Research Short: Compilation & Melodic Ideas

This week, I spoke with Ashleigh Southam about his article ‘How Composition Strategies Influence Melodic Idea Generation’ in the International Journal of Music Education, co-authored with Alistair Macaulay and Jamie Costley. Their research explores how different composition strategies, different approaches to writing melodies, shape the way musicians generate, develop, and refine melodic ideas during creative tasks.

The participants were given a task to compose as many short motifs (between 4 and 8 bars in length) as possible within a 30-minute timeframe, and were presented with five devices that they could use if they chose to, namely:

1. Melodic inversion
2. Diatonic transposition
3. Modulation
4. Same rhythm, different pitches
5. Permutation

This was followed by a short video which introduced and modelled the five devices. Participants then embarked on a second activity in which they were required to compose further motifs for 30 minutes, with the added instruction to use at least one compositional technique, after which they were interviewed about their process. Their music and interviews were analysed to explore how these strategies shaped how they generated and developed ideas, and the differences between the two.

According to Ashleigh:

‘Composition strategies affected participants differently depending on experience. Less experienced composers sometimes found strategies restrictive, while more experienced composers used them more naturally. This suggests that strategies interact with internal musical knowledge and can support or interrupt idea generation.’

This research is useful for music teachers, tutors, and curriculum designers as it suggests students may benefit from generating ideas before being introduced to composition strategies or new content. Sequencing learning in this way may support creative flow, reduce cognitive overload, and help students engage more deeply with musical concepts.

Ashleigh is a music education researcher and educator whose work focuses on creativity, collaboration, and learning in classroom arts practice. His current research examines how creativity operates in learning environments and the interactions among idea generation, selection, and knowledge organisation.

Find out more:

• Read the full article in the International Journal of Music Education here.
• See Ashleigh’s profile.

Written by Kerry Bunkhall – Research Manager for Music Mark

See the full list of Music Mark’s research.