Overview

STEM is better with an “A”! In fact, we believe the “A” is inseparable–it was always there. Production and manufacturing, whether entirely pragmatic or wholly commercial, can not exist without design, and design is an Art.

The TeachRock STEAM chapter examines the connections between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in popular music, and introduces students to many of the theories, practices, and methods regularly used in these fields. Additionally, lessons explore instances where music, science, and advocacy come together to create a better world.

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Lessons

lesson:
The Evolution of Sound Recording

Grades: All Ages, High, Middle
Subjects: CTE, General Music, Science, STEAM

How did multitrack recording technologies enable musicians to create a form of music that could only be realized in the studio?

lesson:
The Birth of the Microphone

Grades: High, Middle
Subjects: CTE, General Music, Science, STEAM

How did the development of microphones in the 20th century change the way people make and listen to music?

lesson:
The Impact of the Electric Guitar

Grades: High, Middle
Subjects: CTE, General Music, Science, STEAM

How did the electrification, amplification and design of the guitar facilitate its emergence as a dominant instrument of popular music?

lesson:
Sound Waves, Analog Synthesis and Popular Culture

Grades: All Ages, AP/Honors/101, Elementary 4-6, High, Middle
Subjects: CTE, General Music, Science, STEAM

How did synthesizers allow musicians to create new sounds and how did those sounds reflect American culture throughout the 20th century?

lesson:
How Records and Radio Shaped American Culture

Grades: High, Middle
Subjects: CTE, General Music, Science, STEAM

How did changes in the technology of record manufacturing effect popular music, radio, and the people who consumed both?

lesson:
Designing Album Covers with Color Theory

Grades: High, Middle
Subjects: Art/Design, CTE, STEAM

What is the science behind color theory, and how is it used in fashion and album cover design?

lesson:
Making Music Videos with a Homemade Projector

Grades: Elementary 4-6, Middle
Subjects: CTE, Science, STEAM

How can one reproduce the effects seen in the music video for Zedd, Maren Morris, and Grey’s song “The Middle” using a homemade projector?

lesson:
Cleaning up the Plastic Beach (Middle School/High School Version)

Grades: High, Middle
Subjects: Art/Design, Science, Social Studies/History, STEAM

How is plastic made, how does it affect our marine environments, and how can plastic waste be eliminated?

lesson:
Cleaning up the Plastic Beach (Elementary School Version)

Grades: Elementary 4-6, Middle
Subjects: Science, STEAM

What is plastic, how is it harmful for the environment, and how can it be used more responsibly?

lesson:
Designing an Electric Guitar with Shapes

Grades: Elementary K-3
Subjects: Art/Design, Math, STEAM

How can shapes be used to design an electric guitar?

lesson:
The Guitar: A Musical Transducer

Grades: Elementary 4-6, Middle
Subjects: CTE, General Music, Science, STEAM

How can the guitar help us understand the scientific principle of transduction?

lesson:
The Science and Civics of the Flint Water Crisis (High School Version)

Grades: High
Subjects: Civics, Science, Social Studies/History, STEAM

What is the Flint water crisis, and why did it occur?

lesson:
The Science and Civics of the Flint Water Crisis (Elementary/Middle School School Version)

Grades: Elementary 4-6, Middle
Subjects: Civics, Science, Social Studies/History, STEAM

What is the Flint water crisis, and why did it occur?

lesson:
What is a Mӧbius Strip?

Grades: Elementary 4-6, Elementary K-3
Subjects: Art/Design, Math, Science

What is a Mӧbius strip, how do you create one, and what can it represent?

