In this study, an undergraduate class of students participated in an autoethnographic project over the period of one semester, describing their experiences as students. McElroy wanted to investigate the effectiveness of Elliot and Silverman’s (2015) praxial approach to teaching and learning music: can students effectively learn concepts such as melody, basslines, harmony, rhythm, and form by writing their own hip hop compositions? The answer was “yes” (for these students), and the autoethnography approach undertaken helped to define each students’ unique experience.

Using a praxial method for teaching, whereby students are composing to discover meaning on their own, opened up a very different world for these students as music learners. A key element of this method for teaching is to establish what Silverman (2013) calls a democratic class community, or transactional music classroom.” whereby teachers and students construct their learning experience together (p. 7).

With hip-hop as a vehicle for composing, students found that the project offered an “outlet or place of refuge” (p. 13) and allowed them to create something meaningful that was representative of their identity and lived experiences. Following their self-reflective process, students had similar experiences: a) the project was daunting at first, but rewarding, b) the project was successful (learning goals were met), c) having a message in the lyrics was of utmost importance, and d) the project was difficult to start, but got easier.

Use of the word “composition” can be scary and should be avoided due to the implications of “traditional Western notation practices and [a prerequisite] formal training and understanding of music within a Western background” (p. 14). McElroy suggests that using creations or creating in place of composition or composing will likely lower the affective filter for students nervous about the task at hand. I have also found that “composition” as a term is a bit daunting, as I have made a conscious effort to use “creating” or “project” in its place. The use of Hip Hop as a backdrop for a creating project can be very powerful, especially when presented as an opportunity to present a personal message with an original text! I’m trying it now, I’ll let you know how it goes…