Introduction
There are a number of recent articles addressing writing in music theory courses (Blättler 2018, Inman 2017, Rogers 2017). They serve the admirable purpose of developing writing and critical thinking skills for music students. All of them focus on equipping students with skills to analyze and communicate information about music to others in clear and effective ways. However, it is important to teach students to critically engage the arguments of others, not just produce their own. Public music theory provides an excellent field to practice this type of critical analysis. Focusing in particular on multimedia platforms, I join other scholars (Belcher and Grant 2020, Jenkins 2017) who argue for the inclusion of public music theory as a vehicle for improving the music theory curriculum.
I have incorporated public music theory into my curriculum by redesigning the second half of my upper-level Form and Analysis course to focus on critiquing public music theory videos. This curricular change has a number of benefits for students. The primary benefit is it teaches students to critically evaluate arguments, evidence, and presentation style in a multimedia environment. Additionally, it allows me to increase the diversity of composers and compositions studied in my courses. The need to reconsider the implicit and explicit voices of authority and expertise in the discipline of music theory has been made clear through the work of Cora Palfy and Eric Gilson (2018) and Phillip Ewell (2020). This is especially pertinent as I teach at an HBCU (Historically Black College or University) where the majority of students in my courses are black. Finally, the videos allow me to expose students to applications of theory and analysis not covered in the core curriculum, as well as disciplines related to music theory such as music cognition, music therapy, and music informatics.
Structure and Assignments
The typical assignment for this unit involves three homework tasks. First, the students watch a number of videos related to a single topic. I aim to have the total watch time of all the required videos per class not exceed twenty-five minutes. Second, students answer objective questions about the videos. This ensures that students have watched all the videos and allows me to assess whether they understood crucial information (such as thesis statements) in each video. Sample questions include:
Name at least one of the theory textbooks that Jacob Collier references in his answers.
How much does Chick Corea say you should know about the 12 notes of the Western scale?
Elizabeth Margulis presents a diagram that shows three disciplines that interact with the study of repetition. What are the disciplines she lists?
Third, students answer a separate set of questions designed to foster discussion and promote critical analysis of each video’s content. I often frame these as comparison or valuation questions and encourage students to explain their position. Sample questions include:
Which video had the most compelling presentation?
Which video was most entertaining?
What was the strongest argument in these videos?
What was the weakest argument in these videos? What could be done to make the argument stronger?
How effective were the musical examples in the video?
Included in the third task are questions that ask how much music theory and/or analysis is used in the videos and the degree to which someone without formal music training could understand the music “jargon.” This is a two-sided consideration. Students need to recognize how music theory is (or sometimes is not) explained to non-musicians in clear and concise ways. They also need to recognize, as college-educated musicians, if and when the jargon is misapplied or misinterpreted to make an argument. This last point is particularly important because it feeds into the final project.
I have students answer the questions in writing and submit their answers as they enter the room. I quickly peruse papers as I receive them to evaluate comprehension of the objective information and find interesting observations to use in discussing the subjective questions. The in-class discussions allow me to push students to be critical of the information and how it is presented. This task is fundamentally the same as evaluating a written analytical document, but the confluence of narrative, imagery, and sound make the task more complicated since our discussions explore how the style of the narrator and the production value of the video interact with the effectiveness of the argument as a whole.
The selection of videos for the unit is structured around topics that prepare students for the final project: a written critique of at least one argument from Thoughty2’s video “Why is Modern Music so Awful.” This 20-minute video provides a number of arguments for why modern popular music is not as good as music of the classic rock era, especially that of the Beatles. There are a number of logical flaws in the arguments, and these flaws provide students a variety of paths into dissecting Thoughty2’s evidence and reasoning with regard to timbre, melodic complexity, compositional diversity, and repetition.
In addition to videos that prepare students for the final project, I include videos that explore fields related to music theory or analytical applications not covered in the core theory sequence. I have a day devoted to each of the following topics: music cognition, music therapy, machine learning, copyright, video game music, and movie music. I view this as an opportunity to not only elevate my students’ ability to engage with musical arguments at a high level, but also to experience firsthand a variety of applications of music theory and analysis outside of the classroom.
I have provided a short list of video resources I have found valuable in structuring my curriculum. There are of course many more sources of excellent videos that I have not listed. I change the videos and topics from year to year to keep the content fresh and engaging for myself and my students (and sometimes because videos get deleted or blocked for copyright). One of the benefits of this format is it allows a professor to use their expertise to shape the content to the best interests of their institution and their students.
Some Public Music Theory Video Resources
Sample Videos Used in Class
There are a number of videos I find particularly useful in this curriculum. I will provide a few examples and explain the important points I emphasize from each.
Adam Neely – Why You Should Learn Music Theory
This is the first video I have students watch. The emphasis on music theory as a descriptive discipline helps to prepare students for many of the future videos we discuss. It also helps to de-center the discussion of what music theory is and what music theory “should” do.
Drumeo – Larnell Lewis Hears “Enter Sandman” For The First Time
This video is part of a group focused on musical “genius.” Additional videos include Alma Deutscher, Jacob Collier, Itzhak Perlman, and Chick Corea. This video gives me the opportunity to include a black musician, Larnell Lewis, in the discussion of musical prodigies. Aside from his musical and technical skills demonstrated throughout the video, it shows the practical application of active listening and on-the-fly analysis to performing a piece by ear.
Vox – We measured pop music’s falsetto obsession
This video is an excellent example of musical argument, data manipulation, and convincing presentation. I include it among my selections on music informatics since it allows deep discussion of how the selection, population, interpretation, and presentation of data can be used in an argument.
