这么前沿的音乐课 一定要告诉你 启明星双语学校音乐课

　　谈到学习音乐，多数人会首先想到学习演奏乐器。然而，会演奏就真的会用音乐的语言表达自己的情感和内心感受吗？音乐教育的本质是培养只会按照乐谱演奏的乐师还是激发创造力和提高音乐素养？对于不曾接受过任何专业音乐培训的孩子，音乐的殿堂是否注定高不可攀？让我们带您走进启明星独具特色的音乐课堂一起寻找答案。

　　“我觉得自己就像DJ一样酷！”“我们可以创作自己的音乐！”“提到音乐课，我想到的就是‘创意无限’！”

　　同学们你一言我一语地竞相发言，热闹的场面不禁让人好奇，是怎样的课程让他们这样兴致勃勃、创意喷薄？原来，这是一群正要去上音乐课的中学生。充满科技感、趣味性、创造性以及成就感的每节音乐课都让他们期待不已。

　　充满科技感的教学环境

　　随着学生们走进音乐教室，扑面而来最大的感受，就是环境与设备满满的专业感，看起来就像是个专业音乐人的工作室，令人不禁好奇这些神奇的道具，它们将怎样助力学生们发挥自己的音乐才能？

　　据中学音乐老师Bruce Gremo介绍，启明星中学的音乐教室全面适应二十一世纪的教学要求和创意需要，每个学生都使用笔记本电脑来进行学习、调研、创作、赏析以及表演。笔记本电脑不仅仅是乐器，同时也是编曲工具、调研工具。同时，我们也拥有混声器、组合音响等各种器材，来配合我们的音乐教学活动，使音乐教室不仅仅是学习的空间、创作的孵化器，更是一座可以进行即兴和演出的小型live house。

　　8年级学生谭可馨笑着说道：“提到我们的音乐课，我脑中浮现的第一个词就是“科技感”！摆弄起这些电脑、键盘、混声器之类的设备，我就会觉得自己是个很酷的DJ！而且，即便你不一定会演奏某种乐器，也并不妨碍你通过电脑来玩转音乐、创造音乐，Mr Bruce教会我们，所有乐器都可以拿来为你所用，创造你自己的音乐！”

　　同样读8年级的周武正王说，Bruce老师教会我使用Garage Band、MuseScore， 还有VMPK， 令我能够通过丰富的素材库，实现自己的创作自由，写自己的音乐。”

　　扎实全面、因材施教的个性化教学

　　即便在同一个班级里，学生们的音乐基础、能力和学习方式也会千差万别。启明星音乐课程总监兼中学音乐老师Bruce Gremo会根据学生的具体情况给予难易程度不同的音乐作业，以满足学生们多样化的需求，而不是一刀切地向学生灌输知识。对于基础和能力较强的学生，Bruce老师不但会给予他们更具挑战性的任务，还会让他们组织小组创作，从而在学习音乐的同时也培养了领导力。这一独特的教学模式既呵护了学生的自信心，又令学生们通过适宜的挑战，敢于走出舒适圈，有兴趣做更多的尝试，加快成长的步伐。

　　周武正王介绍说，Bruce老师对于不同程度学生的教学非常有灵活性，他的课堂总是能令所有同学都有所收获，无论他们当前的水平如何。

　　同一年级的李英说：“Bruce老师会给予我们一对一的辅导。我私下尝试写过一些乐曲旋律，当然那只是一些很幼稚的尝试。在Bruce老师的鼓励和帮助下，我找到了多种方式去令作品更加成熟和完善。”

　　与其他学科的交叉

　　音乐课堂绝不只是一个孤立的学科，更是在与校园里的其他学科发生着有机的互动，它与数学、语文、历史、美术、自然科学等学科都有着天然直接的内在联系。学习音乐不仅能够发展完整的人格，更会与其他学科彼此促进，相互补充，培养学生从不同角度理解和解决问题的能力。

　　比如，9年级学生庄子墨特别提到，他们在音乐课上分析贝多芬的作品，了解他当时所处的时代背景对其创作产生的影响。刚好她当时在中文课上也正在学习关于贝多芬的内容，这令她有机会将同一主题人物在不同学科背景下进行全面的了解，她在语文课上非常用心地去了解了贝多芬当时所处的社会环境，这令她在音乐课赏析单元的学习中，更能深刻理解贝多芬想要表达的特定主题。

　　据Bruce老师介绍，在音乐课堂上，学生们不仅仅是简单地谈论乐谱，更是就频率、振幅、频宽等领域展开学习，有的甚至与科学课程建立联系。一个个科学概念不再只是书本上艰涩难懂的术语，而是学生们切实在音乐课上的实践。

　　“音乐课让我更加热爱音乐了！”

　　热情是会传染的！Bruce老师对于音乐的激情和热爱，通过言传身教，深深感染了学生们。他独特的教学方法使得每一个学生，不论音乐基础如何，都对音乐学习产生了浓厚的兴趣。

