A framework for investigating self-described decisions and value judgmentsfor composing music: An illustrative case study

This study was a classroom ethnography in which the teacher/researcher soug ht to investigate musical composing in the context of the regular music cla ssroom. The purpose of this study was to examine possible musical and socio cultural influences on decision-making by untrained 8 and 9 year olds durin g open-ended, non-notated composing tasks. A framework was devised as an or ganizational and interpretive tool for data collected. For the purposes of this paper, one of the 21 child-composers participating in tis study was ch osen as an illustrative case. As a result of this study, implications for t eachers include awareness of: the fact that children this age can and do co mpose; the various capabilities of children this age in articulating/expres sing ideas in the medium of sound; and effects of musical and sociocultural influences on composing judgements. An implication for researchers is the availability of the framework devised, as an interpretive tool. Classroom r esearch situations are often unpredictable, and methodological tools need t o be flexible to allow for emergent evidence, procedures and/or events. Thi s framework provided such a tool for this study, and may be useful for othe rs researching creating activities in similar situations.