<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><blockquote type="cite"><font face="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0px">However, what he hears and writes is how the piece stays; he could not handle making any compositional changes suggested by a teacher.<br></span></font></blockquote><br></div><div>I experience this problem in varying degrees with neurotypical students, and with myself, plenty. When one has arrived at a "solution"--whether in a flash of inspiration or after much effort--it can be difficult to allow other possibilities, even if one is not satisfied with the initial result.</div><div><br></div><div>Here's something worth trying, which I've heard was a pedagogical technique of Schoenberg: ask him (before he begins!) to write two or three versions. You can try this with anything: a counterpoint exercise, a guided task such as a contrasting answer to a given incipit, or an entire arrangement.</div><div><br></div><div>David Feurzeig</div><div>Music Department, University of Vermont</div></body></html>