Beyond Baby Mozart, Students Who Rock By: David Bornstein | September 8, 2011

With school underway, I asked my eight-year-old son this week if he had any interest in learning guitar. He said he’d prefer the piano. I was pleased, but hesi- tant. I had my own stint with after-school piano lessons at age eight — plinking out notes from classical pieces that were for- eign to me. My progress was agonizingly slow and I gave up within months. Music education hasn’t changed funda- mentally since the 1970s. Students are still taught to read notation so they can recite compositions that they would never listen to on their MP3 players or play with friends. The four “streams” in music educa- Photo courtesy of Brian Gellerstein tion — orchestra, chorus, marching band The experience of an organization Melanie Faulkner, supervisor of and jazz band — have remained constant called Little Kids Rock suggests elementary music for Hillsbor- for four decades, while a third generation the answer is a resounding yes — ough County Public Schools, in is growing up listening to rock and pop provided we change the way mu- Tampa, Fla., where 14,000 stu- music. And my experience as an eight- sic is taught. Little Kids Rock has dents in 83 schools are served by year-old is all too common. Many children helped revitalize music programs the program. “The children feel quit before making progress with an in- in over a thousand public schools like they’re right there making real strument, then regret it as adults. Others and served 150,000 children, most music. And the success spills over play violin or trumpet for the school or- of them from low-income families. into other areas of school.” chestra or band, then drop the instrument The organization has distributed after graduating from high school. 30,000 free instruments, primarily The key to Little Kids Rock is that guitars, and trained 1,500 teachers it teaches children to play music This is a loss for all. Playing music enriches to run music classes in which stu- the way many musicians learn to life. That’s why so many adults wish that dents quickly experience the joys play it — not by notation, but by they could play an instrument, particularly of playing their favorite songs, per- listening, imitation and meaning- guitar or piano, which are ideally suited for forming in bands, and composing ful experimentation. “The knowl- playing with others. The question is: Why their own music. Along the way, edge you need to get started play- do schools teach music in a way that turns the organization is working to in- ing rock music is very limited,” off so many young people rather than ig- stitute a fifth stream in American explains Dave Wish, the found- niting their imagination? Adolescents and music education: popular music er of Little Kids Rock. “In high teenagers are crazy about popular music. — or what it calls “contemporary school, my friend Paul taught me At a time when educators are desperate b an d .” a couple of chords and, boom, my to engage students and improve school life was changed forever.” cultures, can we do a better job of harness- “Students truly experience ing the power of music to get kids excited just about immediate success “Making music is as much a physi- about school? in Little Kids Rock,” explained cal act as it is a cognitive act,” he He decided to start an after-school paper, and five minutes free time, guitar program. He got instruments they’re going to make art,” he adds. donated and started one afternoon “Teaching a few chords is just like a week. Within a year, he was giving giving a kid a musical crayon. If you classes before and after school, five give them time, they will start to days a week, and still had to turn compose their own songs.” away children for lack of space. That There is one barrier to overcome. bothered him, so he got the idea to Every art teacher has drawn a pic- recruit some of his musician friends ture, but many music instructors to teach additional classes. “That idea have never composed a song, so failed miserably because they had no they may have no clue how to teach classroom management skills,” he children to do it; they may not even recalled. That’s when he saw that it believe their students can do it. In would work better if he focused on trainings, therefore, every teacher training experienced teachers. has to write a song, perform it, and Like many nonprofit organizations, record it for the other teachers in the Little Kids Rock’s main constraint is room — all in 30 minutes. resources. Significantly, one problem There are tricks to jump start the the organization doesn’t face is draw- process. You can start by making a Photo courtesy of Brian Gellerstein ing teachers. Its trainings frequently list of pairs of words that rhyme. You adds. “We don’t begin with theory attract many more applicants than can pick a song you like, write down when we want to teach a child to available slots. Teachers volunteer the chords, scramble them, then play tee-ball. We just bring the kid their time to attend trainings, which play the chords in the new order, up to the tee, give them a bat, and let