Conference Agenda

We are excited to have two amazingly wonderful scholars and pedagogues share their insights on popular music pedagogy at our session in Denver. Jennifer Snodgrass and Cora Palfy will offer their perspectives on backwards design in music theory curriculum.

Jennifer Snodgrass:

Sitting in Studio Sessions: Backwards Design in Commercial Music Theory 

The authors of Make It Stick indicate that “Learning is strong when it matters, when the abstract is made concrete and personal” (11). When it comes to teaching commercial music theory, this statement becomes even more relevant as some traditional pedagogical approaches tend to remove the concrete and personal for students who are planning to work in the commercial side of the music industry. Over the past two decades, I have sought to gain a better understanding of the musicianship skills necessary for students planning to move into the commercial music sector and how to better integrate these skill sets in the undergraduate core.  

Through interviews with leading engineers, producers, songwriters, and studio musicians, it has become apparent that music theory and aural skills are highly valued in multiple contests. Efficiency and accuracy are prized during recording sessions, and there are high expectations for the fluid and immediate application of practical knowledge and skills when writing, recording, producing, and performing music. Through backwards design, I have implemented student learning outcomes and course goals that best aligned with the information gathered from professionals in the field. This presentation will include insights from multiple artists in the Nashville music community in how they utilize music theory in their profession and how this information has led me to a complete overhaul in my delivery, assessment, and learning goals in music theory courses. 

Cora Palfy:

Widening the Lens: Redesigning the Music Theory Curriculum Using Backwards Design

In today’s classrooms, many pedagogues are considering a curricular overhaul. Not only do instructors want to address systemic iniquity within the “traditional” curriculum based around western art music, but they also hope to enrich a new curriculum with concepts and ideas found in other genres. This is a Herculean task, particularly for instructors with high courseloads, rising service obligations, and little time to devote to finding or transcribing new musical examples.            

In this talk, I offer the backwards design method (Wiggins et al.) as a solution, using my own curricular design for Elon University and the textbook, The Engaged Musician: Theory and Analysis for the 21st Century (Abrahams, Ewell, and Palfy). In this methodology, curricular design begins not with concepts and repertoire but rather with learning objectives and course goals to guide the shape of a curriculum. By beginning with larger objectives for the course, it becomes easier to accommodate all styles of music, diverse concepts, and a range of theoretical perspectives.