Introduction

High Schools across the country are filled with students not receiving a music education. According to the Florida Department of Education data, 16.45 percent of high school students were enrolled in music classes in 1985. This number dropped to 14.9 percent by 1995 and 11.67 percent by 2005. (Williams, 2011) Walking the halls of any school you may hear students singing, or have a student drop into your room and ask to play the piano. Some of these students demonstrate high levels of musical aptitude. However, they are not enrolled in our music programs. These students are not interested in the current offering of the traditional music curriculum. They may not have learned to play a traditional instrument (band or orchestra) or they may not enjoy the type of music performed in the more formal large performing ensembles. Through the creation of an alternative curriculum such as the Commercial Music program developed in the Wichita Unified School District 259, these students were able to receive a music education.

The Commercial Music curriculum covered the following components: music technology (sound reinforcement, audio recording and editing), songwriting and composition, music business (advertising, marketing, event production) and performance skills. Through the formation of "bands" the students were able to explore all of these musical components in a much more socially relevant aspect. The musical philosophy of such a program is to provide students a relevant musical education; to allow the students to learn valuable and real world musical knowledge, allowing them to interact with music in a more democratic and informal learning environment. Green (2008) states "informal learning practices can introduce fresh, constructive ways for music teachers to understand and approach their work, and worthwhile new perspectives on pupil's capacities and needs" (p. 2). The following paper will examine the curriculum, classroom environment, implementation issues and possibilities for future growth in the areas of critical pedagogy, informal learning and democratic learning environments in music education.

Curriculum

During the 2006-2008 school years, I was teaching two sections of a group piano class at Wichita High School Southeast. The piano class was to help cover students who were in need of the Kansas State mandated Fine Arts graduation requirement. The majority of students enrolled in this class were seniors in need of this fine arts credit for graduation. While the need for classes to help students meet the graduation requirements were important, there was a more educationally sound way to meet the needs of students who demonstrated musical aptitude but were not enrolled in the current curricular offerings while helping the school district meet the fine arts requirement.

The students at Southeast High School had formed a guitar and piano club as an after-school program in the 2004 school year. Many students involved in the club were not enrolled in the traditional music classes. The club would produce intimate concerts for the student population that were well attended and the students demonstrated a high quality of musicianship and originality, not shown in the traditional music classroom. As more and more students began to make their music abilities and interests known, I saw an opportunity to make music education available to these students, thus validating the need and value of an alternative music curriculum.

In the fall of 2008, I developed the curriculum for the Commercial Music program at Wichita High School Southeast. The curriculum was designed for a differentiated and democratic learning environment. The students enrolled in the class were grouped together based on similar music preferences. This was done through a brief student survey. Group instrumentation also was factored in to the assignment of groups. The students were usually able to work this out on their own, with some students performing in multiple groups to help complete instrumentation. Many students collaborated within different groups and musical genres, usually combining to create their own mix of musical ideas and styles. This curriculum is designed following some of the basic factors of Informal Learning developed by Dr. Lucy Green. In Dr. Green's groundbreaking book "How Popular Musicians Learn: A Way Ahead for Music Education", the students are given more of a freedom to help choose their own relevant music to learn, the teacher worked more as a facilitator to the student learning process, and the students worked in collaborative learning communities. (For further information and full curricular details of Informal Learning strategies and outcomes of the work by Dr. Lucy Green please visit www.musicalfutures.org)

In the initial stages of the curriculum, students were introduced to topics in a large group setting. Topics such as rhyme patterns in songwriting, basic popular song form, and chord structure were introduced in a more traditional lecture fashion, and listening assignments were developed to analyze the form of various genres of popular music. Once the class began to progress, some groups were able to move along at a faster pace. These students were then able to move on to more advanced music subjects like audio editing and music business. Through the years of the class, a distinct breakdown of subject areas and pacing became evident. Further differentiation of instruction was necessary to allow the proper amount of instructional time to the newer students and the continued growth of the older continuing students. After a couple of years teaching the class, a clear breakdown of topics based on the development and growth of the individual student developed. From year to year, the enrollment, student progress, and student interests helped develop the direction of the curriculum and instruction. There was a general outline of topics to be covered in which the teaching and pacing were directed collaboratively by the students and teacher (table 1).

