Out of the Box Creations

Course Description:

Throughout the semester students will be challenged to wrestle with the question: Is
everyone able to be a musician or only those who have been formally instructed? They
will be required to write a reflection on how accessible they thought music to be before
taking the class compared to how they feel about music creation at the end of the course.
Students will explore the answer to this question in two ways. First, students will
build their own traditional and nontraditional instruments in unconventional ways. The
first few weeks of class students will be given the opportunity to make different
instruments form common household items. These in-class creations will be stepping-
stones to having the students create their own instruments. These instruments will not just
be reproductions of traditional instruments but rather new instruments inspired by ones
they have already made.
The second step in answering the courses question is the creation of music. While
working on making instruments we will also spend time as a class, and individually, on
how producing music. This music does not have to be officially notated on Finale or
Note-flight, but rather is created verbally in class through student-led jam secession. The
students will look at the instruments present in the room that day and will instruct their
peers what they would like the song to sound like. By the end of the semester students
will have produced a set list of songs together with the instruments they made. At the end
of the semester, the students will collectively pick a nonprofit organization, in which they
would like to send their instruments and instruction on how to build them.

Need for the course:

This course will not only be fostering students creativity, but it will also be placing
them in an element outside of their comfort zone. By framing the course around the
central question, Is everyone able to be a musician or only those who have been
formally instructed? the class will be challenged to think beyond their own
circumstance. The class will include discussions on how these instruments could be used
by those who dont have the funds to afford instruments or lessons. The class will not be
using technology, other than video recorders if students so choose, as to eliminate
privileged circumstance. This idea is roughly based on service learning. In Susan J.
Deeleys paper titled Service Learning: Thinking Outside of the Box, the idea of having
students engaged in an education that is service based and how this may change their
perspective toward their curriculum, but also towards others.

Expected impact on students:

The specific SOL Standards being met through this class are:

HG.2 The student will compose and arrange music within specified guidelines by:
1. Incorporating appropriate voicings and ranges
2. Using a variety of sound sources

HG.4 The student will improvise music, including:

1. Improvising melodic and rhythmic patterns and accompaniments in a
variety of styles
2. Improvising variations on a simple melody.

HG.5 The student will investigate characteristics of musical sounds by:

1. Employing elements of music, including melody, rhythm, harmony,
form, and texture
2. Listening to and describing traditional and nontraditional sound sources

Students gain an appreciation for music and music creation fostering a desire for life
long music creation. The class will be embracing their creativity not only by having to
think outside of the traditional instrumentation ideals, but also by creating music.
Students will have to problem-solve, invent, and work cooperatively with their peers. In
terms of musical development, students will have to understand song structure. They
have to be able to audiate a tune in their mind in order to make informed decisions on
what they would like to hear from their peers when they are creating a song. Students will
learn about the physics behind instruments and how the instruments are able to create
sound. This will transfer into their own individual instrument creations when they have to
develop nontraditional instruments. Finally students will learn how to care for others in
circumstances other than the one they may find themselves in. They will use music as a
context to breakdown barriers they have built up between themselves and others in their
communities.
Expected impact on the school/community:

Those who take this class with be able to foster a sense of shared culture in the
community and demonstrate the accessibility of music for everyone outside of the
classroom. Students will have also, hopefully, gained a sense of service and outreach that
is associated with the idea that music is obtainable to all. This sense of inclusion can lead
to the connection between instrumentalist and vocalist, as well as those who are
musically inclined but not involved in music ensembles in the school.
 Music is the Best Truth, and The Best Propaganda!

Course Description:

This class would be offered as a zero hour class in which students would have the
opportunity to analyze music from different points in history searching for propagandist
tendencies. The two main themes for this class would be Propaganda in War and
Propaganda and Protest. At the beginning of the school year students would choose
which they would prefer to look into. From that point on in the semester students would
research music and its affects on their topic. Their research would lead to weekly
discussions that would begin with a prompted question, but would be student led for the
remainder of the period.
Students will keep reflection journals throughout the semester in which they keep
their research but also reflect on discussions and how they feel music is related to either
war or protest. These journals will be personal journals. The teacher will present the class
with the option to have journals submitted once a week to be read, not graded other than
completion, or if they would prefer to keep their thought private until shared in group
discussion. Either would demonstrate to the class the amount of thought and care each
student put into the topic.
As the semester continues students will be asked to create a song that could be
used as propaganda for or against their chosen topic. Students will discuss the songs that
are created. These discussions will not only be on musicality, but rather to include what
similarities the contrasting topics have with one another and what that might infer about
the power of musical persuasion.

Need for the course:

Students who are taking this class will be getting the chance to explore topics
already covered in history classes in a new light. In Yonghee Suhs published study titled
Past Looking: Using Arts as Historical Evidence in Teaching History, there is evidence
showing that teachers are starting to use art (arts as a whole, not solely music) as a way to
help students connect with the history they are learning and contextualize it more easily.
By creating a history that is relatable students are able to be more expressive through
their findings. In this class I will transfer this idea of teaching history through music on
its head and teach music through history. By placing history as musics vessel, I will
create an opportunity for students to see music as more than aurally pleasing. Music
serves a greater purpose than aesthetics and students should get an opportunity to delve
into deeper discussion and thought past what they may be learning in limited individual
score studies in ensembles.

