The Importance of Partnership: Collaborative Learning Culture in Songwriting Higher Education

Given the increasingly market-driven and consumerist environment of higher education in the UK, this article will argue the importance of a ‘partnership learning’ approach, which requires engagement, investment and a sense of shared responsibility from both tutors and students. At the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP), small-group learning is integral to the ethos of our creative programmes. Our interactive, learner-led sessions offer our students a weekly opportunity to develop creative and critical independence in their thinking and practice. With specific reference to our songwriting programmes, this article will explore how widely-established best practice in teaching can be most effectively deployed in the design and delivery of specialised, industry-relevant creative workshops. It will conclude that collaboration between tutors and students in the creation of a bespoke learning culture is integral to effective songwriting learning and teaching, as well as the cultivation of independence – a key graduate attribute – in degree-level students.