By Chinyere Omeife and Louise Eskina
Recently we had the honor of getting to know the great musical students and teacher Austin McWilliams of the class Whaaaaaaaaaaat, That’s Not Music. This class asks the question, what is music? They learn about different time periods of music, music theory, how to perform/compose music, frequency, pitch, and much more. The class largely covers the 20th century because “In the 20th century, everything exploded. Genres were invented that were completely different from anything that had been conceptualized as music up until that point in human history” said McWilliams.
Austin McWilliams has a clear passion for music that he spreads to his students. Through interactive activities and discussions students begin to have a fuller and deeper understanding of what music is. From music theory to music concepts students will dabble in a large amount of music. By the end of the course students should gain a greater understanding of the concept of music and hopefully gain a greater passion for music. This is a class anyone can hop into and vibe with. Music experience isn’t necessary but is recommended. Though the music terms and terminology may be intimidating, it is indeed a fun class.
To add to the fun, there is a surprising amount of math included in the class. When I asked student Victoria Driver what the class consisted of, she told me the class includes a lot of math. In this class “students use calculators to see different frequencies and how harmonics line up with the fundamental pitch” said Driver. Students also have to compose music and Victoria says her process for composing music is to pull a little inspiration from other pieces and just start working off what she is given.
Jonathan Bass said, “it’s exciting to see the intersection between math and music. The math behind tuning is complex. It consists of multiplying ratios by ratios and finding the relation behind the different tuning systems.” When asked about Austin, Jonathan described him as “bright, amazing, and active. He’s always running around the room singing and he’s a real joy to have [as a teacher].”
Austin McWilliams is clearly a great and loved teacher. All students agree that he exhibits a great passion for not just music, but for his scholars.
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