Electronic Music School: A Contemporary Approach to Teaching Musical Creativity

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