombone player).

By experimenting with switching instruments’ roles within the ensemble, you can discover new textures while giving students parts that they enjoy playing. For example, by giving low instruments the melody in measure 49 of Fiesta Rock , I created a contrast with the woodwinds of the previous 8 measures, and made the return of the full ensemble texture after the D.S. much more satisfying.

Even when instruments are playing their conventional roles within the ensemble, making sure that every part is interesting not only keeps your students engaged, but also creates a more exciting piece. At measure 12 of Into the Wind , I gave the accompanying instruments active rhythmic figures that contrast with the melody, and in The Wayfaring Stranger , even when the trombones and bari sax aren’t playing the melody, they play a reggae bass line that’s every bit as much fun.

Why Compose?

No one else knows your students–their skills, challenges, and interests–better than you, their teacher. I started composing for my own students when I was struggling to find music that was a good fit for them and the way I wanted to teach.

If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, why not give composing a try yourself? Even if you don’t already see yourself as a composer, just start with a simple melody (or borrow one written before 1925), make up a bass line with some interesting rhythms, and experiment with different combinations of instruments playing those parts. You might surprise yourself and your students with what you’re able to create.

And if you have any especially creative students in your ensemble, consider giving them the opportunity to write for the group as well. You never know where the next Mozart or Strayhorn will get their start!