　　有同学表示，“Bruce老师不仅热爱音乐，更是深深地热爱教学和学生们，他的激情就像他的课堂本身一样具有感染力，令我们不但喜欢上音乐课，而且深刻感受到了音乐带来的乐趣。”

　　李英同学笑着说到， “提到音乐课，我第一个想到的词汇就是“创造性”。我们每次的作曲练习，都是一次创作的狂欢。Bruce老师从来不会简单粗暴地比较两个学生作品哪个更好，哪个更差，而是让我们从每个人的作品中，找出我们可以借鉴学习或注意改善的地方，我觉得这真是很好的学习方式。”

　　在聊天中，周武正王同学告诉我们，“Bruce老师让我们认识到，音乐是很多元的，不只是歌曲或乐器那么简单。他的音乐课教会了我很多新的倾听的方式，让我们对声音更加敏感，发掘出更多生活中的音乐元素，在音乐创作中有了更多的灵感。而且，他总是肯定我们的进步和成果，让我们对自己的能力更自信，通过各种即兴和演出，让我们发现自己的优势和进步空间，进而有动力继续发挥更好的水平。”

　　除了丰富多彩的音乐课，启明星还有各种活动可以展示学生们的音乐才能。周武正王同学在去年的“启明星达人秀”上，以自己创作的一首说唱歌曲，技惊四座，给大家带来无比的惊喜。

　　启明星的音乐课专注于审美体验、情感表达和即兴创作。是既彰显个性又倡导协作的综合性平台。课程内容的设置紧扣IB学习者培养目标，创作、即兴、演出，都在相当程度上锻炼了学生们的组织能力、领导力、合作精神和创造性解决问题的能力。

　　我们要培养的是面对无论什么样的音乐作品，都有储备、有胸怀、有情致、有耳力，懂赏析又能亲自操刀作曲的创意人才，即便他们未来不一定以音乐为志业，这样的审美储备也会发展学生完整的人格，加深对世界的观察和感受，理解和体验生活的快乐，发现美、珍惜美，不仅令他们本身成为具有韧性和灵活性、情感丰富、心智健康的公民，更是为社会的文明传承和发展，提供绵延不断的艺术张力和活力。

　　中学部音乐课程负责人   

　　Bruce Gremo

　　Bruce Gremo是一位作曲家、电脑音乐制作家及长笛演奏家。他于2013年在启明星开创了新的音乐课程：Found Sound Ensemble，并一直负责启明星的音乐项目至今。他曾在全球很多重要场合和庆典中表演独奏。多年来，他一直是国际知名管弦乐团及剧团的特约独奏家。在来到北京之前，他曾在纽约担任过20多年的自由音乐人。

　　When it comes to learning music， most people instinctively think of learning to play a musical instrument。 However， does the ability to play a musical instrument automatically translate into the ability to express your emotions and feelings in the language of music？ Is the essence of music education to produce musicians who can only play from a score or stimulate creativity and improve musical literacy？ For children with little music background， is music destined to be something unfathomable and unattainable？ Let’s step into a unique music classroom at Daystar Academy to find out。

　　“I feel like a cool DJ！” “We can create our own music！” “Speaking of our music program， the first word that comes to my mind is ‘Creative’！”

　　We’re with a group of secondary school students who are heading to their music class。 And we’re immediately impressed by their anticipation and zeal。 The students enthusiastically shared their impression of the music program， and the lively scene makes people curious。 What is it about the program that makes them look forward to each session with such anticipation and leave them wanting more？ It did not take us long to learn from their conversation that the music class combines technology， fun， and creativity in an engaging and meaningful way， and students can’t wait to have another session of it。 

　　21 century music classroom

　　We walked into the music classroom with the students and immediately found ourselves greeted by an array of smart-looking equipment and gadgets that remind you of an actual music studio。 One couldn’t help but wonder how this arsenal of music tools would help students work wonders and develop their musical talent。 

　　According to Mr Bruce Gremo， Head of secondary school music program， our 21st century music classroom is basically a computer music lab。 Computers serve as performance instruments， composition workplaces， and listening and research tools。 The music classroom is equipped with sound systems， mixers， and all kinds of equipment that facilitate musical activities。

　　“Speaking of our music program， the first word that comes to my mind is ‘technology’。  With all those mixers， keyboards， wires， laptops， I feel like a cool DJ！ Mr。 Bruce has taught us how to use the instrument electronically so that you can play with music even if you don’t necessarily know how to play a musical instrument。 You can still use the sound of the instruments to create your own piece of music。” Said Katelyn Tan， Grade 8 student at Daystar Academy。 

　　Jack Zhou， another Grade 8 student with Daystar Academy， said that Mr Bruce had taught him to use software like Garage Band， MuseScore， and VMPK， so he has a great source of materials at his disposal to create his own music。 

