Bergenfield High School (Bergenfield NJ)
- Instructor: Brian Timmons and Kent Pennell
- Class Title(s): Music Technology I
- Grades Levels Included: 9-12
- Structure of NTM Class(es): Full year course. Five 41-minute classes per week. Three sections of 16 students offered in 2009-2010.
- Software Used: Sibelius 5, GarageBand, iPhoto, iMovie, iWeb, Auralia
- Hardware Used: 20" iMac, ProKeys Sono 61 Controllers, GEC3, SmartBoard, JBL 4328 Studio Monitors
- Class NTM Activities: Students explore the history of electronic music and music technology. Students study the physics of sound. Basic audio editing projects are completed, including unscrambling an audio file from a movie scene and creating a mash-up. Notation projects are completed by having students copy notated works in Sibelius. Students complete basic piano instruction to gain proficiency in keyboard use. Podcasts are created for a history of a musician projects. Original songs are composed within given parameters. A multimedia project completes the major projects for the course.
- History: The course was originally established in 2005 in order to expand offerings in the computer technology area. After two years holding classes in a CADD computer lab and the beginning of the third year in a business education classroom, our music technology lab was built in early 2008. The course was also restructured from an offering geared toward traditional music students to one that is appropriate for non-traditional music students. As a result, we are able to fill three sections of the course. The majority of the students do not participate in our other traditional ensemble classes.
- Success Stories from NTM Activities: Students have been admitted to and are soon to graduate from programs in music technology and sound engineering at the university level. A music technology program has been developed in our community adult school, thereby exposing taxpayer stakeholders to the course offerings within the school system. Our music technology program, including links to student projects, will be featured in an upcoming issue of School Band and Orchestra magazine.
- Advice to Others Starting NTM Project: You don't need a state-of-the-art lab to get started. The availability of software is so widespread that a shared-use classroom could be utilized until sufficient funds and administrative support is established to build a dedicated facility.
- Date Submitted: January 2010