Categorising the compositional thinking of tertiary-level students: a provisional taxonomy

This article derives from a study completed in Singapore involving tertiary-level music students beginning composition. The purpose of the study was to describe the cognitive procedures used by the students in the process of composing. Think-aloud protocols provided the primary source of data, although this was triangulated with other sources, such as classroom observation notes, scores/sketches, and subjects' retrospective accounts. Among the results was the development of a taxonomy to categorise various procedures and contextual issues in the composing process. It is offered here as a provisional starting-point for further research into student composing.

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