Table 1
Projects and Assignments were divided in two categories: Music Production and Music Business

Music Production	Music Business
Songwriting	Advertising
Practical Music Theory	Marketing
Live Sound Reinforcement	Promotion
Audio Recording and Editing	Live Event Production
Performance/Practice Technique

As the students progressed the topics were able to be separated by experience:

Beginning	Intermediate	Advanced
Basic songwriting	Develop Song Forms	Booking Venues
Basic Theory	Song Arranging	Final Recording Mix
Practice Skills	Basic Show Production	Live Event Production
Forming a Band	Beginning Promotions	Utilize Web Based Marketing
Recording Basics	Marketing Basics	Branding
Advertising Basics	Light Basics	Music Licensing
Identify Music Styles	Live Sound Basics	Record Production
	Recording Studio Prep

Classroom Learning Environment

At first glance the atmosphere of the Commercial Music classroom appears chaotic. Students can be seen working in small groups and in various locations in the classroom, hallway and auditorium. Other individuals can be found listening to music on iPods or writing silently isolated in a corner of the room. There were many teachers and administrators who were put off by the chaotic and frantic vibe that developed in the class.

The learning environment of this class requires the teacher to give over some sense of traditional role of music teacher. Freire (1998) explains the traditional view of the teacher in a "banking" or transmission theory of school knowledge... according to this view, students are "objects" into which teachers pour prescribed knowledge" (p. 4). The role of the teacher in a class of this manner is more on the advisory and mentoring level, than the authoritarian delivering knowledge and skills. In a philosophical view Freire (2008) calls critical educative practice, "to teach is not to transfer knowledge but to create the possibilities for the production or construction of knowledge" (p.30). Students were put more in charge of their learning. Students were allowed to select music they were interested in and had already developed a sense of social relevance. They were learning valuable musical concepts through the music they interact with on a daily basis. This new sense of student and classroom ownership of their curriculum provided the students with a much stronger acceptance of the value of the music education they were receiving.

As the teacher, I established guidelines for the over-arching topics that needed to be covered. Classroom behaviors and expectations were clearly established and adhered to each class period. I assumed the role of monitor of student behavior and student growth simultaneously. I would observe each group and intervene with advice and direction as needed, allowing the students to use and develop creative problem solving skills, and keep the educational pacing moving forward. Abrahams (2005) wrote, "this [critical] pedagogy questions, challenges and empowers student to experience our (i.e. the teacher's) music, and their teachers to understand their (i.e. the student's) music as integral parts of a collective reality. Critical pedagogy suggests that music, as part of our cultural past, present and future, has the power to liberate students and their teachers from the present stereotypes about music and musicians, and encourages critical thinking, critical action, and critical feeling" (p. 8). It was a difficult transition as a formally trained educator to allow the students such freedom in what they were learning. As the class developed, this became much less of an issue, as I watched the students grow musically, socially and personally, which allowed the small transition of perceived power to the students to be greatly appreciated.

The open and accepting classroom environment provided to the students with tremendous growth of social interactions and acceptance of wide ranges of musical tastes, as well as social acceptance, personal, school, and community pride. This creation of a more democratic learning environment set this class apart from more structured traditional ensembles. The ability to discuss more socially relevant topics of music and society created an open and caring classroom in which students were able to dialogue and express views of music and society. The re-focus of the music class from technique based (traditional ensemble) to a more student centered and socially relevant classroom created an open, educational, and safe classroom environment.

Implementation Issues

The development of the specific topic areas to cover in the curriculum were developed and discovered through exploration of the music business on the internet and through discussions with students in regard to what they were interested in learning. There are many established schools of music developing programs in areas of music business and technology. Finding general topics to cover and the texts to help develop lessons are more easily accessible, than you may think. There are many texts covering topics such as songwriting, audio production, and music technology and music business (table 2).

