Composing in schools: A perspective on the multilingual context of Switzerland

Abstract

This chapter describes and compares pedagogical approaches to composition in Swiss general music education within the context of the German-, French-, and Italian-speaking regions. After a short presentation of technical vocabulary used and/or existing research about composition in schools, the recent Swiss curricula for compulsory schools are compared. Examples from regular music classes in primary, secondary, and high school as well as collaborations between composers and schools are described based on interviews and collaborations with teachers, composers, and information available on the internet or in other publications. The projects are presented in terms of context, goals, participants, and places of composing and the composer. Finally, existing approaches of composition in teacher education for primary, secondary, and high school are presented and discussed under the lens of cultural and professional contexts. Describing some aspects of the current situation is an attempt to stimulate deeper reflection on composing in general music education and its place in teacher training. Professional exchanges between the different linguistic regions on models and pedagogical designs are considered here as desirable for the future.