From Bach to Rock (Interactivity #2)

                I would have to say that the radio network beginning in the 1920s effected the music education classroom the most in this period. Previously, the music that could be listened to in the classroom was limited. There were basically vinyl recordings that could be played for the class or live music production. To own enough records to have a good variety for students and a record player in each music classroom was too expensive and could not have been very effective. Short of going to see a performance of a professional group, the live music production was limited to what the students themselves produced, which is not an effective way to actively listen to a piece of music. When the radio came along, however, a much wider range of exposure occurred. Not only could more people be exposed to different genres, but these genres could expand and share more pieces with the general public. So, instead of listening to the same three records all of the time, classrooms were able to switch on the radio to whatever prerecorded or even live performance was occurring at the time. This provided a wider exposure to music for the students and they could even hear live performances they never would have been able to otherwise.

                In the given time period, there are several things that could be considered as having the biggest impact on music education. Some of my fellow music educators have already chosen the phonograph (obviously very important), so I have chosen a different path. I picked the synthesizer. The earliest origins of the synthesizer were in 1896, but not as we know it today. The first semblance of one was steam-powered and weighed 200 tons! The Theremin in 1919 took the next step, but ended up becoming a completely different instrument. In the 1950s, the term "synthesizer" was used for the first time. RCA came out with the item, but it was ridiculously complicated and almost impossible to play effectively. The transistor in the late 1940s would allow for this to become smaller and more portable. In 1963, Moog, the father of the modern synthesizer, combined different sound modules he was working on into one item, which was introduced in 1966. After refining the idea to something more accessible and cheaper, his Model D was released in 1970.

                Synthesizers began to blossom mainstream in the 1960s and 70s when rock bands specifically began to experiment with the different sounds and effects that could be achieved. To this day synthesizers are still being improved, but the largest amount of growth was before and coming into the late 1980s. Today we do not realize all of the work that went into it, we only see a keyboard that makes cool sounds if we press certain buttons.

                The reality is that music education in the general music classroom setting would be entirely different if we did not have the synthesizer. First, teaching students piano would be nearly impossible. Each student would have to take a turn on the piano or have a private lesson with the teacher. Classrooms are lucky if they have even one piano, and it is most likely not in tune. Instead, we can have classrooms with several keyboards (a term used interchangeably here with "synthesizers")  so instruction can be given to multiple students at one time. Just as Beulah Mae wanted her students to learn to read instead of copying what the teacher says in A Social History of Media and Technology in Schools, students can work on their own at their own pace to learn piano with the keyboard. Headphones can be plugged into most keyboards so students can hear themselves better or practice in "silence." More advanced classrooms are even set up with a system so that when everyone has headphones in, they can hear the teacher speaking or playing, the teacher can hear each individual playing, or the students can play together from opposite ends of the room. The keyboard also makes it possible for students to practice piano at home, where they most likely do not have a piano (cost, space, etc.) and have the option of playing "silently."

                Aside from learning to play piano, the keyboard is also used for other educational activities, including singing songs, learning music theory, and even using the different settings as backgrounds to teach improvisation. As Grandma Bessie's journal states, "The modern system of schooling is nothing short of blasphemous in its ignorance of human creativity" (p. 43). Grace even briefly mentions the advantage of using a piano even in non-musical classes.