Electronic Music School: A Contemporary Approach to Teaching Musical Creativity is a practical blueprint for teachers wanting to begin teaching music technology to secondary age students. Will Kuhn and Ethan Hein inspire classroom music teachers to expand beyond traditional ensemble-based
music education offerings to create a culture of unique creativity and inclusivity at their schools.
Part One offers an overview of the philosophical and institutional aspects of starting a music technology program, with a particular focus on the culture of electronic music surrounding digital music creation tools. Part Two dives deep into curricula for music lab classes, including several lesson
examples and techniques. This section also includes abbreviated project plans for teachers who have fewer contact hours with their students. Part Three discusses how music technology courses can grow into a larger media creation program, how such a program can contribute to the broader school
culture, and how project-based music learning effectively prepares students for careers in media. Electronic Music School also includes narratives from music technology students themselves, who often have an intuitive understanding of the future directions music technology programs can take.
Author(s): Will Kuhn, Ethan Hein
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 320
City: Oxford
cover
Electronic Music School
Copyright
Contents
Foreword by Adam Neely
Preface: The Music Class at the End of the World
Acknowledgments
To the Reader
To Public School Teachers
To Independent Music Teachers
To Everyone
Part I What You Need to Start Your Own Electronic Music School
1 Toward a Creative Music Curriculum
1.1. The Creative Music Teacher
1.2. Addressing Students Who Typically Don’t Take Music Classes (The Other Eighty Percent)
1.3. How Music Technology Can Fit into a Broader Performing Arts Curriculum
1.4. The Divide Between Music Teachers’ Definition of Music and Students’ Definition of Music
2 An Art Class for Music
2.1. Portfolio Creation
2.2. Computer as Tool Versus Computer as Medium
2.3. Songwriting and Sound Creation
2.4. Remixing
2.5. Sampling
3 Understanding What a School Really Wants
3.1. Who Makes Decisions About Curriculum?
3.1.1. The Teacher
3.1.2. Administrators
3.2. Selling the Lab-Based Music Course
3.2.1. Administrators and School Leaders
3.2.2. Teachers
3.2.3. Parents
3.2.4. Students
3.3. How Music Tech Benefits the Master Schedule
3.4. How Music Tech Benefits the Music Department’s Profile
3.5. Sweetening the Deal with Graduation Requirements
3.6. Getting Funding and Staying Funded
3.7. Protecting Your Investment
3.8. Criticisms of a Nontraditional Music Class
4 Tech You Will Need for Your Program
4.1. The Computer
4.2. Headphones
4.3. MIDI Input Devices
4.4. Getting a Space
4.5. Possible Room Configurations
4.6. Choosing Other Hardware for the Lab
4.7. Setting Up an Individual Station
4.8. Building on Existing Infrastructure
4.9. Day-to-Day Considerations
4.10. Maintenance and Cleaning
5 Ableton Live and Push
5.1. An Optimal Setup
5.2. Why These Tools?
5.3. Ableton Live Basics: Arrangement View and Session View
5.4. Ableton Push Overview
5.4.1. Do You Really Need One?
5.4.2. Techniques Afforded by Push
5.4.3. Drum Programming
