Listening to music is an active process that may be initiated through either live performance or the reproduction of music via stereo equipment or computer technology. Creating music is an excellent way to experience music 's imaginative quality, and modern technology has opened up many new ways to compose music. Music sequencers, notation programs, improvisation software and even graphical object-oriented music programs transcend the limits posed previously in music creativity. They are a wonderful way to explore music creation, allowing the individual to work on the material and then immediately play back the piece. The student can then make sensitive decisions about their craftsmanship and carry the art work forward in new directions.
Students also explore the creative potential of music through performance.
The teacher should avoid a rehearsal format in which students are only trying to technically perfect and play the notes. Rather, the students should be challenged and involved in the creative aspects of interpreting the music and recreating the expressiveness of the sounds. The third principle focuses on the conditions that make music expressive, which involves concentrating on the interrelations of the melody, rhythm, harmony, form, texture, tone color, and dynamics. Each of these elements of sound are organized by the artist in creative decision making, and it is this interplay that makes music expressive. By understanding the basic concepts of musical structure, students are better able to appreciate the inner working of the material.