Introducing Shared Writing: A New Way to Do Collaborative Composition in Music Education

Have you ever wished for real-time music collaboration software similar to Google Docs? Imagine students co-writing music instantly, commenting, editing, and creating as a team, all within a secure, browser-based platform. That's precisely what Shared Writing, a brand-new assignment type in Flat for Education, is designed to do.

Whether you're leading a music composition unit, guiding an ensemble through rehearsal prep, or assigning peer-based theory work, Shared Writing introduces a powerful new way to teach collaborative music creation using an intuitive online music composition tool for schools.

What is Shared Writing?

Shared Writing is a dedicated assignment type that lets students work together on a single music score. Just like a shared document in Google Docs, students in each group can simultaneously contribute to the same piece of music using Flat for Education’s interactive notation software.

Teachers can easily create groups, assign parts, monitor activity, and give real-time feedback, all inside the platform. It’s an ideal setup for collaborative composition and more.

Key features:

• Real-time collaboration on one shared score
• Multiple students editing together
• Randomized or teacher-created student groups
• Instant save, no file-sharing or exports needed
• Built-in tools for grading, feedback, and version control
• Secure, education-focused web environment

These features make Shared Writing perfect for project-based learning, group composition, interactive music theory, and ensemble rehearsal preparation.

How to use shared writing?

Getting started is simple:

Create a new assignment and choose

1. Shared Writing as the assignment type.

2. Decide how you want to group your students:

2.1. Assign groups manually based on skill level, instrument, or voice part.

2.2. Use the randomizer for mixed-ability collaboration.

3. Each group receives its own shared score to work on.

4. Monitor progress, view contributions, and give real-time feedback.

5. Grade student work with built-in tools.

Why use shared writing? Benefits for music teachers

Shared Writing opens up new possibilities for collaborative learning in the music classroom. While it is a great tool for collaborative composition, it goes far beyond that. Students can work together on music theory exercises, notation analysis, and a variety of other assignments that involve writing and editing directly in the score.

With Shared Writing, music teachers can:

• Encourage active peer learning as students share ideas and make creative decisions together in real time.
• Support ensemble thinking by having students notate parts for different instruments or voices within the same project.
• Simplify group work by eliminating the need to copy files or manage multiple versions of the same score.
• Give timely, targeted feedback while students are working, helping them stay on track and refine their ideas.
• Create space for equitable collaboration, allowing each student to contribute meaningfully to the group’s musical work.

Shared Writing is designed to support a wide range of teaching goals, from project-based learning to real-world music-making. Whether you are teaching in person, online, or in a blended format, this assignment type helps you bring collaborative music education into the center of your classroom.

How to group students for shared writing

When creating a Shared Writing assignment, teachers can:

• Manually select groups based on skill level, voice part, or instrumentation
• Randomize groups to promote collaboration across the classroom
• Easily adjust groups after assignment creation

Each group gets its own collaborative score, and all work is automatically saved and tracked in Flat for Education.

💡 Shared writing in action: Use cases for the music classroom

Looking for ways to integrate Shared Writing into your lesson plans? Here are five engaging ways to use Shared Writing in your classroom:

1. Group composition projects

Have students co-write an original piece in small groups. Each student can take on a role such as writing the melody, harmony, or rhythm. This collaborative process helps reinforce music theory concepts while encouraging creativity and teamwork. It is an ideal entry point for collaborative composition in both general music and ensemble classes.

2. Music theory and harmonic analysis

Use Shared Writing to assign real-time theory tasks. Students can work together to label chords, identify intervals, or analyze cadences directly on a shared score. This turns abstract theory into an interactive, peer-supported learning experience.

3. Score editing and error correction

Provide a score with intentional notation mistakes and ask student groups to find and correct them. This helps reinforce notation skills, rhythm reading, and attention to musical detail, while promoting collaboration and discussion.

4. Form and structure identification

Assign groups to analyze a short piece of music by identifying its formal structure. They can mark sections like A-B-A, label phrases, or highlight repeated motives. This encourages analytical thinking and helps students understand how music is organized.

5. Musical storytelling and creative response

Try a pass-the-pen-style activity where one student begins a short phrase and others add on, building a piece collaboratively in real time. This is a fun, low-pressure way to encourage musical creativity and spark new ideas through group input.

Curious to see Shared Writing in action?

We've prepped some ready-to-use sample assignments to spark your creativity. Here's how to find them:

1. Go to your Assignment Library.
2. Select "FFE assignments."
3. Under "All Types" on the left, pick "Shared Writing" to explore.

Start building amazing collaborative projects with your students!

How Would You Use This Feature?

We love hearing from music educators! How are you using Shared Writing in your classroom? Whether it’s a standout group composition project or a creative theory assignment, we’d love to learn from your experience.

📩 Email us at edu@flat.io to share your assignment ideas for a chance to be featured in our public resource library. Let's inspire the next wave of collaborative music education, together!

Your turn to transform collaboration!

Shared Writing is more than just a new feature; it's your opportunity to unlock deeper musical engagement and creativity in your classroom. Whether you're planning an group composition unit, exploring new approaches to notation projects, or fostering equitable collaboration, Shared Writing in Flat for Education is built to help your students connect and create musically and meaningfully.

Musically Yours,

Flat for Education