are often held over weekends. The while saying words over them. It will them swing.” trainings are popular because they help in making up a little melody. provide simple and practical meth- “What you find is that it’s actually On the first day of class, Little Kids ods to get high levels of participation remarkably simple,” says Wish. “You Rock teachers place guitars in the from students. need to be given permission and a hands of their students and get them Little Kids Rock bears similarity forum and a few basic tips, but most practicing chords that will enable people are never given any of those.” them to play thousands of songs. to the Suzuki method, which also (Many simple lessons are freely stresses learning by ear (initially) For improvisation, every teacher is available online here.) The kids de- over reading musical notation. Wish also asked to play a Jimi Hendrix- cide what songs they want to learn also draws from language acquisi- style guitar solo, a novel experience and the class is off and running. tion theory and applies it to music for many. Kids think solos are very Their progress is remarkable. Within (as he explains in this talk). But the cool, and Little Kids Rock gives them a year, eight- and nine-year-olds are big distinction is that Little Kids shortcuts so they can learn how to playing electric guitar, bass guitar, Rock places a lot of emphasis on im- play them, literally, in minutes. “I drums and keyboards, and giving provisation and composing, which have kids who learn one scale, or concerts, even performing their own are rarely encouraged in tradition- even two notes, and will play solos songs. And the effect is predictable: al music education. If you wander all afternoon,” explained Allan Ad- the children can’t get enough of it. around a public school, for example, kison, a Little Kids Rock instructor you will find the walls adorned with at Lola Rodriguez De Tio Acade- Before launching Little Kids Rock in paintings, drawings, poetry, essays, my of Future Technology, a middle 2002, Wish spent 10 years as a first even math problems — all done by school in the Mott Haven section and second grade teacher in public children. “What’s notoriously ab- of the Bronx. “When they start to schools in low-income communities sent?” asks Wish. “Where’s the music express themselves and start to hear in the San Francisco Bay Area. Many the kids created?” it, you see them become free.” of his students had little structure or supervision out of school, and “If you put a bunch of kids at a table, It’s not just the children who have they would often get into trouble. and give them a box of crayons and this experience. Wish recalled that one music teacher of 20 years starting to three chord songs their whole things is that the teachers discover a ed to cry after performing a solo lives. “When I taught kids to read Dr. new side of their students. They see in a training program. “She’d been Seuss books,” says Wish, “I didn’t go kids become successful who weren’t playing music most of her life but home and say, ‘Oh man, when they b e fore .” never thought she had the ability to grow up, they’re only going to want improvise,” he recalled. “I’ve heard to read rhyming books.’” And the connection the kids make that from a lot of people. I think the seems to last. Erik Herndon, a Lit- biggest thing that teachers leave the If children make a durable connec- tle Kids Rock instructor at the Jean training with is the notion that they tion with music, it’s more likely that Childs Young Middle School in At- themselves have great untapped res- over time, their musical tastes will lanta, told me: “I’m just starting to ervoirs of musical potential.” evolve. “I don’t listen to the same see kids go on to college and a lot of music I listened to in high school,” them are sticking with it. One kid We do a disservice to children when adds Wish. “But some of my non- said to me, ‘I keep playing my gui- we force them in school to learn jazz musician friends do.” tar, but now when I listen to music or classical music because we think I hear all the parts of it.’ That’s the it’s good for them. Too often, rather One of the biggest advantages that whole idea: to promote that life long than creating an entry point for a life music offers is the ability to inspire love of the music, rather than feeling of music appreciation, this approach students who are otherwise bored that we killed it out of them.” tends to weed out those who don’t or demoralized by school. “I’ve had make an immediate connection with students start coming back to school the music, or don’t have parents who because of this program,” said Ad- force them to stick it out. kison. Elaine Thomas, who heads up music for the Dallas Indepen- Getting children excited by teach- dent School District, where Little ing them to play the music they love Kids Rock serves 9,000 students in doesn’t mean they’ll be stuck listen- 89 schools, added: “One of the best

