Music In Silicon Valley by Brooke Bet tinger
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A dedication
This book is dedicated to my cats: Nevsky, Oslo, and Millie, who supported me through this project. Photos from top to bottom: The sign in front of Peery Piano Academy; the sign in front of the California Conservatory of Music still bears its old name
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acknowledgements Thank you to everyone who helped with this project! Thank you to Christie Skousen, Robert Miller, and Kristal Barlaan for your insights, interviews, and contribution to our communities. Thank you to Suzanne and Eric Bettinger for driving me to my interviews and giving me advice. Thank you for instilling a love of music in me from a young age. That was pretty important to this project. Raising me was also a nice thing for you to do. Thanks. Thank you to Sarah Bettinger for helping me film at times and helping me edit my book. Thank you to Will Bettinger. I didn’t really ask you for permission to film and take pictures of you for this project, but I assumed it was okay because you’re my brother. I probably should have asked. Thanks for putting up with that. Thank you to the parents of Peery Piano Academy for letting me film their children. Finally, thank you to my partner, Sukie Dakin, for helping me out with all of this.
The exterior of Kristal Barlaan’s harp studio
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Chapter One Chapter two Chapter three Conclusion Works Cited About the Author 6
Table Of Contents
Page Twelve
Page sixteen Page twenty Page twenty four Page twenty six Page Twenty Seven
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Preface For as long as this project has been assigned, I wanted it to be about music. At first, I wanted it to focus only on harp, because that is the instrument I play. I wanted it to focus on combining harp music with pop music. The idea morphed into how to make harp more accessible, which morphed into how instrumental music could be made more accessible. This documentary project, which started in February, has taken immense work and dedication. It was very stressful, but the final product made the process worth it.
Previous page, left to right: the levers on my own harp, the piano at my school. On this page: the strings on my own harp
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introduction personally have lived in Silicon Valley for almost a decade, and I’ve participated in some sort of music program for all of those years. From elementary school choirs to private harp lessons, these lessons and activities have taught me all sorts of important life skills, as well as an outlet that allowed me to express what I was feeling. They helped me learn about hard work, confidence, and creativity. Music programs in schools are being cut, and the prices of taking music lessons outside of a school are too high for many to afford. While in 1982 47% of adults had taken a music class at some point in their lives, while in 2012 only 35.6% of adults had taken a music class. (National Endowment for the Arts) The amount of people who have taken music classes has declined. Additionally, many parents are putting their kids in classes for coding or engineering, as opposed to music. While learning about STEM topics earlier on can help kids once they get into school and eventually when they go to get jobs, they miss out
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on all of the beautiful opportunities music allows. Music is a way of building confidence, work ethic, and determination. It is a way to relax, or express feelings that don’t quite sound right when spoken or written down. It is a way to learn about problem solving. Music is something that teaches valuable lessons that everyone can learn from, and that is why it should be protected and remain accessible to everyone.
