My music theory classes are actually 1/2 and 1/2…1/2 are band/choir students with a background in reading music; the other 1/2 tend to be guitar students who have no idea how to read or write music, but want to.

Funny you should mention guitar…I’ll be teaching a guitar class to 9-11 grade students this fall, and I’m not a major guitar player. I passed some guitar proficiency classes for elementary music education fifteen years ago. But I have some good method books to work with along with other resources, so I know things will be fine. I do plan on teaching traditional notation…but we’ll also study tab notation, as they’ll see it in the “real world.”

I’m with you, 100%, in the idea of hooking students into what we do. Technology is a key to that. And I don’t even think I’m arguing against your point…I just think that notation software has a place in the high school curriculum for sure–even for performance courses. In vocal music, students can create their own accompaniment for SmartMusic with Finale…and learn about keys, time signatures, tempos, and the vertical aspects of music. Instrumentalists could do the same. I also knew of a band director who had a song literally falling apart, so he took his kids into the computer lab and they each re-created their own part (the piece was permanently out of print). They were learning the same things…as well as discovering another step in the production of music itself…the hidden role of the engraver.

Thanks for taking the time to shoot ideas back and forth!

I agree notation software is readily accessible and cheap. Actually, my main software, Logic Studio, has very respectable notation capabilities although I wouldn’t try to publish a piece with it. Even GarageBand has notation capabilities. I see how in your music theory classes you would want to use a notation package. I would, too, if I were teaching music theory class. I would venture to say that most of, if not all, of your students in the music theory class play an instrument or sing in a choir or have done so for more than a year or two. Music theory classes are aimed at advancing the skills of already existing musicians/performers. At least that’s what they are in my school and I would say that’s a good guess for most schools. My classes, Electronic Music (composition) classes, are the old “general music ” class. That’s the class mostly for the non-performer. My students have had little or no experience playing an instrument or singing in a choir and they have absolutely no desire to do so for the most part. IF they want to pursue music more than just a hobby or want to delve more intensely into the experience then I tell them to put themselves in a chorus, take piano or guitar lessons and take our schools Intro to Music Theory and eventually the AP Music Theory classes. Even our performance ensembles advise students to study music outside of their classroom (private lessons, outside ensembles) if they are serious about it. We just can’t give them all they need in a classroom. Being a fulfilled or even “successful” musician does not require one to read music. Look to Paul McCartney, Barbara Streisand, Ray Charles and any number of musicians who never learned how to read music. Yes, I’ll concede that they are the exception and that we really do have an obligation to make complete musician. Hey, I don’t teach TAB in my guitar classes for that exact reason; notation is important and critical to making well-rounded and complete musicians. Sure, I teach notation somewhat. They need to know basic rhythmic notation and they surely learn the notes of treble and bass clef. However, they simply cannot master it enough in the classroom to compose solely with notation unless I turn it into a performance keyboard class. Then it’s not a composition class but a keyboard class. That’s not my goal. My goal is to create critical listeners through understanding what it takes to create engaging music. You don’t need notation for that. As I said in a recent post, why teach reading and writing Greek for them to speak and understand Latin? Just listen to examples of student music on this blog. I really don’t think I could get the level of sophistication that they produce if I focused on notation and asked them to compose in notation software.

I am happy to say that my Intro classes are THE most requested in a building of 2800 students. On average 1/3 of all the seniors in my two most advanced classes go to college as Music Composition or Music Technology majors. One third of them NEVER played an instrument or sang in a chorus before they entered my classroom. My philosophy is to grab them and hook them in. If they really want to dedicate themselves to the process of being a musician then they have much more work to do than we can give them in a classroom. I think what we do at our school works not just for the general population but also for those that have a true gift and never had or took the chance to develop it.

In summary, although music notation software might not be the primary tool you use for composition or as a teaching tool, I’d certainly argue that it should still be part of your curriculum. The fact that Finale notepad now costs $10 can be problematic for schools that have been accustomed to getting the program for free (Where do you get $340 to outfit a 34-station lab?). Nonetheless, I still urge music educators in 9-12 to do this; and I’d even argue that students in 6-8 are capable to learn some of these concepts as well.

I’d also like to add that we can over-stress the importance of the keyboard in theory, too. Students need to be able to understand the concepts of music theory both at the keyboard and away from it.

But beyond that, you make a very valid point that having the musical aptitude to understand what you’re doing in a notation program, to hear it, and to produce it on a keyboard is imperative. The point being that we need to be able to speak musically before we read it, but what I’m most concerned about is making sure that we, as music educators, let students experiment with notation software.

Let’s look at Messiaen’s “Quartet por la fin du temps,” however. A piece that isn’t written within the context of normal composition, meaning that it doesn’t follow a structured form of meter, but one that the performer is responsible for delegating. A work like Messiaen’s is very difficult to create in a notation program, but noticeably easier by hand. Which brings me to this point- it is imperative that students be able to produce the same work on manuscript as they can on notation software. Notation software isn’t meant to be educational so much as it is meant to be productive, thus whatever education being provided could happen on staff paper, then opening up projects for students to work in Finale/Sibelius. However, it would be worth while teaching students how to use the programs so that they have a working knowledge and so they can branch out into other endeavors. I think what is most important, is making sure equip students with the skills they need, while not limiting them.

We generally don’t keep up to date with this technology when we’re out teaching because of the various other duties we fulfill, but I think it’s important that we become a technological field. We need to adapt to a musical world that is employing electronics in a way more than Steve Reich’s “It’s Gonna Rain.”

We’re a creative folk and we need to teach others that creativity is acceptable and fantastic.

Thanks for sharing!