Imitation and innovation : Harnessing the principles of music pedagogy for the writing classroom.

Neuroscientific research in the past two decades has proven a unique kinship between music and literacy. Based on findings that the brain processes music and language in parallel and overlapping ways, it would seem to follow that what works instructionally for one, may be highly likely to work for the other. Furthermore, because learning music forms strong neural pathways, the instructional practices in music classrooms might be especially considered for its merits. This paper explores the potential scope for applying the principles of music pedagogy to lead students to writing, in the same way that the music classroom leads students to composition. A music pedagogy-informed framework, LIRIC (Listening, Interpreting, Reciting, Improvising and Composing) is offered as a way to consider the potential applications.