5.4.4. Chords and Melodies
5.5. Comparisons to Other DAWs
Part II Creative Electronic Music Projects for the Masses
6 Designing Creative Music Projects
6.1. Working with Beginners
6.2. Philosophy
6.3. Process Versus Product
6.4. Customization and Aesthetic Opportunities
6.5. Pacing
6.6. Listening to and Observing Students
6.6.1. Techniques for Pop-Cultural Ethnographic Observation
6.6.2. Tips for Incorporating a New Trend in Your Teaching
6.7. The Project Formula
6.8. Technical and Aesthetic Goals
6.9. Deconstructing a Genre
6.10. Universal Techniques
6.10.1. Provide Default Tracks and Presets
6.10.2. Add Variety Through MIDI Manipulation
6.10.3. Scenes as Form
6.10.4. Recording to Arrangement View
6.10.5. Eight-bar Phrases
6.10.6. Song Structure
6.10.7. Fuzzy Boundaries and Fill Bars
6.10.8. Making Songs End Gracefully
6.11. The Prime Directive
7 Teaching Recording and Sampling with Audio Projects
7.1. Designing Projects Centered on Audio
7.1.1. Play, Stop, Record
7.1.2. The Timeline
7.1.3. Recorded Audio
7.1.4. Basic Editing Skills
7.1.5. Loops
7.1.6. Ableton Live’s Session View
7.1.7. Ableton Live’s Arrangement View
7.2. Project Example: Arranging Clips
7.2.1. Project Duration
7.2.2. Technical Goals
7.2.3. Creative Goals
7.2.4. Listening Examples
7.2.5. Before Teaching This Lesson
7.2.6. Project Design
7.2.7. Day-by-Day Plan
7.2.8. Troubleshooting
7.2.9. Differentiated Instruction
7.2.10. During Work Time
7.2.11. Assessment Strategies
7.3. Project Example: Unreliable Product Ad
7.3.1. Project Duration
7.3.2. Technical Goals
7.3.3. Creative Goals
7.3.4. Listening Examples
7.3.5. Materials Needed
7.3.6. Before Teaching This Lesson
7.3.7. Project Design
7.3.8. Day-by-Day Plan
7.3.9. One-Hour Version
7.3.10. Troubleshooting
7.3.11. Differentiated Instruction
7.3.12. During Work Time
7.3.13. Assessment Strategies
7.3.14. The Comedy Pyramid
7.4. Project Example: Simple Remix
7.4.1. Project Duration
7.4.2. Technical Goals
7.4.3. Creative Goals
7.4.4. Listening Examples
7.4.5. Before Teaching This Lesson
7.4.6. Project Design
7.4.7. Day-by-Day Plan
7.4.8. Troubleshooting
7.4.9. Differentiated Instruction
7.4.10. During Work Time
7.4.11. Assessment Strategies
7.4.12. Making This Project Your Own
7.5. Project Example: Picking Apart a Multitrack
7.5.1. Project Duration
7.5.2. Technical Goals
7.5.3. Creative Goals
7.5.4. Listening Examples
7.5.5. Before Teaching This Lesson
7.5.6. Project Design
7.5.7. Day-by-Day Plan
7.5.8. Troubleshooting
7.5.9. Differentiated Instruction
7.5.10. During Work Time
7.5.11. Assessment Strategies
7.5.12. Making This Project Your Own
7.6. Project Example: Custom Cover Song
7.6.1. Project Duration
7.6.2. Technical Goals
7.6.3. Creative Goals
7.6.4. Listening Examples
7.6.5. Before Teaching This Lesson
7.6.6. Overview of the Technique
7.6.7. Syncing the Guide Track Using Ableton Live
7.6.8. Cultural Considerations
7.7. Project Example: Movie Soundtrack
7.7.1. Project Duration
7.7.2. Technical Goals
7.7.3. Creative Goals
7.7.4. Examples
7.7.5. Before Teaching This Lesson
7.7.6. Project Design
7.7.7. Day-by-Day Plan
7.7.8. Troubleshooting
7.7.9. Differentiated Instruction
7.7.10. During Work Time
7.7.11. Assessment Strategies
7.7.12. Making This Project Your Own
8 Teaching Songwriting with MIDI Projects
