I hope that I'm at the right site, and will also post in the composers' site.

I am a piano teacher and have had very little experience with teaching composition. However, one of my 9 year old students is very interested in composing. He is using a book from the FJH Piano Teaching Library. I would like to enter him in a composing competition (not to win, just for the experience and a goal for him) but want to make sure I am teaching as much as possible before he submits a piece.

Can anyone suggest a book I can read in teaching composition? Or should I simply stay ahead of him in the workbook he is using? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Gisele

You don't say that you are taking music theory... I think improvisation is a good approach for the younger ones. As far as books go, perhaps you would be interested to look into the Orff approach? Orff is normally taught in group but you may find adaptations of the method.

Accent on Orff : an introductory approach, Saliba, Konnie
Might be a good book, others that might be handy include: . I am not a teacher, just a university students majoring in musicology so I do read and research a lot! Besides this, you it might help if you did get him to listen to differing genres of music and get him to listen to music of other instruments, perhaps even encouraging some singing! Even genres outsider of classical music, e.g. world/cultural - it would be a great help to understanding modalities and also getting a grasp of the difference in western music vs. eastern or Polynesian.

Just some ideas.

There's a limit to how much you can 'teach' about composing - it's more about creating conditions in which the student is enthused to experiment and try new things. Has your student composed anything so far? Have they brought you riffs they've been playing with, or have they tried to write their own ideas down? Be guided to a certain extent by the direction your student is keen to explore.....

You (and he) might enjoy the Music by Me books by Wynn-Anne Rossi.