Guest Feature
Blending Traditional and Contemporary Teaching Methods
The Argument for Adding Commercial/ Popular Music to Your Program
by NAfME Member Steve Holley A
s music education adapts to a new state of arts consumerism and technology, how do we combine the best practices of the past with proven, contemporary methods to modernize music education?
Are traditional music education, jazz education, and commercial/popular music education one and the same? What are the similarities and differences between the three? How do we develop a cohesive, forward-thinking curriculum in an effort to instill not only musical abilities in, and an appreciation of, ALL genres, but also life skills that will support our students no matter their career path?
program that includes a jazz band. While it might be overwhelming, at first, for a “traditionally” trained musician, with little performance in those genres, to direct a jazz or commercial ensemble, we all know of examples where this is true. In the end, music is music—right?
The skill set required to direct any musical ensemble can be viewed as a Venn diagram, with the vast majority of rehearsal preparation/execution and performance requirements being essentially the same for ALL styles of music.
After top universities began to add jazz to their curriculum in the late 1960’s, it took years for jazz to be considered an educationally viable addition to a high school program. Now, as several universities (and in many cases, the same universities
Follow the Music The vast majority of what is taught in a “traditional” setting is applicable to directing a jazz ensemble and is also relevant to coaching a commercial/ popular ensemble. While this might be obvious to some, take a moment to think about the band director, with little or no jazz experience, who is hired to direct a
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who led the charge for jazz education) have added, or are in the process of adding, commercial/popular offerings—including ensembles, songwriting, production, recording, music business, etc.—how long will it take before this non-traditional approach is considered educationally viable at the secondary level as well?
I should say that I am not advocating
we discontinue marching bands, concert bands, choirs, or wind ensembles. My mother was a band director for 35 years in the public school system. I am a product of that system. Altering your curriculum to include facets of commercial/popular music education is not the end of western civilization! It is simply modifying what we’ve been taught (and, perhaps, what we’ve been teaching) to adapt to today’s musical and career environment; to say nothing of what the future holds! With that, we cannot continue to ignore the fact that jobs and gigs that were available 30 years ago, 20 years ago, even five years ago, continue to exist.
As educators, we cannot turn a blind eye
to the musical landscape as it stands today and where it’s trending towards in the future.
The Benefits of a Commercial Music
Program Over the past 18 years, our Commercial Music Program at the Kent Denver School, an independent, 6-12 school in the suburbs of Denver, CO, has been able to re-imagine the way we teach music. We strive to support our student musicians in three primary areas:
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