When Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "The future belongs to those who prepare for it," he might just as well have been referring to the Bergenfield High School music program. In spite of challenging budget cuts and economic pressures, Bergenfield High School's music program is rising above the fray using innovative music technology to bolster its excellent curriculum.

Located in Bergenfield, New Jersey, eight miles from New York City, the high school's music department has 500 students enrolled from a 1200-strong student body. On a daily basis, approximately 100 students use the music tech lab. This includes three sections of Music Tech 1, two sections of beginning class piano, and a section of music theory that spans three years of material, including AP Theory. Classes are always full with a waiting list, but they have opened additional sections to honor most course requests. Their excellence in music technology has made BHS a Grammy Signature school finalist three times, including this year. At the 2010 TI:ME national conference, their marching band program will be featured for their cutting edge use of technology.

But what makes this school even more impressive is that they have also established their reputation with three concert bands, three orchestras, three choral ensembles, a jazz ensemble and a 200-member marching band, as well as numerous chamber ensembles. Three of their honors ensembles (Chamber Orchestra, Vocal Ensemble, and Wind Ensemble) receive weighted honors credit. They performed last year at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. Their Honors Wind Ensemble has received three consecutive gold ratings at state regional festival and has been named a New Jersey Honor Band in 2007 and 2009. Bergenfield has also been named as one of the 100 Best Communities for Music Education in 2003 and 2004 by the American Music Conference.

Bergenfield's Music Tech Philosophy
Brian Timmons is the director of bands and district coordinator of music education. His leadership has provided a strong rationale for promoting music technology in a school district that many decades was already very competitive in the performance area. "We began our music tech classes five years ago for a few reasons, including offering music classes to non-traditional students, broadening our curriculum for existing music students, and providing more options for fulfilling career education and performing arts state graduation requirements," says Brian. "The course was initially taught in a CADD laboratory and then a business education classroom. We had a few keyboard controllers to share and PCs running Windows NT. The curriculum was centered on live sound, notation-based assignments, and theoretical concepts in music technology. The students were almost exclusively band, orchestra, and choir students. Our district's technology coordinator took an interest in what we wanted to do to expand the program to include the entire school population and helped us to secure funding. The room that houses our lab now was converted from a former department workroom. Sixteen iMacs, USB keyboard controllers, furniture, studio monitors, the GEC3, and a SmartBoard were installed in stages and implemented during the third year. The lab was fully functional starting the fourth year.

"When we first developed the music technology program, it was in an effort to provide additional opportunities for existing music students in a developing instructional area, while satisfying our district's computer course graduation requirement," he continues. "A one-year study of music theory was a prerequisite for the class. We then realized we were missing a golden opportunity to reach out to a segment of our school population that had an interest in musical study, but didn't participate in our traditional ensemble program. We restructured the curriculum to accommodate learners without the traditional musical training and eliminated the music theory prerequisite. As a result, our enrollment soared from one section to three sections with a waiting list. The students with traditional musical training continue to enroll and a whole crop of music enthusiasts are given the opportunity to explore skills in contemporary music. Students with advanced backgrounds are often given separate skill-appropriate activities and assignments, while the non-traditional students are learning basic notation or ear training."

As Bergenfield's district IT coordinator, Chris Tully gives great support to their music technology. He says, "Bergenfield Public Schools strive to infuse technology throughout the curriculum. This music lab is a prime example of that effort."

The Music Tech Curriculum
Timmons is proud of Bergenfield's music tech curriculum. "We do two projects with basic audio editing, which were developed from lesson plans on the SoundTree Web site by Mike Fein," he elaborates. "One project has students unscrambling audio clips to make it match a script. The other is a mash-up, where students make up a cohesive conversation using audio clips from movies and TV shows. We do a project where students compare and contrast different microphones and create a chart to outline their specifications. This allows students to understand the unique properties of different microphones. It also allows them to become acquainted with the Table menu in Microsoft Word for future projects.

"The students also develop a proposal for a sound system. They research different components (speakers, mixers, amps, microphones) for an imaginary installation. They then submit the proposal, along with a diagram, specifications and an invoice in Microsoft Excel. Students learn how to use a spreadsheet for calculations."

Melissa Koonts, a former student who is now a freshman education major at Montclair State University, reflects, "Our final project, making our own podcasts, was not only very interesting, but helpful, too. It helped me in future classes where I've had to use similar programs."

"When I was required to take Music Technology in college, I was so grateful I'd taken Electronic Music in high school," agrees Alyssa Ahearn, a junior music ed major at William Paterson Univeristy. "I already knew most of the topics we covered, and I passed the class with flying colors. I would have been lost if I didn't already have the knowledge I gained from the high school course."

All class assignments are posted on www.homeworknow.com, and podcasts can be found at bergenfieldmusic.podomatic.com. To view the Music Tech 1 syllabus, go to www.kuzmich.com/SBO012010.

