CHAPTER 1
                                 INTRODUCTION

      National standards for music education (Music Educators National Conference,

1994), developed by the MENC Task Force for National Standards in the Arts, guide

teachers in developing music curriculum. These standards include skills and techniques

such as singing, playing instruments, reading and notating music, and the areas of

cultural and historical connections. The standards that present the greatest challenge to

music educators, however, are those pertaining to creating and communicating through

music (Lehman, 2008). According to the standards, students should improvise

melodies, variations, and accompaniments, and compose and arrange music within

specific guidelines.

      Because teaching students to compose and perform their own music is

challenging for music educators, this standard is often overlooked. Yet, with a guided

process and appropriate teaching strategies and materials, perhaps music educators

and students would find composition more approachable.

                              Problem of the Study

     When it comes to students creating their own music, the music teacher may find

notation to be the greatest problem. In addition, the challenge of reading notation and

transferring the information to the instrument may inhibit the accuracy of students'

performance of their own compositions. However, if students are to share their ideas

musically and become true musical communicators, they need opportunities to

compose their own music (Ginocchio, 2003, p. 51).

      As elementary students begin reading music notation, the transfer of information

from paper to instrument or from instrument to paper is a challenging concept. Though