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Chapter One
Kristal Barlaan The Harpist ristal Barlaan has been a harp teacher for twelve years. I’ve been a student of hers for about half of that time. She teaches at two studios: one at the San Jose Academy of Music, and at a studio she and her husband built in her backyard, called Angelic Harp Academy. It’s a bit small, but there’s enough room to fit four harps, and the sound always echoes nicely in there. She moved to this studio a few years ago after the birth of her third child; after having to take off time from teaching for maternity leave, she decided it would be better for her to teach closer to home. She often encourages her students to try new things they’re passionate about, such as singing and playing at the same time or trying out songs from movies. Playing a difficult classical piece with Kristal is often rewarded with chocolate or a couple of minutes to work on more fun songs that are less demanding of technique. She is classically trained, but she doesn’t limit herself or her students to exclusively classical music. Kristal owns 4 classical harps, but she purchased an electric harp recently. At a recent lesson of mine, we decided to ignore the plan of learning every detail of a complicated classical piece in an hour, and instead decided to try to figure
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out how to play the electric harp. While I played, she fiddled with the settings until the harp sounded like a guitar. Kristal Barlaan believes that people can learn the harp at any age, but it is vital to introduce kids to music at a young age. She herself discovered the harp when she was young, but she didn’t start until much later. “I was about five I believe when I first saw my first harp. It was at a wedding, and as the story goes, […] I was mesmerized by the harp the whole time and didn’t want to leave it” (Barlaan). Kristal’s parents signed her up for piano lessons after that. Kristal struggled with the instrument, until her piano teacher suggested something new: “Finally when I was eleven, my piano teacher said, ‘I have a great idea. I just met a harpist. Let me recommend to you a harp teacher because you’re never going to be a pianist.’ No, she didn’t say that but that’s what I thought,” Kristal said. Now, years later, Kristal is encouraging young musicians to do what makes them feel talented. Kristal has always lived in the Bay Area, which is a challenging area to live in as a musician. It is a very expensive place to live, and teaching music is a profession that doesn’t make a lot of money for most people. Kristal says that the 13
region has a very academic culture “So we see a lot of parents and students looking to supplement their technology and their academics with music. [...] Here, we see it more as an academic focus, and I think that’s a challenge. As a musician myself, I like to focus on music for music, teaching them the intrinsic value of music, as opposed to just the benefits of music. So I’ve had to learn to speak a new language, adapt to the Silicon Valley Culture of “how is harp educational and how will harp help you as a student and how will harp help you in college [she actually said how will help harp you in college] and in the future.” Kristal has also tried her best to provide ways to learn music for students who wouldn’t normally have been able to afford it. She feels as if because this area is so affluent, the people who are less wealthy are often ignored. She tries to keep her lessons at a price that is reasonable, while also allowing her to provide for her family, and she also gives scholarships to students who can’t afford harp lessons. She has set up string programs at different schools, and has worked to provide awareness of the harp through different events. She believes that people should advocate for music in schools, and should keep fighting to give more kids the opportunity to learn about music. 14
On this page: Kristal tries out her electric harp. On the next page: a glimpse into Kristal’s studio
"Each region has its own culture, and the culture of the bay area is very academic and very technological, so we see a lot of parents and students looking to suppl-ment their technology and their academics with music. If you go to other parts of the area, even other countries, music sometimes comes as more of an intrinsic thing. They learn music for the sake of music. Here, we see it more as an academic focus, and I think that's a challenge. As a musician myself, I like to focus on music for music, teaching them the intrinsic value of music, as opposed to just the benefits of music.� -Kristal Barlaan
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Chapter Two
Robert Miller The music conservatory
obert Miller exemplified many of the qualities that music instills in people. He held some controversial opinions about music and accessibility, and didn’t really think it was a big deal. He was also extremely adamant that he didn’t like classical music when he was young. “When I was young, like in fourth grade, I liked music a lot. I just liked bands like Nirvana, not classical music at all,” Robert Miller said about how he began guitar. “I still remember the day my dad walked around the side of the house with his guitar and I was in the backyard. It was terrible. I thought it was so good, but it was terrible guitar”(Robert Miller). Most musicians admit that although their first instrument is something that is very meaningful to them at the beginning of their musical journey, it is generally a really poor quality version of the instrument they will someday play. It’s usually secondhand and much cheaper than it should be. Robert Miller continued to play the guitar. He started teaching the instrument in college, and then eventually ended up teaching at the Frank Longay School of Guitar. He and another teacher, Christopher Mallet, gained control of the school after Frank Longay died.“Through a series of events, a lot of families from the school and Frank’s family as well, kind of supported us to continue on in his vision, in which we did at first,” he explains,