8.1. Software Instruments Versus MIDI
8.1.1. Drums Versus Not-Drums, Step Time Versus Real Time
8.2. Functional Music Theory
8.3. Elements of Music
8.4. Sound Design
8.5. Genre Deconstruction
8.6. Project Example: Drum Programming
8.6.1. Project Duration
8.6.2. Technical Goals
8.6.3. Creative Goals
8.6.4. Listening Examples
8.6.5. Before Teaching This Lesson
8.6.6. Project Design
8.6.7. Day-by-Day Plan
8.6.8. Troubleshooting
8.6.9. Differentiated Instruction
8.6.10. During Work Time
8.6.11. Assessment Strategies
8.7. Project Example: Beatmaking
8.7.1. Project Duration
8.7.2. Technical Goals
8.7.3. Creative Goals
8.7.4. Listening Examples
8.7.5. Before Teaching This Lesson
8.7.6. Project Design
8.7.7. Day-by-Day Plan
8.7.8. Troubleshooting
8.7.9. Differentiated Instruction
8.7.10. During Work Time
8.7.11. Assessment Strategies
8.8. Project Example: Slow Jam
8.8.1. Project Duration
8.8.2. Technical Goals
8.8.3. Creative Goals
8.8.4. Listening Examples
8.8.5. Before Teaching This Lesson
8.8.6. Project Design
8.8.7. Day-by-Day Plan
8.8.8. Troubleshooting
8.8.9. Differentiated Instruction
8.8.10. During Work Time
8.8.11. Assessment Strategies
8.9. Project Example: Future Bass
8.9.1. Project Duration
8.9.2. Technical Goals
8.9.3. Creative Goals
8.9.4. Listening Examples
8.9.5. Before Teaching This Lesson
8.9.6. Project Design
8.9.7. Day-by-Day Plan
8.9.8. Troubleshooting
8.9.9. Differentiated Instruction
8.9.10. During Work Time
8.9.11. Assessment Strategies
8.10. Project Example: House Music
8.10.1. Project Duration
8.10.2. Technical Goals
8.10.3. Creative Goals
8.10.4. Listening Examples
8.10.5. Before Teaching This Lesson
8.10.6. Project Design
8.10.7. Day-by-Day Plan
8.10.8. Troubleshooting
8.10.9. Differentiated Instruction
8.10.10. During Work Time
8.10.11. Assessment Strategies
8.11. Project Example: Trap Beats
8.11.1. Project Duration
8.11.2. Technical Goals
8.11.3. Creative Goals
8.11.4. Listening Examples
8.11.5. Before Teaching This Lesson
8.11.6. Project Design
8.11.7. Day-by-Day Plan
8.11.8. Troubleshooting
8.11.9. Differentiated Instruction
8.11.10. During Work Time
8.11.11. Assessment Strategies
9 Teaching Creativity with Outside-the-Box Projects
9.1. Designing Projects to Teach Originality
9.2. Irreverence
9.3. Repurposing Ideas That Exist Already
9.4. Finding Your Voice
9.5. Project Example: Soundscape
9.5.1. Project Duration
9.5.2. Technical Goals
9.5.3. Creative Goals
9.5.4. Listening Examples
9.5.5. Before Teaching This Lesson
9.5.6. Project Design
9.5.7. Day-by-Day Plan
9.5.8. Troubleshooting
9.5.9. Differentiated Instruction
9.5.10. During Work Time
9.5.11. Assessment Strategies
9.6. Project Example: Vaporwave and Lo-Fi Hip-Hop
9.6.1. Project Duration
9.6.2. Technical Goals
9.6.3. Creative Goals
9.6.4. Listening Examples
9.6.5. Before Teaching This Lesson
9.6.6. Project Design
9.6.7. Day-by-Day Plan
9.6.8. Troubleshooting
9.6.9. Differentiated Instruction
9.6.10. During Work Time
9.6.11. Assessment Strategies
9.7. Project Example: Video Beatboxing
9.7.1. Project Duration
9.7.2. Technical Goals
9.7.3. Creative Goals
9.7.4. Video Examples
9.7.5. Audio Examples of Found Sounds in the Drum Parts
9.7.6. Before Teaching This Lesson
9.7.7. Project Design
9.7.8. Day-by-Day Plan
9.7.9. Troubleshooting
