dlockeretz

 Chairs and fists are being thrown. The audience is arguing about the merits of the music that is being performed. A window or two is broken. Is it a mosh pit at a Slayer concert? A punk show on the Sunset Strip?

You don’t have to work too hard to debunk many stereotypes about classical music. Whether it was the above-described riots (and “Rite of Spring” wasn’t the only piece of music ever to inspire that kind of reaction), the Sacred and Profane canons of Mozart, the Hamburg brothel where Brahms was once employed, the allegedly syphilis-caused death of Schubert or the hard drinking of Mussourgsky, classical music and good behavior don’t necessarily go hand in hand. Many composers were idolized in their day the same way rock and pop stars are now. In the film “Lisztomania”, Who singer Roger Daltry plays composer Franz Liszt, whom director Ken Russell argues was the original rock star. Classical music plays a bigger role in popular culture than many of your students may realize, be it Francis Ford Coppola’s memorable use of “Ride of the Valkyries” in “Apocalypse Now” or the many composers–Mahler, Schoenberg, Beethoven to name a few–who influenced John Williams, creator of memorable themes to “Star Wars”, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Jaws.” Your students might not know Lalo Schiffrin or William Schuman, but they probably know those two composers’ most famous pieces, respectively the themes from “Mission: Impossible” and “Dragnet.” Guitarists such as Yngwie Malmsteen, John Petrucci and the late Randy Rhoads were classically influenced. You might not get the Metallica fan you see on Tuesdays at 4 to become a regular donator to the local public radio station, but you can at least give him (or her) a sense of where those smokin’ riffs they love may have come from. And who says students have to hate classical music anyways? I’ve noticed that before they learn that they’re not “supposed” to like classical music, quite a few kids I’ve worked with have gotten excited at playing something like “Ode to Joy” or the theme from Beethoven’s fifth symphony–because they recognize it and it creates an instant sense of ownership and accomplishment.

There once was a time–not too long ago–when the idea of actually studying rock music would have been preposterous–but at more and more schools, you can now do just that. Berklee College of Music and the Musicians’ Institute in Hollywood are two of the more prominent higher learning institutions of rock’n'roll (and other styles), but History of Rock classes are popping up at colleges throughout the country. While learning the chords to a Beatles song might not be as technically challenging as mastering a Beethoven piano sonata, any objective observer must acknowledge that the “Fab Four” are important cultural figures, and the same could be said of many other rock bands. (Make your own list.) Rock music provides more opportunities for your students than Battle of the Bands and the local bar. In the context of a lesson, rock can also provide a framework for less fun concepts such as note-reading, scales and theory.

Jazz music is certainly a style that many people love to hate. Whether it’s the “smooth” jazz that harmlessly blends into the background at the shopping mall without offering any real merit or the less-than-accessible free jazz of Ornette Coleman, many people find the genre boring, confusing, or both. But like rock music, jazz has come a long way as a field of study. Many high schools, and even a few middle schools, have jazz ensembles, and even if your student isn’t necessarily a big jazz fan, they should know what opportunities they may have. “Jazz ensembles sometimes tour and do festivals,” I explain to my students. “And even if your ensemble doesn’t, it beats having to sit in a classroom studying trig or chemistry.”

In my humble opinion, one of the most misunderstood genres is country music. (I’ll also put bluegrass and folk music into this category as well). Guitarists Doc Watson, Chet Atkins, Albert Lee, bassists Dave Pomeroy and Edgar Meyer and banjoist Earl Scruggs are just a few of the many virtuosi who have achieved prominence in country, folk, blues and bluegrass music. The so-called Nashville Number System might not do much for helping your students with their entry exam to Julliard, but it is a good, practical approach to the basics of theory.

If the idea of formally studying rock music might have been laughable as recently as ten or twenty years ago, where does studying turntable scratching stand? Rap music–now around for over 30 years–is following rock and jazz into the academic halls. You can now buy instructional books on turntables.  Regardless of what one thinks of rap music, it has become a prominent style. Skills such as production, sequencing and mixing are as marketable–if not more so–than playing an instrument. Who knows, perhaps in a few decades one will be able to get a Doctorate of Musical Arts in DJing.

To a certain extent, the categories of music we create are just that–labels. There is a lot of crossover between styles. Blues and country music influenced rock music. Jazz composers Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and others were influenced by the European masters as well as American blues and gospel music. Linkin Park was one of many bands to mix heavy metal and rap. Louie Armstrong once said, “All music is folk music. I ain’t ever heard a horse sing.”