Liberal Arts

"I'm teaching a Topics in History class called The American Music Industry. The course provides an overview of music business practices here in the United States, beginning with sheet music publishing and piano manufacturing in the 19th century. We then explore the birth of the recording industry in the 1880s and 1890s, the impact of film and radio on the music industry of the 1920s and 1930s, and the emergence of new recording techniques and new marketing practices in the post-World War II era. By focusing on these major paradigm shifts, students leave the class with a better sense of what's happening right now in the music industry, as digital distribution is changing the way we consume music. Students also develop a clearer sense of how popular music reflects the time period in which it's written, whether we're talking about pro-Union Civil War songs or early Delta blues recordings."

"I find that this age group really identifies with their own coming of age, so I focus on that kind of literature and get them thinking about all the different ways we come of age—those pivotal moments in our lives when we move in new or unexpected directions. What they read is a mixture of nonfiction and fiction; what they write is nonfiction. Personal narrative is one of the pieces that they do, but I also have them write about the literature they are reading. We often discuss songs and lyrics and consider ways to use these as source material."

"A lot of what I teach is related to unlearning some of the blocks to creativity that are taught in primary and high school education. All of my writing classes start with a free write, and we free write every class for up to 30 minutes. In doing that at the same time, over weeks, on the same days, students practice accessing their unconscious, quieting that editorial voice in their heads, and it separates the writing process from the editing process. Students have told me that that has a significant impact, for example, on their songwriting, that they’re able to be creative without editing themselves more often and more freely."

"I think that the most important aspect of a Berklee student's education is that liberal arts doesn't stand apart from the music curriculum. We infuse the liberal arts with music and music with liberal arts. So, for example, students learn in a history class about where a certain music originated, but they also learn about the social and historical contexts of that place, what was going on, who were the people that lived there, and what influenced the music. Another example might be in a music criticism class, where music is played but students are taught to analyze it through a certain social or political lens. So in class, students are not only using their skills as musicians, but they're also using their skills as writers and critical thinkers as well. We try to combine very different disciplines in a very natural way."