Fishtown: Making Harmony

Three musicians are standing outside of a recording studio, talking among one other. Guitars and musical equipment are piled nearby. The conversation resembles a chemistry worthy of band members or life-long friends.

But one of them is a teacher, and the other two are students.

As the rehearsal room opens, it’s clear that this is no ordinary classroom. And this is no ordinary music class. There’s an overstuffed couch against one wall and a stage on the opposite end of the room. A drum set takes up most of the stage, leaving room for a few microphones and amplifiers. Daniel Cullen and his students begin to set up the stage and begin tonight’s class.

Cullen stands by his students on the stage, listening to their chord progressions and vocal pitches. His two students, Bill Johnson and Lou Filippone, from the singer/songwriter class are performing Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City.”  The acoustic guitars fill the room with vibrant sound as they play, taking cues from Cullen.

Cullen is taking a different approach to music education. The goal of Cullen’s themed rock band classes is to get his students familiar with the material, and then to play together as a band. “I worked a lot of music schools in the area and I always kind of thought to myself, ‘I can do this a little bit better,’” says Cullen. “There are different points I like to emphasize with teaching that I’m not allowed to at these schools.”

Passionate about his idea, he formed Rawk U in Fall of 2008. “I always wanted to bring that next level of education to the

student,” says Cullen. “I couldn’t do it if I wasn’t working for myself.”

Cullen has the positive attitude that anyone can hope for in a teacher, and it stays with him. “I think that I can teach anybody to play the guitar,” says Cullen. “I’ve never come in contact with someone who I couldn’t teach.”

Cullen’s patience in teaching stems from a background of being in the student’s seat. When he was younger he took about six years of private guitar lessons, and later went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Music education is an important part of American society. It not only teaches individuals how to interact with others but it helps brain function as well. Musicians are constantly changing tempo, tone and rhythm.

According to a 1999 College-Bound Seniors National Report, “Students taking courses in music performance and music appreciation scored higher in the SAT than students with no arts participation.” The U.S. Department of Education even recommends the arts to college-bound high school students.

Cullen has recognized the market for rock music instruction, and his themed classes and expertise have put him ahead of the rest. There are several other schools that teach rock music in the Philadelphia area. The most popular is Paul Green’s School of Rock based in Downingtown that grew in popularity after the aptly named movie was released. But Cullen also teaches the fundamentals.

In addition to the rock band classes, Cullen also teaches guitar individually to students. He currently has 16 individual students, and he teaches the rock classes two or three times a week. This serves as his full time job and he considers himself “one of the lucky ones” who truly enjoys his work. “I try to remind myself almost on a daily basis that I’m lucky and a lot of people don’t really like what they do,” says Cullen. “I feel really lucky to be able to do what I do every day.”

Cullen’s teaching has inspired students to continue with their music outside of the classroom. “The first round of classes I did in the summer, I had two separate classes and they were both classic rock [themed],” says Cullen. “A lot of the guys in the two classes combined into one band and they’re actually still rehearsing right now and playing their own shows. I didn’t really foresee it happening. That was a really cool bonus to see.”

Rawk U puts a different spin on teaching music. Cullen serves his purpose as an instructor, but the end result is the harmony between his student and how they collaborate together as a band. “Typically I’ll be involved to the point where I’m singing backup vocals or the occasional lead vocal,” says Cullen.

Because of this atmosphere, he requires that anyone who joins the class has at least a year of playing experience. “You have to know how to play at least a couple songs on your own,” says Cullen. Though he doesn’t do formal auditions, he finds the beginning of each class a little scary because he doesn’t know each player’s level. “I just have to hope they have an accurate picture of what they can do.”

To keep things interesting, Cullen always has a theme for his rock classes. Currently, he is teaching a Beatles’ class and a Singer/Songwriter class that features songs by artists such as Bob Dylan and Neil Young.

Each class does an end performance at a local venue. Rawk U has performed at the M Room in Fishtown in the past and will be performing at Milkboy in Ardmore on Nov. 19.

Rawk U will be expanding shortly. Cullen is currently looking into moving the school to a studio in Fishtown. “I’d like to up the number of classes that I’m doing eventually to five days a week,” says Cullen. “I just hired a bass teacher, so I’m currently teaching guitar lessons and bass lesson. I want to start teaching drum lessons in the winter as well.” He says the new lessons and expanded number of classes are in the immediate future.