Featured Resources

Video

video:
Recording Before Magnetic Tape

STEM is better with an “A”! In fact, we believe the “A” is inseparable--it was always there. Production and manufacturing, whether entirely pragmatic or wholly commercial, can not exist without design, and design is an Art. The TeachRock STEAM chapter examines the connections between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in popular music, and introduces students to many of the theories, practices, and methods regularly used in these fields. Additionally, lessons explore instances where music, science, and advocacy come together to create a better world.

video:
Les Paul & Sound-on-Sound

STEM is better with an “A”! In fact, we believe the “A” is inseparable--it was always there. Production and manufacturing, whether entirely pragmatic or wholly commercial, can not exist without design, and design is an Art. The TeachRock STEAM chapter examines the connections between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in popular music, and introduces students to many of the theories, practices, and methods regularly used in these fields. Additionally, lessons explore instances where music, science, and advocacy come together to create a better world.

video:
Eurythmics & the Home Studio

STEM is better with an “A”! In fact, we believe the “A” is inseparable--it was always there. Production and manufacturing, whether entirely pragmatic or wholly commercial, can not exist without design, and design is an Art. The TeachRock STEAM chapter examines the connections between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in popular music, and introduces students to many of the theories, practices, and methods regularly used in these fields. Additionally, lessons explore instances where music, science, and advocacy come together to create a better world.

video:
Pro Tools and the Digital Audio Workstation

STEM is better with an “A”! In fact, we believe the “A” is inseparable--it was always there. Production and manufacturing, whether entirely pragmatic or wholly commercial, can not exist without design, and design is an Art. The TeachRock STEAM chapter examines the connections between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in popular music, and introduces students to many of the theories, practices, and methods regularly used in these fields. Additionally, lessons explore instances where music, science, and advocacy come together to create a better world.

video:
Frank Sinatra Lifelike Lyrics and the Magic of Audio Capture

STEM is better with an “A”! In fact, we believe the “A” is inseparable--it was always there. Production and manufacturing, whether entirely pragmatic or wholly commercial, can not exist without design, and design is an Art. The TeachRock STEAM chapter examines the connections between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in popular music, and introduces students to many of the theories, practices, and methods regularly used in these fields. Additionally, lessons explore instances where music, science, and advocacy come together to create a better world.

video:
Pre-Microphone Recording, The Microphone and the Rise of the Crooner

STEM is better with an “A”! In fact, we believe the “A” is inseparable--it was always there. Production and manufacturing, whether entirely pragmatic or wholly commercial, can not exist without design, and design is an Art. The TeachRock STEAM chapter examines the connections between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in popular music, and introduces students to many of the theories, practices, and methods regularly used in these fields. Additionally, lessons explore instances where music, science, and advocacy come together to create a better world.

video:
Charlie Christian and the Introduction of the Electric Guitar

STEM is better with an “A”! In fact, we believe the “A” is inseparable--it was always there. Production and manufacturing, whether entirely pragmatic or wholly commercial, can not exist without design, and design is an Art. The TeachRock STEAM chapter examines the connections between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in popular music, and introduces students to many of the theories, practices, and methods regularly used in these fields. Additionally, lessons explore instances where music, science, and advocacy come together to create a better world.

video:
The Development of the Fuzz Tone

STEM is better with an “A”! In fact, we believe the “A” is inseparable--it was always there. Production and manufacturing, whether entirely pragmatic or wholly commercial, can not exist without design, and design is an Art. The TeachRock STEAM chapter examines the connections between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in popular music, and introduces students to many of the theories, practices, and methods regularly used in these fields. Additionally, lessons explore instances where music, science, and advocacy come together to create a better world.

video:
Robert Moog and the Modular Synthesizer

STEM is better with an “A”! In fact, we believe the “A” is inseparable--it was always there. Production and manufacturing, whether entirely pragmatic or wholly commercial, can not exist without design, and design is an Art. The TeachRock STEAM chapter examines the connections between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in popular music, and introduces students to many of the theories, practices, and methods regularly used in these fields. Additionally, lessons explore instances where music, science, and advocacy come together to create a better world.

video:
Leon Theremin Playing the Theremin

STEM is better with an “A”! In fact, we believe the “A” is inseparable--it was always there. Production and manufacturing, whether entirely pragmatic or wholly commercial, can not exist without design, and design is an Art. The TeachRock STEAM chapter examines the connections between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in popular music, and introduces students to many of the theories, practices, and methods regularly used in these fields. Additionally, lessons explore instances where music, science, and advocacy come together to create a better world.