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“Frank was really all about the Suzuki method of guitar. [...] The idea is that everybody learns their mother tongue naturally and you can apply certain elements that go into that to learning new things, if the kid starts young enough. And we’ve continued that, but when you take over someone else’s business, you find yourself carrying out someone else’s dream or mission. It was great to be able to start with that and it's a component of what we do, but I think it's a little broader than what we strive to do now.” The California Conservatory of Guitar has now morphed into the California Conservatory of Music, which also teaches cello and piano. While teaching guitar is his main priority, he also has other projects. He runs a guitar concert series. He is planning on expanding this project to make music more accessible for children in San Jose. Through his new program, he would give multiple guitars to a local elementary school. Then, teenage students from the California Conservatory of Music would teach the kids how to play the guitar once or twice a week. This program would give kids who wouldn’t have been able to afford music lessons the chance to learn. However, he said that making music more accessible isn’t the biggest concern for him, “I mean this is a school but it's not a charity, and I
On this page: The door of the California Conservatory of Music in Redwood City
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feel like too often musicians and “sensitive types” do this sort of thing where it's like, it's not how most of the world is working, right? I mean as far as this school goes with providing accessibility, we have teachers that can work with kids and in some cases can work with special needs kids. So we really just tried to find great faculty to work with different kids with different backgrounds [...] I was talking to someone about this recently, like it's the idea of ‘Does Harvard make you smarter or do they just take smart people?’ So sometimes there are these studies that find correlations between students who take music lessons and get a higher SAT score. So is it the music lesson or does it come from their socioeconomic backgrounds?” He, too explained the benefits of music, but explained his hesitation about solely focusing on the benefits: “the problem I have with this is that music is always secondary to something else. Like ‘Do music because it will make you smarter or ‘Do music because it will make you a harder worker.’ Why don’t you just do it because it’s a beautiful thing and it's fun and it's somehow a social construct that has lasted centuries. There has to be something there.” He said that usually he doesn’t have to defend music to anyone or explain why music is important, because the people who talk to him are usually trying to take music lessons from him, and so they’re usually already passionate about music and eager to learn.
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"But you know, the problem I have with this is that music is always secondary to something else, Like 'Do music because it will make you smarter or Do music because it will make you a harder worker.' Why don't you just do it because it's a beautiful thing and it's fun and it's somehow a social construct that has lasted centuries. There has to be something there." -Robert Miller Robert MIller teaches a student at the California Conservatory of music. 19
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Chapter three
Christie Skousen pianist
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hristie Skousen has played piano since she was nine had those kids that were really high intensity, conservatory-
years old: “I was very classically and competitively
julliard bound, or just the neighborhood teacher who usually
trained, and piano was my number one, after
had little to no training, as far as being a teacher, and had
school, during school; It took precedence over
just taken lessons themselves. Since there’s no licensing
schoolwork and everything growing up.” She
or training required, it just does very little and it's not
encourages her young students to teach. Her piano school,
standardized. I just feel that every student deserves to have
Peery Piano Academy, has a program in which seventh
the opportunity to learn how to play the piano correctly.”
graders can begin teaching piano.
Music teachers have no requirements or credentials needed
“We call them ‘Practical Guys,’” she says. “They're
in order to teach music privately. If music teachers were
like assistant teachers because we believe that’s one of the
required to meet a set of standards in order to be allowed
ways you learn best, by teaching it. It also keeps that seventh
to teach, it would ensure continuity among music teachers,
grade middle school/high school slump where you can get
and ineffective music teachers could no longer teach. “Right
really busy doing other things and lose motivation to continue
now I’m shifting my focus a little bit from teaching students
on in your instrument. It can keep those students involved,
to teaching teachers because a lot of teachers teach the way
while also keeping its meaning and they can still have a place
they teach because that’s how they were taught. If they knew
to do it even if it's not on a regular basis” (Skousen.)
better, they’d do better so I’m helping them know better,”
However, she doesn’t think that just anyone can teach piano. “What I saw that was missing was you either Christie Skousen teaches a lesson in the church where she teaches piano
she said continued. For the people who can’t afford private lessons, she’s 21
working to make sure they can learn from her too: “So what’s exciting is the internet is one thing that makes it hugely accessible to people. I have an online site called ‘PeeryPiano.com’ where I videotape my whole curriculum, and my students send me videos back. Making it more accessible, I’ve just focused on taking the “magic” out of it, in the sense of I think music can be seen as, ‘I’m talented in this-or not.’ If you really go into the craft, anybody who’s good at anything will tell you it's not just about being talented. They’re very specific on what they’re doing; They’ve mastered their craft. By breaking it down into really small steps, it makes it accessible to anybody who wants to play well.” When I interviewed her, she told me the story of one of her online students, who wouldn’t have had access to music lessons before he discovered online lessons. When she speaks of her students, it is obvious how much she cares about them; Her face lights up, and you can see how proud she is.