8-bit Music Theory – Good and Evil in the Persona 5 Soundtrack
This video demonstrates music analysis in the study of video game music using the traditional topic of mode mixture (but with a slight public music theory twist). I use it to discuss issues of audience expertise, pacing, and presentation. Most of my students find this video to be fast-paced in terms of its explanations and examples. It also skirts a detailed explanation of mode mixture. All of these points are important considerations when evaluating how effective the video is in meeting its thesis.
Holistic Songwriting – How The Weeknd Writes A Melody
Inside the Score – The Death of Melody?
These videos are presented together to demonstrate arguments that are more open to critique. Most videos prior to this pair have solid arguments with good data and logical conclusions. The arguments in this pair are much more subjective but still present their positions citing musical examples and using music terminology. This gives students the opportunity to exercise their knowledge and critical thinking to point out where arguments overreach or language is skewed to present a controversial opinion.
New York Times: Diary of a Song – How Lizzo Made ‘Juice’ as Joyous as She Is
Billboard – How DJ Khaled Created ‘I’m the One’
I use this pair of videos to demonstrate modern popular artists and producers discussing their own songs. The juxtaposition of the platforms on which these videos were produced is a key point in their pairing. For the New York Times video, the information represents the research, interviews, and editing of a professional journalist presenting first-hand accounts of a song’s creation. The Billboard video has a similar narrative, but due to the absence of the journalist, the account takes on the mystique of the “artist as genius” that creates on a whim.
Final Observations
While I employ this curriculum in an upper-level theory course, it can also be used effectively in lower-level core theory courses. Since the fundamental premise of this curriculum is to foster critical thinking centered around mastery of music theory content, teachers can assign videos that promote higher-level engagement with specific topics. For example:
Form in popular music - Larnell Lewis Hears “Enter Sandman” For The First Time
Modal mixture - Good and Evil in the Persona 5 Soundtrack
Major and pentatonic scales - How The Weeknd Writes A Melody
Text painting - The Death of Melody?
This curricular redesign has been received well by my students. For them, it is a welcome change of pace from traditional written theory and analysis assignments. I have also had little difficulty in getting students to watch the videos because the videos are generally effective at being engaging and informative. As an instructor, I value the opportunity to have other voices—especially voices that match the demographic of my students—enter the classroom as experts, even if only via YouTube videos. I also appreciate the big picture scope of theory and analysis I can incorporate at the tail end of my curriculum while equipping students with critical thinking skills they can apply outside their music courses.
Bibliography
Blättler, Damian. 2018. “The Analysis Paper as Academic Argument.” Engaging Students: Essays in Music Pedagogy 6. https://doi.org/10.18061/es.v6i0.7247
Belcher, Owen, and Aaron Grant. 2020. “Reforming the Undergraduate Core Curriculum Through the Integration of Public Music Theory.” Engaging Students: Essays in Music Pedagogy 7. http://dx.doi.org/10.18061/es.v7i0.7363
Ewell, Philip. 2020. “Music Theory and the White Racial Frame.” Music Theory Online 26, no. 2. https//doi.org/10.30535/mto.26.2.4
Inman, Samantha M. 2017. “Teaching Analytic Writing in the Form Classroom.” Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy 31: 43-63. https://doi.org/10.71156/2994-7073.1240
Jenkins, Daniel J. 2017. “Towards a Curriculum in Public Music Theory.” Engaging Students: Essays in Music Pedagogy 5. https://doi.org/10.18061/es.v5i0.7243
Palfy, Cora S., and Eric Gilson. 2018. “The Hidden Curriculum in the Music Theory Classroom.” Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy 32: 79-110. https://doi.org/10.71156/2994-7073.1194
Rogers, Lynne. 2017. “Asking Good Questions: A Way into Analysis and the Analytical Essay.” Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy 31: 93-112. https://doi.org/10.71156/2994-7073.1242
Videos
8-bit Music Theory. “Good and Evil in the Persona 5 Soundtrack,” YouTube Video, 14:14, August 31, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWxni7NiQ6M.
Adam Neely. “Why you should learn music theory (Prescriptivism vs Descriptivism),” YouTube Video, 6:21, October 5, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49alQj7c5ps.
Billboard, “How DJ Khaled Created 'I'm the One' | Billboard | How It Went Down,” YouTube Video, 5:02, June 10, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g2IugeQMiQ.
Chick Corea, “How much do you need to know before you play?” YouTube Video, 4:10, October 2, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XxK_oEmFTU.
Drumeo. “Larnell Lewis Hears "Enter Sandman" For The First Time,” YouTube Video, 17:46, February 19, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd_UcjMusUA.
Holistic Songwriting. “How The Weeknd Writes A Melody | The Artists Series S1E2,” YouTube Video, 8:11, March 24, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLbPibfP0-Y.
Inside the Score. “The Death of Melody?” YouTube Video, 12:42, August 2, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0Vn9V-tRCo.
June Lee. “Interview: Jacob Collier (Part 1),” YouTube Video, 12:41, April 14, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnBr070vcNE.
Margulis, Elizabeth Hellmuth. 2015. "Repetition and musicality." SMT-V 1.1. http://doi.org/10.30535/smtv.1.1
The New York Times. “How Lizzo Made ‘Juice’ as Joyous as She Is | Diary of a Song,” YouTube Video, 7:20, April 23, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaKq-gDmuGg.
Thoughty2. “Why is Modern Music so Awful?” YouTube Video, 20:00, August 5, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVME_l4IwII.
Vox. “We measured pop music’s falsetto obsession,” YouTube Video, 16:30, August 13, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJT2h5uGAC0.