December 2009 eNews: InterNetzo
A Breath of Fresh Air: Implementing The Walden School Approaches in a Public School Setting

By Ben Aldridge

The techniques and ideas employed at The Walden School have informed much of my teaching. This essay is an examination of my use of such techniques and pedagogy in my experience in the public schools. These ideas have been particularly useful during my music theory and music technology classes at the high school level, middle school general music, and in ensembles in grades 6-12. Whenever applying new concepts to their curriculum, teachers will find things that work particularly well, as well as challenges. My experience is no exception. The challenges that I encountered when implementing Walden-style concepts were, however, easily managed. Overall, I am confident that much of what we learn at Walden’s Teacher Training Institute translates very well to a public school setting.

Fast-Paced Learning: High School Music Theory Class
Implementing the Walden approach within the context of a high school music theory class is clearly the most logical setting for these ideas within a public school. I was able to format an overview of the musicianship course into a two-semester schedule. The things that went well in class helped to get students excited about theory. The challenges that I encountered were easily managed. Overall, the course was one of my favorite teaching settings.

Students really enjoyed the way that theory class provided a change of pace from other more typical high school classes. The “Discover, Drill, Create” philosophy is a welcome change from the norm within our school. The fast-paced activity changes forced students to be on their toes, and kept them constantly engaged. I would quickly move students from activities at their seats, to working at the board, to the keyboards, to their feet in an improvisation circle. This fast paced shifting of focus was particularly effective in afternoon classes, when students are generally tired after lunch. I can’t tell you how many times I heard “Class is over already?!” Students also stayed engaged during drill work. Theory class was the only place where they were held responsible to know their material in time. Students responded well to tasks with time limits, especially in competitive situations. I would have students create chord structures using their cards while timed against the clock. I would also have them draw the circle of thirds against the clock. These activities in conjunction with naming drills using the metronome, naming during piano drills, and improvisation activities gave students a chance to reinforce their newly internalized concepts in a way unlike that in any of their other classes.

Differentiated Work: Public School Adaptations
Teaching Walden-style musicianship in public school presented some challenges. Assessment and keyboard access were challenges that I hadn’t run into when teaching at the Young Musicians Program. Class size and multiple levels of experience were familiar challenges that were amplified in the public schools. Thankfully, overall these were very easily managed.

The students who enrolled in music theory class at the academy were from a varied background. I had anywhere from 4 to 14 students in class. Some were seniors who played instruments and sang in choir and were planning to study music in college. Others were freshmen who needed an arts credit and didn’t read, sing, or play. I made the band room available during lunch, study halls, and before and after school for students who had no access to a keyboard at home.

I found that taking students through the entire curriculum was most successful when I assessed students individually at their own respective level. Students can understand that the course is designed to make each of them better, rather than to get anyone to a certain level. I found that it was best to create simple assignments that were appropriate for my least experienced students, and turn up the intensity for those with more experience. Drills are very easily adjusted to challenge each student adequately by adjusting keys, spacing, and/or number of repetitions. Written work can be easily differentiated through the use of multiple clefs, keys and time signatures. I found that pairing students at the board for “team dictations” challenged students to work together through what can be a daunting process.

Finding Their Groove: Computer Musicianship
Implementing the Walden-style Computer Musicianship Course worked extremely well in the public school setting. I budgeted for four of the Marantz digital recorders that we used at Teacher Training. We used “Garage Band” as a sequencer because it was already installed on all of our school computers. I used these tools to teach students the basics of sequencing and music concrète. I employed the Walden philosophy of “discover, drill, create” using electronic dance music as a model. I also supplemented our work with reading assignments and research projects around the history of electronic music.

We listened to several examples of electronic dance music, and discovered how many sounds it took to create a danceable groove. We decided that three sounds would be enough, and described each of the three. When I sent students out with recorders to gather sounds, I asked them to find several examples each of a Boom, a Click, and a Sustained sound. Students edited these sounds and used them to form a groove.

Students were given drill assignments along the way putting together an A groove, then varying it four different ways. Then they were asked to create a B groove, and vary it four different ways. We then assembled our projects using a form borrowed from our listening. Students captured vocals from spoken word material on YouTube. After assembling these initial projects to create a piece, I had students start fresh and create an original tune. I found that the students’ projects were very well thought out, and much more complex than “cut and paste dance music.” The use of dance music as a model made the project very approachable, and students felt that they had a context with which they could evaluate their own work. They knew what sounded good and what didn’t.

The “Magic 8”: Ensemble Applications
Implementing Walden-style techniques within ensemble rehearsals came fairly naturally. The rhythms and solfège concepts translate well to a rehearsal setting. Scale degree numbers work well during choral warm-ups, and improvisation games work well as a warmup for jazz ensemble. I kept a poster of the 8 magic rhythms at the front of the rehearsal room along with a poster of equivalent basic rhythms in compound time. This made for easy reference during rehearsals.

The overarching philosophy of “Discover, Drill and Create” is like a breath of fresh air in a public school setting. I have found that the Walden-style concepts and techniques, which are such an integral part of my teaching, are perfectly suited for public schools. Students have no choice but to be engaged, and take much more from their coursework when they are challenged to internalize concepts in this manner.

Copyright 2007-2010, The Walden School, All Rights Reserved.

Ben Aldridge