We are excited to introduce Neal Warner, who recently joined the Sound Pudding editorial team! Neal is a versatile music educator with over fifteen years of professional teaching experience across a comprehensive range of learning environments. He earned a Master of Music degree from Wayne State University with a focus on music composition and theory, and is currently a Doctor of Music candidate at the University of Arizona.
ASN: What led you to your DM program at the University of Arizona?
NW: As I was finishing my MM, I looked for a program that would offer both great learning opportunities and a fellowship that wouldn’t feel too inconsequential. I had already spent two years grading someone else’s papers, so I wanted a more influential position within a department. I received a few offers from schools on the east coast, but ultimately decided to pass. At some point well after the normal window of applications and decisions, I saw an email through either ACF (American Composers Forum) or SCI (Society of Composers, Inc.) advertising a position at University of Arizona. I applied right away, as the advertised fellowship involved instructing general education courses and an interdisciplinary course that featured music, dance, and visual art. I ended up being offered the position and accepted after making a trip down to check out the campus.
It helps that I’ve always lived in the northern-midwest and northeast, so the weather here was a major deciding factor – even if we deal with near 110 degree heat this time of year.
ASN: Tell me about the program. What are the basic requirements, courses, expectations for dissertation, etc.?
NW: The program here at Arizona is very diverse. The department has some iconic areas, such as the Pride of Arizona marching band and a very well-known guitar program. But we have successful faculty and students in all areas: jazz, classical, music theory, history, etc.
The doctorate program requires two years of coursework, which I found to be flexible enough that I could take courses tailored to my interests. I ended up doing a lot of additional work in musicology which resulted in a few presentations at AMS and SAM as well as a published paper a few years ago.
The dissertation for composition must be a substantial work of musical art. When Dan Asia was leading the department, I imagine most candidates wrote a symphonic work of some sort. He is a great symphonist and studying with him was extremely beneficial for orchestral writing. He recently retired, and I shifted my own dissertation from a more generic symphonic work to a concerto for orchestra. We are required to write a short paper to accompany the composition, highlighting important decisions and influences during the compositional process. Overall, I find it much kinder than many disciplines, who are required to complete a lot more conventional writing.
ASN: What is the music “scene” like in Tucson (connected to UA or not)? Who are some people doing interesting work?
NW: Tucson is a unique place. The city feels relatively small, but in truth, there’s over a million people here. The music scene is extremely diverse; there’s something for every taste. We do have the University, Arizona Opera, and a professional symphony for the classical minded. There’s also a yearly Broadway tour circuit and plenty of local theatre. There are some larger venues that draw plenty of national touring acts, though you have to drive up to the Phoenix area for arena-sized shows. Some parts of town are littered with country bars, downtown tends to have a more indie/folk vibe, and of course there’s a ton of mariachi and other Latin style ensembles around town daily. It really is a “melting pot” style city, so we are spoiled when it comes to musical diversity. Maybe the one thing we lack is a good hard-rock/metal scene (I grew up a self-proclaimed metal head) but touring acts somewhat make up for the lack of local talent.
I find the TSO (Tucson Symphony Orchestra) does a great job bringing in talent and keeping their programs interesting. They recently had Yo-Yo Ma for a concert, and this upcoming season they have Lang-Lang scheduled for a single show. They still appease the season ticket holders with plenty of the classics, but they have done a great job programming a diverse range of living composers and integrating with the community through events like the Young Composer’s Project.
ASN: I’m curious to know more about your teaching philosophy. I’ll split this in two parts. First, How do you approach teaching lessons. Here’s hypothetical student: I’m in 8th grade and I’ve been playing for 2 years. I also took lessons with someone else last year. Where do we begin?
NW: I’ve been teaching private lessons for just over fifteen years, and I can honestly say my philosophy has changed so much over those years. These days, I try not to take lessons too seriously (unless requested by the client/parent) and keep students focused on a path that leads directly to their expressed goals. So, I’d ask you, young 8th grader: “What do you want to play? What do you want to learn?” I’d take what you want to learn, figure out how far you got with your previous teacher and previous two years of experience, and redirect you on the path towards your goals. Sometimes, students don’t know what they want to learn. They assume the teacher will fill in those blanks for them (in these cases, I follow a standard instructional path until they do know what they want to learn). But often, they are direct and that helps me lesson plan from week to week. I still use many of the traditional, pedagogical techniques that have been a staple of instrumental lessons for years, but shifted to focus on student goals. Not everyone wants to learn the Moonlight Sonata – if we end up playing it along the way as part of our “learning to read sheet music” journey, cool! But a student who is primarily interested in video game music is going to be motivated by that style of music. So that’s what we learn to play.
ASN: How do you approach classroom teaching (structure, activities, feedback, etc.)?
NW: Similar to my private lessons, my classroom teaching style has drastically changed from when I had my first college teaching gig. I give massive credit to the University of Arizona Certificate in College Teaching program. This program, run by the university’s Center for Assessment, Teaching, and Technology, focuses on better practices for faculty and graduate students through evidence-based instruction. Basically, less silent, “pencils up/pencils down” style exams and multiple-choice tests, and more creative solutions for delivering and assessing course content. I typically utilize a generous amount of listening activities, comparisons, and student-collaborate presentations to see which students are truly recognizing the musical elements discussed in class.
One of my favorite assessments occurred in a general education music survey. All students in this course majored in something outside of music. I gave these students an opportunity to create their own graphic scores and invited them to write a short paragraph describing what they believed a musician might interpret from their creations. Many of the submissions were highly descriptive, artistic, and passable as graphic scores made by trained musicians! I hope to revive that assessment in the future and bring performers to the classroom to allow students to hear interpretations of their work.
ASN: Why are you excited to join the Sound Pudding team?
NW: I am extremely excited to join this team and converse with artists from all walks of life. I owe so much of my success and joy in music to practices I learned from others. I look forward to learning even more through this project!
