Going to Oxford High School and into Gary Ashton’s Music Theory and Composition class is a lesson in shattering stereotypes. With a class about music and how it works, one might imagine students playing notes on a piano, listening with the scrutiny of someone trying to crack a safe and then writing the note down on their sheet music.
Instead, the class is one where students are laid back, friendly and jovial. Some even joke around.
If you think it’s because the kids are rowdy or don’t want to learn, you couldn’t be more wrong. The unofficial class motto, ‘Ashton rocks!? says it all.
While it might be far from the easiest class offered at OHS, students love the class and want to learn what they can about music.
Ashton, who’s taught music at OHS for eight years and is in his first year teaching MT&C, usually teaches by using the blackboard or his keyboard. Drawing on the board, Ashton talks to his students about intervals’the musical distance between pitches and the way melodies and chords are built. He then asks different students to define an interval.
As students learn the building blocks of making music, sometimes the results can be amusing. But for students who are in band or have bands of their own or just want to educate themselves in music, MT&C has become a class they enjoy very much.
?[Mr. Ashton] is a lot of fun,? said 15-year-old sophomore Bill Penley of Oxford. He is also in symphonic, jazz and marching band. ‘He teaches in a way that’s entertaining.?
This is the second year in which 16-year-old Oxford sophomore Kim Wilson has taken a class of Ashton’s. Last year, she took both of his guitar classes.
‘Those were really fun,? she said. ‘I like that this class is entertaining but you still learn the fundamentals of music.?
Ashton has taught independently on music theory the past few years, an approach he found didn’t work as well as he would’ve liked since he had a class going on at the same time. Being able to offer MT&C this year by itself as a pilot class is something that he feels is long overdue.
?[Music theory and composition] was the one area of music education we were missing,? he said. ‘We’ve had a great opportunity to perform with bands and choirs. We did a lot of listening in classes but never did any music writing. This class gives students the opportunity to see what a composer does to go about writing music.?
When students approached him with a high interest in taking the class, Ashton pitched the to school administrators. He wrote the curriculum and presented it to the district curriculum committee and then did another presentation to the Oxford School Board for final approval.
Ashton views MT&C as a chance for students to gain a full understanding of music and to not just be locked into the notes from their own instrument or voice. Music theory, he said, addresses how music is built from all the instruments and not just one.
‘It’s not just the linear side, but also the vertical side with the chords and harmony,? Ashton added. ‘It gives insight to what composers do to write music.?
Ashton also uses his background to further educate students on all the areas of music. The son of a classical pianist, Ashton also is a drummer and plays guitar and piano. He also can play the trumpet, clarinet, flute and saxophone.
So far, 30 students have taken the class in the first trimester. In the next two trimesters, Ashton hopes to do advanced placement as independent study for some students that will allow them to continue with MT&C and to be able to take the State of Michigan College Placement Test to earn advanced credits. He also would like to see MT&C offered for all three trimesters; right now, it’s a pilot program to see how well it works.
For some students, learning the principles of music can be a work in progress. ‘Some students didn’t really have a lot of prior knowledge (about music theory),? he explained. ‘Until they get a firm grasp of the basics, it can be overwhelming when they deal with factors for writing music for a full choir.?
Sixteen-year-old Oxford junior Ron Vanston enjoys the class because it helps him learn how to write music.
Aaron Malinowski, a 16-year-old Metamora junior, likes how the class has broadened his range in music. ‘I was confined to guitar and rock and roll,? he said. ‘Now, I’m looking at classical, jazz and blues and all other types of music that come from linear musical theory as well as learning the clefs.?
And, of course, as Malinowski adds: ‘Mr. Ashton rocks hard core.?
For students who plan to major in music at college, such as 17-year-old Oxford senior Shane Price, the class helps them get a head start on what they’ll learn once they finish high school and head off to higher learning. Generally, students like the class because it allows them to have an easy time learning about something they enjoy.
‘Mr. Ashton makes learning [music theory and composition] really easy and it’s a lot of fun,? said 17-year-old Ortonville senior Lindsey Krawciw. ‘You learn about music and that’s what we all love. We learn about something we actually like.?