Nathan Baker

Professor of music theory, composition, and low brass at Casper College in Wyoming; I also love to cook and play games.

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

"I've Decided to Marry You" from A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder; Freddie Hubbard's Red Clay; Mahler II mvt. 4; and the quirky little music heard when booting up the good old Nintendo GameCube.

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

Sophomore theory poster day! Every time we do one of these, I am impressed at the variety of contexts the sophomores are able to apply their two years of music-theoretical learning to:

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

Theory ped people are the best people! Loved the conference (and will watch the recorded sessions when I get home), and I look forward to seeing everyone again in two years. #pip2022msu

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

So many great ideas from inspiring colleagues the past two days! Can't wait to get home and work them into my course designs. Best cure possible for the pandemic burnout I've struggled with the past couple years. #pip2022msu

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

Checked in and excited for a fantastic three days with my people! The Pedagogy into Practice conferences are always a great time. #pip2022msu

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

So happy to complete the flight, having survived the cancelation/rebooking I found out about last night, computer issues that required me to check in at every counter, standby in Kansas City, and making a tight connection in Detroit. Excited for the conference, though! #mtped22

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

Great chance for a discount on one of the best family games around (especially if you like fantasy)! @Kickstarter https://t.co/sOrjHkO7EY #QuestKids

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

Told kids to go to sleep fast before we miss Santa like we missed the trash. High-fives on fastest bedtime ever. After a few minutes, 4yo calls out for us in a panicky voice. I check, she tells me that Mommy and I need to get in bed quick before Santa comes! Well-played, 4yo....

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

I continue to be impressed at how students, when given the opportunity to pick their own final grades, almost always give themselves the grade that I would have if I still assigned the final grades. Sometimes they UNDERRATE themselves, at which point we negotiate a higher grade.

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

(For those of you not aware, this year I am starting the theory sequence with a semester of pop/rock, then a semester of jazz, then a year of classical. I can say this is by far the most fun I've ever had teaching freshman theory, and I'm getting the most student engagement!)

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

Huge teaching success today: we spent the class period listening to different rock/pop drummers and comparing their timbres and beat patterns. My (minority) drummer was excited and told me how much he appreciated my including what he does in theory. Funnest first semester ever!

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

@oharatheorem I'd be happy to chat with your students (I fondly remember teaching my own summer Video Game Music course as a grad student at Oregon). My main focus has been on music from the NES/Genesis/SNES era, along with some later stuff by Uematsu and Kondo.

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

@SongAppeal That said, much of what currently passes for music theory teaching in the U.S. doesn't actually do this very well....

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

@SongAppeal I compare (good) training in music theory to teaching you how to speak and comprehend the language of music rather than merely being able to pronounce it. Having studied video game music, I can pronounce Japanese, but any speaker would instantly tell I don't know what I'm saying.

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

During the pandemic last spring, I adopted the practice of having students assign their own grades at the end of the semester. I continued that practice while teaching in person this year. I am impressed with the honesty and ownership my students show when grading themselves.

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

@BenGeyer I always appreciate hearing from a fellow academic with ADHD and occasional depression. Teaching live during the pandemic for the past year has been rough for me. #solidarity

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

@robhaskins Absolutely (as can anyone else interested)! [email protected]

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

I decided recently that I want to: 1. start with where my students are at; 2. decolonize the curriculum a bit. My redesigned theory sequence will start with world musics and rock, then jazz, then classical in the second year (still debating what to include from the 20th century).

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

That last adjustment, however, will necessitate adding a section of freshman theory. Let's see if I can convince the administration that the benefit to students outweighs the cost of me teaching another section each semester.

[Nathan Baker @WyoTheorist]

I also want to move the "written" theory portion into the keyboard lab where students can feel chord voicings and progressions, improvise, and work hands-on with MIDI and DAW software. A return to practice over theory, if you will (read ch. 22 of Gjerdingen's latest book).