teaching musical creativity

5 Ways to Develop Creative Musicianship (Music Education Basics)

5 Ways to Develop Creative Musicianship (Music Education Basics)

Welcome back to Music Education Basics!

Today, for our final lesson, we’re talking about one of my favorite topics, creative musicianship—what it is and how to teach it, and 5 ways to cultivate creative musicianship in your students.

First, let me explain what I mean by creative musicianship. When I say creative musicianship or musical creativity, I’m talking about improvising or creating music spontaneously and also, the ability to write those ideas down.

Now, if the thought of that makes your palms begin to sweat, I get it! If you had classical music training growing up, you probably didn’t spend much time improvising, composing, or creating your own music. I know that was my experience. Instead, the focus was probably on learning how to read and interpret what was on the page. Can you relate to that?

I'm sharing a few ways you can introduce musical creativity to those you teach in this lesson.

017 - How to Channel Your Inner Child and See the World Differently

017 - How to Channel Your Inner Child and See the World Differently

I love working with five-year-olds.

I love their creativity, their fearlessness, their willingness to try new things, their crazy imaginations, and the way they make everything silly and fun.

Of course, we were all five once. But it’s all too easy to forget what that sense of wonder feels like, to be curious and inquisitive, to ask questions and seek out the answers, to try something you’ve never tried before. Today, I’m sharing eight ways to channel your inner child and see the world differently.