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On this page: Christie Skousen at her piano; on the next page: Christie Skousen focusses hard on what she is playing
"Right now I'm shifting my focus a lit tle bit from teaching students to teaching teachers because a lot of teachers teach the way they teach because that's how they were taught. If they knew bet ter, they'd do bet ter so I'm helping them know bet ter.� -Christie Skousen 23
To conclude n the book This is Your Brain on Music, Daniel J. Levitan writes, “What artists and scientists have in common is the ability to live in an open-ended state of interpretation and reinterpretation of the products of our work. The work of artists and scientists is ultimately the pursuit of truth, but members of both camps understand that truth in its very nature is contextual and changeable, dependent on point of view, and that today’s truths become tomorrow’s disproven hypotheses or forgotten objects d’art. [.....] For the artist, the goal of the painting or musical composition is not to convey literal truth, but an aspect of a universal truth that if successful, will continue to move and to touch people even as contexts, societies, and cultures change”(Levitan). The ideas expressed by the interviewees echoed this sentiment throughout my time with them. However, school officials often times do not understand this beauty. Of schools with many students living in poverty, the amount of those schools that offer music programs is declining. From 19992000, one hundred percent of these schools offered music programs. Now that number is only at 81%. (NPR) “Especially in Silicon Valley, you get a lot of affluence, so they don’t talk
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that much about the sections that are not affluent. So I think it’s very important to the community, and socially, and possibly governmentally, school governments or anything, to not lose perspective of making sure lower income students have both academic and musical opportunities. I know that a huge awareness for healthy foods have been in place in the past five to ten years, and I’m hoping that musical awareness will come next,” Kristal Barlaan stated in her interview. To sum it all up, music is powerful. It is a tool that helps kids build confidence, a work ethic, and an outlet to create beautiful art. Music is being threatened. Chances for kids to learn these valuable skills in schools at a more affordable cost are shrinking. We must make sure kids have the chance to learn music by supporting initiatives to keep music in schools. Music is a beautiful thing, and we can’t let it die.
On the next page: Robert Miller’s guitar case
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works cited Barlaan, Kristal. Personal Interview. March 18, 2018
costs-comprehensive-music.
Barlaan, Kristal. Personal Interview, April 21, 2018.
National Endowment for the Arts. “Share of Adults Taking a Music Lesson or Class during Their Lifetime in The United States from 1982 to 2012.” Statista - The Statistics Portal, Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/195460/participation-in music-classes-and-lessons-in-the-us-since-1982/, Accessed 7 May 2018
Brown, Laura Lewis. “The Benefits of Music Education.” PBS, www.pbs.org/parents/education/music-arts/the benefits-of-music-education/. Levitin, Daniel J. “This Is Your Brain on Music: Understanding a Human Obsession.” Atlantic, 2008. Miller, Robert. Personal Interview. March 29, 2018
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NAMM, National Association of Music Merchants. “Study First to Detail the Costs of Comprehensive Music Education.” NAMM.org, 28 Aug. 2012, www namm.org/news/press-releases/study-first-details
Pellegrinelli, Lara. “Music Education In Public Schools Gets A Passing Grade.” NPR, NPR, 6 Apr. 2012, www.npr.org/sections/there cord/2012/04/06/150133858/music-education-in public-schools-gets-a-passing-grade. Skousen, Christie. Personal Interview April 17, 2018.
About the Author Brooke Bettinger is a junior at Los Altos High School. She is studies film at Freestyle Academy. She’s played the harp for eight years, and will hopefully continue. She enjoys listening to music, spending time with her cats, traveling, and reading. She does not enjoy being asked about her plans for college. She someday hopes to visit all seven continents, go to college, and eventually make the world a better place.
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Christie Skousen helps a student practice for an upcoming competition.
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