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The Potential of StyleSwaps in Music Education

While looking up some info on Post Malone’s Better Now I came across Simon De Witt’s (AKA Blanks) 80s Version of Better Now. Here are both versions:


StyleSwap(s) and Music Education

De Witt (Banks) refers to his 80s vision of Better Now as a StyleSwap. In fact, Banks has a YouTube Channel of StyleSwaps I’ll post below. Whether you think of a StyleSwap as an arrangement, stylistic transformation, or creative cover or some other concept, from my perspective it has a lot of potential as a form of musical engagement for students in music programs.

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Exploring “Mine” and “7 Rings” Through Public Forensic Musicology

Does Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings” copy Princess Nokia’s “Mine” ? I’m a proponent of music programs inviting students to engage in public forensic musicology or as “musical detectives” as a form of musical engagement and learning. Here’s a recent example of an artist accusing another artist of copying their music. In this case, Princess Nokia is accusing Ariana Grande of copying Nokia’s Mine with Grande’s 7 Rings. Some people are also suggesting that 7 Rings also mimics aspects of flow… Read More »Exploring “Mine” and “7 Rings” Through Public Forensic Musicology

Flow, Beats, & Style – Hip Hop Meets Llama Llama Red Pajama

The Cruz Show on Power 106 Los Angeles has a running segment where MCs rap the children’s book Llama Llama Red Pajama over a beat.   Besides it being fun to hear a children’s book getting some rap treatment, it provides an interesting way to get a sense of how MCs approach flow differently and approach rap with a particular style.  If you are unfamiliar with the artists you might find it worth listening to their other music to get a… Read More »Flow, Beats, & Style – Hip Hop Meets Llama Llama Red Pajama

Popular Music and Music Education Resources

Resources for Popular Music and Music Learning and Teaching These popular music and music education resources can be useful for those engaged in the practice of facilitating engagement and learning with popular music and those engaged in researching aspects of popular music in relation to music learning and teaching. This curated set of resources will always be incomplete, in-process, and ever-growing. Send a message with additional suggestions. Related Posts on this Website Posts & project ideas related to popular music and… Read More »Popular Music and Music Education Resources

Forensic Musicologists in the News Again!

The recent New York Times article The Man Musicians Call When Two Tunes Sound Alike by Alex Marshall provides some well-deserved attention to forensic musicologists and has some great potential for related project work in music programs. Marshall explains how many people “stumble into the profession,” but if we include forensic musicology as a way of engaging musically in K-12 programs, perhaps some young people might see it as a viable career pathway. We sometimes assume that students in music… Read More »Forensic Musicologists in the News Again!