Behind the Song: Songwriting as a Positive Practice in the Classroom

"Think Divergent: Improv in the Classroom" produced by Jake Cassman @jakecassman www.jakecassman.com - Jake Cassman discusses what can be learned from improv comedy when teaching songwriting and musical creativity.

“Behind the Song: Songwriting as a Positive Practice in the Classroom” produced by Courtney Fortune @courtneyfortunemusic @songmakersessions – Courtney Fortune takes us behind the scenes of her songwriting class at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.

Intro - Perspectives in Popular Music Teaching and Learning is the outcome of a graduate seminar class taught in the Fall of 2021 at the USC Thornton School of Music. Collaboratively produced by Dominic Anzalone, Jake Cassman, Courtney Fortune, Josh Gronlund, Michelle Kardos, Mark Kveton, Doug Mattingly, Jorge Padron and Julio Sequira – each student chose a topic in popular music teaching and learning that was of particular interest and explored it further to produce their own episode. For more information about the USC Thornton School of Music visit www.usc.edu/music

“Understanding Gender Equity in Relation to Teaching and Learning Popular Music” produced by Michelle Kardos @michelle.kardos – Michelle Kardos discusses how gender equity and inclusion benefits popular music and the music profession as a whole.

“Three South LA High School Students Search for University Music Programs” produced by Josh Gronlund @joshgronlund – Josh Gronlund let’s us listen in as he advises some of his students who want to take the next step in their music education.

“The Unsung Heroes aka The Mentors in Music” produced by Dominic Anzalone @dominicanzalone_ – Dominic Anzalone profiles several prominent musicians to explore the importance of mentorship in popular music teaching and learning.

“Popular Music In the Classroom” produced by Julio Sequeira – Julio Sequeira, an experienced classroom music educator, looks at different approaches for including popular music in the k-12 environment.

“Strings and Popular Music” produced by Jorge Padron @jl_padron – Jorge Padron, an experienced school orchestra teacher, discusses the potential of strings in popular music teaching and learning.

"Goin' Down to the Crossroads: at the juncture of formal and informal teaching and learning in popular music" produced by Doug Mattingly @dougmattingly www.dougmattingly.com – Doug Mattingly focuses on popular music teaching and learning at the college level in 2-year and 4-year settings. Doug’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougmattingly/

“Punk Education” produced by Mark Kveton – Mark Kveton explores the ethos and potential of including punk rock in popular music teaching and learning.