Greenwich High School (Greenwich CT, updated 2025)
- Instructor: Barbara Freedman
- Class Title(s): Intro to Electronic Music, Electronic Music 1, ElectronicMusic 2, Electronic Music 3/Honors, Songwriting & Recording
- Grades Levels Included: High school
- School Profile: Public H.S.; enrollment 2700
- Structure of NTM Class(es):
- Intro to Electronic Music- one semester, part-time class (3 days out of an 8 day cycle) three sections per semester
- Electronic Music 1- full year, part-time class (3 days out of an 8 day cycle) two sections per semester
- Electronic Music 2- full year, part-time class (3 days out of an 8 day cycle) one sections per semester
- Electronic Music 3/Honors- full year, full-time class (6 days out of an 8 day cycle) one sections per semester History: Greenwich High School has been offering Electronic Music since 1968 and first created by former teacher Ann Modugno. The course has evolved over the years from using open reel and cassette decks to today's MIDI Lab with 24 student stations.
- Songwriting & Recording- a full year, full time course in which we include a Modern Band element, students learn instruments they do not already know and play in a band.
- Honors Modern Band Ensemble (2025-2026)- a full year, part time course by audition like our Jazz and String Ensembles
- Software Used: GarageBand & Logic Pro
- Hardware Used: iMacs with MIDI controllers and each station has a Focusrite audio interface. We also use the Korg GEC. I use the iPevo document camera to show my keyboard to the students so they can play along.
- Class NTM Activities: Electronic Music classes at Greenwich High School are the "General Music" classes. It is hands-on applied learning. Students learn about music through composition. Each level of eMusic teaches increasing complex music elements and theory through composition. Students demonstrate their understanding through their own compositions. Details specific to each course we offer is explained above.
- History: Greenwich High School has been offering Electronic Music since 1968 and first created by former teacher Ann Modugno. The course has evolved over the years from using open reel and cassette decks to today's MIDI Lab with 24 student stations. We have the largest program in the school music offerings, more students take our Music Production classes in a year than they take Band, Orchestra, or Chorus classes. More than one third of our graduating seniors pursue music in colleges from the local community college to NYU Clive Davis Institute and Syracuse Bandier program including the state university, UConn and Western Connecticut State University Music programs.
- Success Stories from NTM Activities: In 2009, a junior in EMusic 3 won the National MENC/NSBA Electronic Music Competition. In 2008, a different junior came in second place. Introduction to Electronic Music is THE most requested class at GHS with 345 students requesting that class alone. At GHS, more students ask to take an EMusic class than a band, orchestra or chorus class. On average, 30% of seniors in EMusic 2 & EMusic 3 go to college for Music Composition or Music Technology. In 2009-2010, it's 52%. Several of these students have no experience in music before they came to a GHS eMusic class. At GHS, eMusic is a college track course. We have many former student who are in the industry as successful musicians/performers, producers, record company executives, owners of audio engineering companies and recording studios, executives and representatives in speaker, microphone manufacturing, sales and installation. The music industry contributes 170 billion a year to the US economy. We are happy to help our students get a piece of that! We have had several NAfME competition winners and runners-up over the several years they were doing this competition. Here's a link to our SoundCloud playlist with their music: https://soundcloud.com/freedsghs/sets/nafme-electronic-music-winners.
- Advice to Others Starting NTM Project: Teach music. The technology will follow. I think that someone starting out would do well to seek what others have already done. No reason to invent the wheel. There are books and other things available online to help you get started. I would also recommend going to a conference where they have a strong Music Technology track such as Texas (probably the largest), Ohio, Pennsylvania, California, & Florida.
- Additional Comments: I have the greatest job in the world! For more about Electronic Music at GHS, please visit http://www.greenwichschools.org/page.cfm?p=1460. For more about Barbara Freedman, please visit: http://musicedtech.wordpress.com/
- Date Submitted: December 2009 (Updated by Aiden Carney, MTLA 2025 Intern, 18 February 2025)