Expected impact on students:

The specific SOL Standards being met through this class are:

HG.6 The student will explore historical and cultural aspects of music by:
1. Describing distinguishing characteristics of musical forms and styles
from a variety of cultures
2. Identifying the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other
fields of knowledge
3. Explaining ethical standards as applied to the use of social media and
copyrighted materials

HG.7 The student will investigate the role of music in society by:
1. Comparing and contrasting the development of music in diverse
cultures throughout history
2. Describing the role of technology and social media in the development
of music

Students will not only be building their critical listening skills, but they will also be
strengthening their research and application skills. By this I mean students will apply
what knowledge they gain on a subject to form an argument or a platform that they hold
to be true. Students will build discussion skills. These skills include: listening,
referencing and recalling information, forming independent ideas, learning how to
disagree peacefully, and confidence. Students will learn how to reflect on circumstances
they may not be personally familiar with, but still empathize with all the same. Musically
students will gain an understanding of how music can shape a culture or time period.
They will also recognize patterns in song form, lyrics, and style that correlate between
subject and location. Overall, students will obtain both musical and nonmusical skills
from this class.
Expected impact on the school/community:

This class will create students who are more aware. These students will be hear
how music is shaping the culture they live in, and how to be expressive through art.
These students will be able to participate in productive discussions that do not end in
bashing, but rather reflect consciousness and discernment. Students will be in a position
to positively influence the communities they are a part of in new perceptive ways.
 Not Your Typical Music Analysis

Course Description:

Students will spend the semester grappling with the question: Do artists think
about persuasion when they are writing film scores or commercial ads? Students will
analyzing songs film scores and listening to their chord progressions. They will listen for
what these soundtracks have in common, listening for certain chord progressions or
musical aspects that may create different emotions or reactions to a scene.
One of the challenges proposed to students during the class is to spend an entire
week without music. This means not background music while watching TV, no radio in
the car, or listening to their iPods while exercising. This task will be early in the semester
to open students eye to how prevalent music is in their culture. From here the class can
more effectively dive into the original question proposed, listening to different aspects of
music that are found in contrasting genres and reflect on how they might influence
someones psyche.
At the end of the semester students will compose a song for one of their favorite
movie scenes. They will be challenged to apply what they have learned throughout the
semester to apply what they feel the scene should sound like. This assignment will push
students to take what they have learned analytically throughout the semester and
implement their conclusions in conjunction with their theory skills.

Need for the course:

Students who take this course are formulating their own opinions based on
research they find and how they personally react to music. This class is something created
from research questions presented in Chapter 5 of The Oxford Handbook of Film Music
Studies. This chapter questions whether film scores really do play as large of a role
psychologically on the viewer as the public perceives them too. This class will create
students who are more aware of the music that is in their daily lives and how it may or
may not affect them.
Expected impact on students:

The specific SOL Standards being met through this class are:

HG.9 The student will analyze music by:

1. Describing music styles and forms through listening;
2. Examining the importance of composers use of style, cultural
influences, and historical context for the interpretation of works of music
3. Describing and interpreting works of music, using inquiry skills and
music terminology.

HG.10 The student will evaluate and critique music by examining and applying
accepted criteria for evaluating works of music

HG.11 The student will investigate aesthetic concepts related to music by

1. Explaining how the context of a musical works creation may influence
its meaning and value
2. Analyzing and justifying personal responses to works of music
3. Examining and applying aesthetic criteria for determining the quality of
a musical work
4. Explaining the value of music to the community and to society.

Students will apply their musical theory training to listen to and critique film
scores. Students will create their own hypothesis to the questions of the course based on
what they infer from scores they listen to. Students will be able to discuss their opinions
on the music that is being handled as well as justify why they feel the way they do.
Finally students will compare different film score composers works to one another to
determine what the commonalities and differences are between their music.

Expected impact on the school/community:

Offering this class would create a more aware community. Students will feel more
comfortable defending their positions in discussions. Due to the psychology direction of
this course, students may have a greater appreciation for film scores and music in their
lives. Hopefully this appreciation will affect how they treat music and the way in which
they evaluate different genres. If students do change how they think about music and its
affects on how people perceive different situations, they might relay this information to
their community and share their new appreciation creating a culturally right environment.
 Reference List:

Deeley, S. J. (2010). Service-Learning: Thinking Outside the Box. Active Learning In

Higher Education. 11(1). 43-53.

Neumerver, D.I. (Ed. And Intro.). (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Film Music Studies.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Yonghee, S. (2013). Past Looking: Using Arts as Historical Evidence in Teaching History.
Social Studies Research & Practice. 8(1). 135-159.