Table 2: Useful resources for curricular ideas

Practical Recording Techniques. Bartlett, Bruce and Jenny. Focal Press Live Sound, Theory & Practice. Amundson, Mark. Timeless Communications, Corp. All You Need To Know About The Music Business. Passman, Donald S. Simon & Schuster. The Studio Business Book, A Guide to Professional Recording Studio Business and Management. Gallagher, Mitch and Jim Mandell. Artist Pro Publishing. Songwriting: Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure. Pattinson, Pat. Berklee Press. The Songwriter's Workshop: Melody. Kachulis, Jimmy. Berklee Press. Using Pro Tools in Music Education. Hodson, Robin. Hal Leonard Books. Understanding Audio. Thompson, Daniel. Berkeley Press. Support from the Shure microphone corporation, www.shure.com

The acquisition of equipment, both technology and musical performance, can be one of the most frustrating and time consuming aspects of a Commercial Music class (tables 3 and 4). We were able to purchase a laptop and recording equipment to help establish the audio recording and editing aspect to the curriculum. The set up and operation of the technology was a minor concern. While I had limited background in computer music or recording techniques, the students were able to move forward quickly. With the explosion of home recording studios and free online programs, many of the students were well versed in the set up and operation of much of the computer equipment and software. Again, the development of a student centered classroom, allowed the students to take control of their own education under close guidance and supervision.

As for the musical performance equipment needed for the class, we had to piece together what we could for each performance. The students were able to provide and share much of their own personal equipment, such as guitars, amplifiers, PA speakers, and microphones. Between the students, school equipment and the generous support of local merchants, we had no issues with creating successful musical performances. As the program grew and we were able to have more performances, we were able to purchase classroom equipment, having to rely less and less on the students and local merchants to supplement our needs.

Table 3: Basic list of musical performance equipment needed

Equipment to start a performance based program: Rotate students and bands through the equipment. They can rehearse without amps or drum set to help structure the form and make sure song construction is complete. (check with your local dealers for product recommendation and pricings) Also check with local music stores, churches and community theaters to borrow and/or rent equipment. Amplifiers (guitar, piano and bass) Microphones and stands (5-8 for vocal and amplifiers) may already have in auditorium or choral inventory Microphone, Instrument and Speaker cables (various lengths 10, 25, and 50 ft.) Drum set (school should have from pep band or jazz band) Guitars and bass (acoustic and electric) students can supply these most of the time Piano (use school piano or electric)

Table 4: Basic equipment needs for technology

Computers (Desktop and mobile Laptop) use current computer lab MIDI Controller MIDI and sound interface (for digital recording) Recording programs (ProTools LE, Garage Band, Tracktion, ACID, Cakewalk...) Audio and Loop Creators (FL Studios, Audacity, Garage Band) Portable digital handheld recorder (these are plentiful and inexpensive) www.musictheory.net (basic music theory skills) other various computer based theory programs

The Future
As we move deeper into the 21st century, we as music educators need to re-examine how we deliver music education within our schools. The traditional curricular model of the large ensemble is a wonderful and everlasting structure within the school system. Students develop a wonderful appreciation of music performance, improve instrumental technique, build relationships, and create memories few other areas of education can match. There is no denying the tremendous benefits of the traditional band, orchestra or choir class.

However, as society changes so do the students. Are we adapting our class offerings to help reach all the students possible in our schools? How can we approach the general music appreciation or class/group instruction of piano or guitar and make it socially relevant and applicable to today's student? Programs like Commercial Music can enhance and grow the overall music program in schools. They can provide a social context and interaction to music in a way the majority of the American society interacts with music on a daily basis. They allow students an opportunity to compose, improvise, critique and evaluate, develop critical thinking and or problem solving skills. They also encourage students to develop socially and develop important interpersonal communication skills, as well as develop their social identification and place in the world. Jorgensen asserted that music educators need to "break out of the little boxes or restrictive thought and practice and reach across the real and imagined borders of narrow and rigid concepts, classifications, theories, and paradigms to embrace a broad and inclusive view of diverse music educational perspectives and practices" (as cited in Tobias, 2013, p. 35). By utilizing critical pedagogy in music education, informal learning strategies, and developing more democratic and differentiated classroom environments, we can help move music education forward.

References