Children create music in individually unique ways, but also using common processes. Each creating process component stated in the United States’ National Music Standards (imagine, plan and make, evaluate and refine, and present; NCCAS, 2014) is explored in this text using children’s creations from China, India, Ireland, Mexico, and the United States as examples. What can the characteristics of music created by children from five diverse locations teach us about creating music? How do the sounds surrounding children in their schools, homes, and communities affect the music they create and what can be learned from this? How do children’s similar creating processes inform how we teach music? These questions are investigated as the children’s music compositions and improvisations are shared and examined. As this narrative unfolds, readers will become acquainted with the children, their original music, and what the children say about their music and its creation. What we learn from this exploration leads to teaching strategies, projects, lesson plans, and mentoring recommendations that will help music educators benefit from these particular children’s creations.

"Riley is an experienced music teacher and professor, and the present book arose from her desire to help pre-service and in-service music educators understand and implement the revised standards for music composition. The focus of this fascinating project is articulated in the book's subtitle. The process of communication and collaboration a child uses to create music reflects his/her culture and awareness of other cultures. The author divides the book into three sections: the first looks at applied research and the curriculum used in formulating the project; the second examines components of the creative process and describes the cultures of the five countries represented in the book; the last looks at educators' role as facilitators. The inclusion of lesson plans and examples of projects for teachers to encourage classroom music composition and improvisation makes this an extraordinarily valuable resource. The book is well written and abounds with illustrations, tables, figures, charts, interviews, and curriculum standards. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates; graduate students; professionals." - CHOICE

"In spite of a growing base of research and instructional materials that support engaging students in music composition, doing so remains at the periphery of much music education practice. In this text, Dr. Patricia Riley offers a useful addition to existing literature…. Throughout these chapters, Riley writes as equal parts researcher, composition teacher, music teacher educator, and professional development provider – a blend that is consistent with her own experiences. She shifts among presenting collected data, analyzing student compositions, and providing readers with encouragement and advice. These descriptions of children’s music creations, and processes through which they were developed, are in and of themselves a helpful contribution to our professional literature…. In-service teachers, pre-service teachers, and music teacher educators who believe they lack experience providing feedback to composition students would be particularly well served by reading this chapter. Creating Music: What Children from Around the World Can Teach Us offers an exciting and fresh perspective on understanding how children create music, with immediate practical application for facilitating students’ creative work." - Music Education Research