Compose your own original etude.

Give your students the experience of composing their own musical etude in just 4 weeks with my free Etude Composition Project toolkit.

About This Resource

As a music educator, you have an opportunity to shape the musicians of the next generation. By empowering your students to improvise and compose their own musical works, you are not only teaching them about music but fostering their ability to innovate and express themselves.

Your students have spent hours developing their technique and musicianship skills. As a result, they are uniquely equipped with the knowledge and understanding to write for their instrument. They know what’s idiomatic and what may be challenging. This project is an opportunity to write something that focuses on a skill they want to improve in their playing/singing. It’s also a way to explore their creativity and experience the rewards of crafting their own piece of music.

The challenge is that the composition process can be intimidating, especially if you haven’t done it before.

Consider this your shortcut—a 4-part composition toolkit and curriculum supplement geared toward high school and college students.

Learn from my experience as a professional composer in a series of short video lessons walking you through each step of the process. At the end of four weeks (or whatever schedule you choose), your students will have created their own 24- to 36-measure etude for their instrument (or voice).

Here’s what you’ll find inside the
Etude Composition Project:

• Get my strategies for improvisation and development of compositional ideas with 60 minutes of pre-recorded video lessons taught by me

• Save time with 4 weeks of pre-written lesson plans with objectives informed by the National Core Arts Standards

• Get pre-planned activities and ready-to-print weekly assignments (with materials + embedded resource links to aid student learning)

• Learn 15 tips for creative improvisation

• Evaluate and grade weekly assignments with 6 ready-to-use rubrics (including written work, composition, and performance)

Part 1

Learn about etudes and listen, plan your etude composition project

Part 2

Improvise and develop motives to use in your etude

Part 3

Learn about compositional devices and turn your motives into music

Part 4

Finish your etude, reflect on the experience, and perform your etude

Meet Steve

As an award-winning composer, I’ve taken my compositional process and techniques and created a method for teaching composition to young musicians who have limited or no experience composing.

I created this composition toolkit and curriculum supplement in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to give music teachers an accessible resource for teaching composition to their students. This project provided a way to keep students learning about music, honing new skills, and performing on their instrument (even if it was virtually).

Now, I’m sharing the Etude Composition Project with you, free of charge. Music teachers changed my life and this is one way I can give back and support music education.

I hope this makes music composition more accessible to high school and college students and gives them an opportunity to create something educational, fun, and meaningful.

What’s Inside the Toolkit:

The Etude Curriculum Project includes:

1. A 30-page PDF Teacher Guide with pre-written lesson plans, student assignments, and grading rubrics.

2. Four pre-recorded videos (60 minutes of content) where I guide students through improvising motives and composing a short etude. You can assign these videos to students to watch at home or watch them in class together.

3. A behind-the-scenes look at my compositional process as I write and perform an original etude along with you.

In the videos, I share insights into my creative process, discuss and demonstrate how to improvise musical motives, and show you how to set up staff paper for an etude.

We’ll also analyze a 19th-century flute etude and discuss the compositional tools used.

I’ll introduce and review some basic music-theory concepts, including:

• scale degrees

• chord tones

• tonic and dominant

• Neapolitan 6th

I’ll also discuss and demonstrate several compositional devices:

• form

• repetition and sequencing

• motivic development

• inversion

• diminution and augmentation

FAQs

What grade level is this for?

The Etude Composition Project is geared toward high school (grades 9-12) and college students. The musical concepts involved in composing a short etude may be a bit advanced for middle school students. But if you feel differently, feel free to use this with younger students!

How can I use this?

Use it in your music classes, ensembles, private studios, and more. It’s designed to be used in-person or online and can be repeated as many times as you’d like (students can choose a different technical/musical skill to focus on each time).

Does it have to take 4 weeks?

I created it as a 4-week project, but you could certainly work through the content in a shorter or longer timeframe. If you are particularly comfortable with arranging and composing topics, you might just use my framework for the project and develop your own lesson plans. Or, you might decide to use more of the resources in the Etude Composition Project—videos where I explain compositional techniques, assignments, rubrics, and links to specific resources.

Can you work with my students during the project?

Yes! If you’d like me to talk with your students, workshop their compositions, provide feedback, etc., I’m available to do that. Send me a message and we can discuss rates and more details.

I have another question.

Feel free to reach out to me directly at steve@stevedanyew.com.

Give your students the opportunity to be composers and write their own etudes.

Download the free, 4-week, ready-to-use composition kit and curriculum supplement created and taught by a professional composer.