9.7.10. Differentiated Instruction
9.7.11. During Work Time
9.7.12. Assessment Strategies
9.8. Project Example: Sampling
9.8.1. Project Duration
9.8.2. Technical Goals
9.8.3. Creative Goals
9.8.4. Listening Examples
9.8.5. Before Teaching This Lesson
9.8.6. A Crash Course in Musical Intellectual Property
9.8.7. Project Design
9.8.8. Day-by-Day Plan
9.8.9. Troubleshooting
9.8.10. Differentiated Instruction
9.8.11. During Work Time
9.8.12. Assessment Strategies
9.9. The Final Project
9.9.1. Project Duration
9.9.2. Goals
9.9.3. Project Design
9.9.4. Day-by-Day Plan
9.9.5. Troubleshooting
9.9.6. During Work Time
9.9.7. Assessment Strategies
10 Common Issues in Music Lab Lessons
10.1. Weak Student Engagement
10.2. Projects Take Too Long
10.2.1. Strategy One: Real Artists Ship
10.2.2. Strategy Two: More One-on-One Help
10.2.3. Strategy Three: Pencils Down
10.3. Projects End Too Quickly
10.4. Students Are Afraid to Show Their Projects
10.5. I Can’t Think of Ideas for Projects
10.6. Staying Relevant
10.7. I Went to School for Music. How (or Why) Should I Manage a Computer Class?
10.8. Students Are Trying Hard, but They Always Seem Lost
11 Assessing Music Lab Projects
11.1. Intrinsic Motivation
11.2. Critical Listening
11.3. Practical Considerations
12 Future-proofing the Electronic Music School
12.1. Refreshing Old Projects
12.1.1. Strategy 1: Update the Elements of a Project That Involves Choices
12.1.2. Strategy 2: Acknowledge Defeat and Make Fun of Your Past Self
12.2. Outlasting a Graduating Class
12.3. Maintaining Skills Between Old and New Projects
12.4. Adapting to New Teaching Formats
12.5. Committing to a Platform (or Not)
Part III Community Music Culture and Extracurriculars
13 Live Performing and Afterschool Groups
13.1. Preparing Students for a Musical Life Outside of School
13.2. Model One: Recording Club
13.3. Model Two: The House Band
13.4. Model Three: Electronic Music Group
13.4.1. The Birth of the Electronic Music Group
13.4.2. Equipment
13.4.3. A Student Perspective on EMG
13.4.4. The Live Set
14 Understanding Student-Led Groups
14.1. The Teacher’s Role (Hint: Very Different)
14.2. Remember the Prime Directive
14.3. Building Creative Teams
14.4. The Whiteboard Session
14.5. Giving and Taking Criticism
14.6. Refining Ideas Before They Get Made
14.7. Facilitating, or “What Can You Do That They Can’t?”
14.8. How Ideas from Student-Led Groups Benefit Lab-Based Courses
14.9. The Core Values
14.10. Going Beyond Music: Film, TV Shows, Other Content, and Media Production
15 Virtual Electronic Music School
15.1. Burn It All Down
15.2. Change Everything
15.3. Moving the Electronic Music School Online
15.3.1. Smaller Group or Individual Meetings
15.3.2. Synchronous Class Meeting That Breaks into Smaller Groups
15.3.3. Asynchronous Online Class
15.3.4. Live-Streaming Sessions
15.4. Rebuilding
16 A Rising Tide
16.1. Maximum Reach and Demographics
16.2. How Traditional Music Groups Thrive Because of Project-Based Courses
16.3. A Performing Arts Program That Truly Elevates Culture
16.4. Critical Popular Music Studies
16.5. Producing and Consuming Audio
16.6. Educational Goals and Social Impact
16.7. The Racial Politics of Music Education
16.8. Music Creation as Personal Development
16.9. Building for Musical Lifetimes
Index