David Bornstein is the author of “How to Change the World,” which has been published in 20 languages, and “The Price of a Dream: The Story of the Grameen Bank,” and is co-author of “Social Entrepreneurship: What Everyone Needs to Know.” He is the founder of dowser. org, a media site that reports on social innovation. Rock Is Not The Enemy By: David Bornstein | September 13 , 2011 On Friday, I wrote about an organization called Little Kids Rock, which has helped to revitalize and broaden music education in more than a thousand schools by en- couraging children to learn to play popular music, form bands and compose their own songs. The column sparked a little bit of a culture war: some readers were aggrieved by the idea that children should learn popular music in schools, others suggested that classical composers would love rock ‘n roll. Some feared that teaching pop would “dumb down” music education, others felt it was vital to make music education more relevant to children. I’d like to clarify some misconceptions and explain why I think Photo courtesy of Brian Gellerstein the program is a valuable addition, rather It’s important to note that the vast teacher and self-taught musician, than a threat to the classical tradition. majority of the program’s teachers designed his approach to mir- Little Kids Rock has had remarkable suc- — and its biggest supporters — are ror the way children acquire lan- cess getting students excited about music themselves classically trained mu- guage. Nobody starts to speak by class by putting instruments (mostly gui- sic instructors, who also frequently studying the alphabet; children tars) into their hands on day one, show- teach orchestra, chorus or jazz or begin by imitating sounds to coming them simple techniques to get started marching bands. A few of them municate their wants (“mama!” or playing quickly, and allowing them to play wrote in to share their experiences “ball!”). Parents don’t correct the music that they love to listen to. What’s with Little Kids Rock. MamfeMan grammar of their toddlers; they most instructive about the program is how (20) wrote that the program had respond with delight and lots of its pedagogical approach helps students “shaped the culture of my school, encouragement. With no anxiety enjoy early success and makes them eager the mind-set of these students, about making mistakes, children to learn more — and this could be easily and has been — without a doubt babble freely and continuously. adapted to many musical genres that have — the most inspirational part of They get immediate and positive historically spread through informal chan- my life.” Another teacher, who is feedback and they absorb lan- nels — everything from Irish ballads to based in Philadelphia and teaches guage like sponges. fifth graders, (56) added that when bluegrass to Brazilian samba. The teachers By contrast, with music, children and school administrators I spoke with “students who want to learn a cer- tain song … go ahead and learn the are often asked to learn to read said that when children discover that they and write notation, and to grasp can make music with their friends — and chords, and practice till they ‘get it’’’ the belief in learning-through- things like time signature and this can begin within weeks — it gener- note values at the very same time ates tremendous excitement and causes practice carries over to other areas of school. they’re struggling to learn the fin- children to focus, experiment, practice and gering of an instrument. It’s a lot challenge themselves in ways that often Little Kids Rock’s founder, Dave to take in. “When you teach mu- surprise and thrill adults. Wish, a former elementary school sic through reading, the learner Some readers were also annoyed by my assertion that schools should not “force” classical music on children. This was not intended to disparage the classics, or music teachers, but to make the point that an appreciation of music can’t be imposed; it needs to be elicited. Tom Chapman (9) dis- agreed with the idea that we should accommodate children’s tastes. “The solution to give kids access to music they would want to listen to is, in an education sense, quite ridiculous,” he wrote. “Most popular music that students listen to is redundant and simplistic.” The comments revealed a number of misunderstandings. First, Little Kids Rock does not seek to replace Photo courtesy of Howard Dratch traditional music education, but becomes a code breaker and the Milwaukee (37.), who teaches gui- to supplement it — to add a fifth teacher can become a code enforc- tar to kids and adults, added: “No stream, “contemporary band” — er,” notes Wish. That’s a different one needs to learn ‘Little Brown Jug’ and it is helping schools in low-in- relationship than a performer and, or ‘Aura Lee.’ The minute you show come communities create or expand say, a band leader. And the code the someone how to play something music programs at a time of severe children are struggling to break may they like, they start having fun. Mu- cutbacks in music and other arts yield a song they don’t even like. Ap- sic without fun is punishment. Do I programs. proaching music education this way like Taylor Swift? Not much. But the can take years to produce a satisfy- 15-year-old girl I showed those fairly Second, while it is valuable to give ing payoff for the child. And, indeed, unimaginative songs to can now play children exposures to music that many children lose patience; they ‘Michelle’ by the Beatles. Is ‘Michelle’ they are unlikely to hear outside quit music lessons, then as adults classical music? To me it is.” school, requiring them to study a regret the decision. Only the most particular genre of music in a par- dedicated, disciplined or talented A number of readers would strongly ticular way can backfire as many stick with it (or the ones with par- disagree. Many were upset by the readers noted. Hal Horvath, from ents who make them). idea that schools should teach any- Austin (55), observed: “One needn’t thing but serious music — like classi- pit, as some comments do, classi- A number of readers wrote in to cal music or jazz. (It’s worth remem- cal against popular music … Let share their own cautionary experi- bering that people raged against the kids start on the kind of music they ences. Indierhythm, from Palo Alto, introduction of school jazz bands 40 enjoy, at that time in their lives. I Calif. (14), wrote: “I had piano les- years ago, too.) Diekunstder, from did, and now I listen to almost ev- sons at a young age and a really Menlo Park, Calif. (25), comment- ery form… The only possible error, lame music program in elementary ed: “[T]here is no classical music in- repeated often, is to force a style of school and was completely turned dustry shoving its values down the music onto a child for which they off from music when I was a kid.” public’s throat, rather, it is popular have no pleasure.” Many musicians Contrarian, from the Southeast (6), music which pervades every corner and educators (like Benjamin Zan- added: “With the best of intentions, of contemporary ‘culture.’” And Fed der — watch his fun Ted talk here) we absolutely ruined [our son’s] love Up (44), worried: “Is this the death apply considerable creativity to help of music by sending him to piano knell for classical music and opera? people cultivate an appreciation of lessons.” And John Sieger, from Methinks so. Sad!” classical music. When a child quits piano because he hates to practice “Any professional musician will tell try to reach them in as many ways scales, no one benefits. you that to get where they are (jazz, as possible to ensure that we get classical, or pop), they had to work through to them,” says Wish. “Mu- On the other hand, when someone hard, very hard. A classroom music sic is so much a part of what makes gains basic proficiency on an instru- setting in band, orchestra, or choir, us human. It is our goal that every ment, it opens up musical doors very reveals the work required to suc- child grow up with the ability to ex- quickly. I taught myself to play guitar ceed.” press themselves musically. Creat- in my twenties and I found that it ing a hierarchy of musical genres caused me to watch musicians’ fin- The assumption that music educa- is counter-productive to this goal.” gers with more wonder and to listen tion should prepare children for a Wish noted that during the Septem- more carefully to the way music is musical career sets music apart from ber 11th memorial, citizens took constructed. Little Kids Rock teach- other subjects in school. We don’t solace from many different forms ers say that when children have basic teach kids math so they will become of music — from The Beatles to comfort with one instrument, they mathematicians. We teach kids math Mahler’s “Resurrection.” He added: are more confident and eager to try so they will be able to use math in “All were comforted, nourished and out others. As a teacher named Scott, whatever they need it for. We teach consoled by the music that spoke to from Los Angeles (59), noted: “I love math and reading as life skills, not them personally.” classical music, play classical guitar, professional skills. If we think of and teach it to my students (over music as a professional skill, then Most students aren’t going to be- 100 a year), yet still see the immense it’s fortuitous that many kids quit come professional musicians. For value in rock music, improvisation, young. That’s part of the winnowing the majority, Wish says, the goal and composition … Rock music process, which helps us identify the should be to “captivate their inter- turned me onto classical music, not ones who have the talent to attend est, provide them with the skills to the other way around.” Julliard. But if we think of the abil- become active music-makers, and ity to play music as a skill that can capitalize on the joyful, engross- But the debate over which musical enrich anyone’s life, then what we ing, community-building qualities genre to teach, and how to teach it, see now is more like a hemorrhage that music can bring to students in gets to a more profound question: of musical potential. school.” What is music education for? A number of readers suggested that the As in all fields of education, there goal is to produce professional musi- is no one approach that works best. cians. As Tom Chapman (9) noted: “We serve our students best when we