　　Rigorous， personalized music program

　　Even within the same class， students‘ backgrounds and abilities can vary greatly。 Mr Bruce Gremo， Head of Secondary School Music Program， will give students differentiated assignments that are tailored to the individual student， rather than treating them with a one-size-fits-all approach。 For students who are ahead of the curve， Mr Bruce will give them challenging assignments， and have them form small groups to create music and develop leadership skills at the same time。 This unique approach not only boosts students’ confidence but also allows them opportunities to step out of their comfort zone with appropriate challenges。 

　　According to Jack， Mr Bruce has a lot of flexibility in customizing to accommodate students of different levels。 He makes sure every student walks away from the class a bit stronger than before， no matter what their starting point is。 

　　“Mr Bruce always gives us one-on-one time so he can help us better understand what we don’t understand and tell us what we could do better or improve on。 When we were learning melodies， I secretly started to make my own melodies， they weren’t perfect， of course， but then once I reviewed them with Mr Bruce， he told me how to work it out and improve it。 That was a really nice experience。” Said Chloe Li， Grade 8。

　　Cross-Disciplinary Approach

　　Music is not just an isolated subject。 It has its intrinsic connections with other subjects in our curriculum， such as math， language arts， history， visual arts， and natural sciences， and make interaction with these subjects possible。 Not only does the study of music develop the whole person， but it complements the learning and understanding of other disciplines as well， fostering the ability to understand and solve problems from various perspectives。

　　An example to illustrate this point was shared by Zimo Zhuang， Grade 9 student when she mentioned how during music class they were learning about the background of Beethoven and how it impacted his music， and how she related to her Chinese class because they were learning about Beethoven as well， so that she could relate and make connections。 She was able to look at the situation Beethoven was in at that time and what he was trying to express。 And this， in turn， has enriched her understanding of Beethoven’s work in music class。 

　　According to Mr Bruce， the program is interdisciplinary in a couple of ways。 The music and art classes are linked。 There are direct ways in which we can interact。 For instance， one of the ways we can interact is to listen to orchestra pieces by making graphic notations。 It’s a different way of notating the music from the traditional staff notation。 So the graphic overlaps with things that happen in the art class。 Another way in which it is interdisciplinary is with respect to one of our unique aspects that is called sound-based pedagogy。 Every sound can be musical， and as soon as you say that， you need a new vocabulary and new ways of exposing students to it and teaching it。 And one way is through science。 So rather than talking about Do Re Mi， we talk more about frequency， amplitude， and bandwidth。 

　　Our music program has made me fall in love with music！ 

　　Passion is contagious。 Mr Bruce is not only passionate about music but also enthusiastic about teaching。 His unique approach to teaching makes every student， regardless of their musical background， become interested in learning music。

　　One student said what when he was in public school， the teachers there didn’t treat music as really important class。 They were just teaching the students like robots。 They didn’t love music， so they couldn’t teach with passion。 But at Daystar， Mr Bruce has his own passion about music and he loves the students， too。  So he’s providing us more chance to be a better self。 There are so many things that you can do with music that I didn’t know before。  Since I came to Daystar， it’s definitely grown my love of music。

　　Speaking of the music program， the first word that came to Chole’s mind was “innovative”。 She also added that she enjoys the music composition very much because it involves a lot of innovation。 And with Mr Bruce， he never compares two pieces to see which is better。 He always finds something that you can learn from each other。 To Chloe， that is a very nice way to learn。

　　In addition to our innovative and creative music program， Daystar also has a variety of activities to showcase students’ musical talents。 Jack Zhou， the Grade 8 student we interviewed， delighted everyone at last year‘s “Daystar’s Got Talent” show with a song that he wrote and performed。 In our chat he told us， “Mr Bruce made us realize that there’s so much more to music than just songs or instruments。 He introduced us to new ways of listening。 And we’re more sensitive to the music in life， which would otherwise fall on deaf ears。 He likes to use improvisation as a way to find out our weakness and strength。 And he always recognizes our progress and achievement so that we feel motivated to be even better。 And the opportunities like these to showcase my music makes me feel more connected with the community。”

　　The music program at Daystar Academy develops intelligent listening and music literacy through exposure to numerous musical cultures and the activities of ear training， composition， improvisation， and performance。 It celebrates individuality and creativity and promotes collaboration。 The learner outcomes are in line with those of the IB framework - highly functional adults who are critical thinkers， effective communicators， and spontaneous problem-solvers。 I wish that I had a fun， tailor-made， inspiring music program like this back in my school days！ 

　　Bruce Gremo

　　Head of Secondary School Music Program 

　　Bruce Gremo is a composer， computer musician and flutist who has been developing Daystar Academy’s music program since 2013 when he formed the first “Found Sound Ensemble”。 He has performed as soloist in major venues and festivals around the world and has been featured soloist with internationally renowned orchestras and ensembles。 Before coming to Beijing， he was based in NYC where he freelanced in the music world for 20 years。