Marching Band Innovations
How good is the school's marching band? You can view 18 videos of them performing on YouTube (search "Bergenfield marching band"). Brian has also extensively integrated music technology into this ensemble, too. He uses Sibelius to arrange music. "We use the music technology lab where instrument sections meet and review drills on the SmartBoard using Pyware Performer's Practice Tools," he says. "Used together, SmartBoard pens and Pyware allow us to do a virtual Telestrated play-by-play of difficult drill moves. All of our marching drills are written in-house on Pyware."

Brian has his students assist in teaching new field show drills. "Past Music Technology I graduates will take recordings of the band playing the field show music and cut them up by drill moves, adding a voice-over introduction and click-track count off," he explains. "We can help them learn new drills while playing the recordings before the marching band rehearsal. This greatly aids us during the beginning stages of learning the show." A sample copy of a personalized student drill book made in Pyware – what each one of the students uses to learn the drill and carries in each rehearsal – can be found at www.kuzmich.com/SBO012010.

Brian continues, "We use the Marching Techniques video podcast so new students can arrive at band camp with an understanding of the basic marching form. This saves us time during camp to work on more advanced techniques. During the season, we often bring the entire band into the auditorium to review performance video footage and compare it to the Pyware drill simulation, looking for ways to improve our performance. Videos are also uploaded to our Web site for students to review at home."

Drum major Jared Cardenas says, "The high school marching band is a brilliant American tradition, and the fact that we are able to incorporate technology is evolving with the times and won't be halting anytime soon."

Music Tech in Performance Groups
BHS owns a lab pack of Band-in-a-Box. Brian reports that the jazz band director, Emily Stolarski, "will make a use of the software to help students practice improvised solos whenthe marching band is done and jazz ensemble starts. In Symphonic Band, we haven't employed SmartMusic yet, but I have already budgeted for a SmartMusic home subscription for each music student in the school district for next year. At the very least, we will be using it in our practice rooms, but to take full advantage I would like each student to have it at home as well."

Meet the Faculty
Music Tech classes are taught by four faculty members, each with unique backgrounds. Kent Pennell and Brian Timmons teach Music Technology I. The course content includes the history of electronic music, the physics of sound, live sound and recording technology, synthesis, notation software, sequencing and multimedia. There is also a basic piano keyboard skill component. The course syllabus is posted on www.kuzmich.com/SBO012010.

Emily Stolarski teaches Music Theory I, Honors II, and AP III. She uses Auralia for ear training and Sibelius for notated assignments. Students, often work self-paced at the computers to complete assignments. This allows students to take three years of music theory within a single course offering.

Malcolm Couden teaches Beginning Class Piano. He uses workstation keyboard controllers and the Korg GEC3 for instruction and to monitor student learning and progress.

Kent has a master's degree from the University of Illinois in composition, with a strong emphasis in electronic music. Malcolm was a professional opera singer with the Metropolitan Opera in NYC prior to becoming the choir director. Joseph Dubbiosi, the orchestra director and guitar instructor, is a session player on electric bass and violin and gigs frequently in the New York area. Emily, a first-year teacher from Illinois, is a woodwind specialist, assistant band director, and also directs the jazz ensemble. Brian is the school's director of bands, brass specialist, and the coordinator of music education for the school district's seven schools and fourteen music teachers. His undergraduate studies were in classical trumpet performance with music education certification and graduate studies in wind conducting. He also directs the band at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Music Technology Lab Specs
The music tech lab has an impressive array of hardware. Walking into the lab, you would find 16 Intel iMac computers with 20" screens and M-Audio ProKeys Sono 61 USB keyboard controllers with semi-weighted keys (important for piano instruction) and built-in audio interfaces. Each keyboard has a sostenuto pedal for piano class. The lab also has a pair of JBL 4328 Room Correcting Studio Monitors and SmartBoard with an integrated projector arm. Software includes iLife '09, Sibelius 5, Auralia, eMedia Piano, and Band-in-a-Box. Musition for Mac has just been released by the manufacturer, and it will be added to the software package in the near future.

Not Just for Kids
Last year, BHS successfully began to offer a music technology class to adults through their community outreach. The course predominantly uses GarageBand for loop-based sequencing projects, podcasts, or basic recording. The classes typically meets for 90 minutes, once a week, for four weeks. Adult students can enroll as many times as they wish and teachers will tailor the instruction to meet their needs. If students wish to explore another specific area of music technology such as notation software, teachers can help them formulate an independent study arrangement. Brian sees this opportunity to have community stakeholders utilize instructional tools available at the high school as an important step because it boosts overall support of the BHS programs and enriches the learning environment.

Closing Comments
Bergenfield High School has had an impressive performance reputation since the 1950s. Now, through the use of music technology, the school has continued growth and development, even during competitive and challenging times, when academic tests tend to limit the growth of elective programs. The district administration has been instrumental in supporting the creation of this exemplary music lab. Perhaps other districts will see how this school board and administration has supported the lab and be encouraged to follow its fine example.

All videos, PDFs, Web files, and links associated with this article can be found at www.kuzmich.com/sbo012010.