TEaching Music

Leonard Bernstein, ( 1918-1990), American conductor, composer, and pianist noted for his accomplishments in both classical and popular music, for his flamboyant conducting style, and for his pedagogic flair, especially in concerts for young people.

Bernstein played piano from age 10. He attended Boston Latin School; Harvard University (A.B., 1939), where he took courses in music theory with Arthur Tillman Merritt and counterpoint with Walter Piston; the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia (1939–41), where he studied conducting with Fritz Reiner and orchestration with Randall Thompson; and the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood, Massachusetts, where he studied conducting with Serge Koussevitzky. 

In 1943 Bernstein was appointed assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic; the first signal of his forthcoming success came on November 14, 1943, when he was summoned unexpectedly to substitute for the conductor Bruno Walter. His technical self-assurance under difficult circumstances and his interpretive excellence made an immediate impression and marked the beginning of a brilliant career. He subsequently conducted the New York City Center orchestra (1945–47) and appeared as guest conductor in the United States, Europe, and Israel. 

In 1953 he became the first American to conduct at La Scala in Milan. From 1958 to 1969 Bernstein was conductor and musical director of the New York Philharmonic, becoming the first American-born holder of those posts. With this orchestra he made several international tours in Latin America, Europe, the Soviet Union, and Japan. His popularity increased through his appearances not only as conductor and pianist but also as a commentator and entertainer. Bernstein explained classical music to young listeners on such television shows as Omnibus and Young People’s Concerts. After 1969 he continued to write music and to perform as a guest conductor with several symphonies throughout the world.

As a composer Bernstein made skillful use of diverse elements ranging from biblical themes, as in the Symphony No. 1 (1942; also called Jeremiah) and the Chichester Psalms (1965); to jazz rhythms, as in the Symphony No. 2 (1949; The Age of Anxiety), as in the Symphony No. 3 (1963; Kaddish). His best-known works are the musicals On the Town (1944; filmed 1949), Wonderful Town (1953; filmed 1958), Candide (1956), and the very popular West Side Story (1957; filmed 1961), written in collaboration with Stephen Sondheim and Jerome Robbins. He also wrote the scores for the ballets Fancy Free (1944), Facsimile (1946), and Dybbuk (1974), and he composed the music for the film On the Waterfront (1954), for which he received an Academy Award nomination. His Mass, written especially the occasion, was performed at the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., in September 1971. 

In 1989 he conducted two historic performances of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor (1824; Choral), which were held in East and West Berlin to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall. 

Bernstein published a collection of lectures, The Joy of Music (1959); Young People’s Concerts, for Reading and Listening (1962, revised edition 1970); The Infinite Variety of Music (1966); and The Unanswered Question (1976), taken from his Charles Eliot Norton lectures at Harvard University (1973).

Undoubtedly one of the most gifted teachers of the past century, Bernstein still serves as a model of teaching by effectively communicating his passion for his discipline. An analysis of the Bernstein Method may provide further insight into what is possible in our own classrooms. It will feature a teacher/student-centric hybrid approach (because it is delivered via television) combined with a scaffolding methodology that utilizes some of the best examples of chunking we have seen. But perhaps the most potent of all his methodologies was his ability to gauge student understanding by generating formative assessment opportunities in challenging circumstances. His built-in checks for understanding, in the interactive lecture format his of his Young People’s Concerts, are extraordinary 

"I think you have done a good job of elucidating Bernstein’s teaching method and the vital role music education can play in developing the ability to listen actively."  

-Marie Carter, The Leonard Bernstein Office

A Passion for Teaching; Music in our Schools; Emerging Patterns; Observing Aesthetics; The Bernstein Method: Bernstein Strategy #1: Begin and End with Demonstration; Bernstein Strategy #2: Teach Active Listening; Bernstein Strategy #3: Focus on Formative Assessment; Bernstein Strategy #4: Teach Students to Self-correct; Bernstein Strategy #5: State the Objective in the Form of a Question; Bernstein Strategy #6: Answer the Question in Stages; Bernstein Strategy #7: Use the Deductive Method to Introduce Concepts; Bernstein Strategy #8: Use Figurative Language to Clarify Abstract Ideas; Bernstein Strategy #9: Generate Audience Participation; Summary; Reflection

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