Get Up, Stand Up! Higher Order Thinking in Popular Music Studies

Many popular music textbooks place music and the artists who create it in historical context. In an educational setting, this presentation format begs the question "how does one assess learning?" Since readers are asked to learn a basic biography for seminal artists, the most straightforward answer involves remembering information for recall. This approach places emphasis on rote memorization and is in variance with movements in higher education emphasizing higher order thinking skills like critical thinking, analysis, and creation. "Get Up, Stand Up!", establishes a methodology for the analysis and creation of popular music suitable for a general education learning community. In lieu of traditional exams, learners contextualize sound production and dissect musical form and lyrical conventions. Classroom resources focus on authentic learning. Learners demonstrate mastery of concepts related to popular music study by using free or inexpensive software to create original beats, hooks, and complete songs referencing important and influential popular music conventions.

Dr. Mark Elliot Bergman is the Director of Strings at Sheridan College in Sheridan, Wyoming. Dr. Bergman's varied performance career includes principal appointments with professional symphony orchestras in the United States and South America as well as extensive work with jazz, folk, and rock groups.