GCSE composition: introducing students to harmony and phrase structure

One of the many new challenges facing students when they begin GCSE music is that of composing a complete piece of music by themselves. Previous experience, such as group improvisations or experimenting with loops using a sequencer, should already have introduced them to creating and manipulating musical ideas, but the jump from this type of activity to formal composition, which demands the creation of more refined musical material that can be developed into a coherent whole, can be a daunting one.