Benjamin Helton
Acting coordinator of undergraduate studies at Case Western Reserve University
Assistant professor in Department of Music at College of Arts and Sciences
Director of Spartan Marching Band
Area of focus: Studying how cultural experiences shape how people learn and understand music
As a child, Benjamin Helton always embraced opportunities to stand out—an approach that led him to learn to play his first instrument: the tuba. Drawn by its sound, Helton dedicated his life to music education and performance.
Today, Helton combines his love of playing and teaching music while studying what happens in the brain when individuals listen to, perform or even think about music.
Trained in the classical tradition–music often characterized by its emphasis on balance, clarity, and structure—part of Helton’s research focuses on enculturated pedagogy, a way of teaching that considers how culture and personal experiences shape the cognitive abilities of the learner.
Using this approach, he hopes to help music teachers better understand how to teach students unfamiliar with certain musical traditions by working with cultural insiders (those raised in certain musical traditions) and outsiders (those who try to learn one later in life) to explore:
- How an insider teaches another insider (like when someone from the Caribbean teaches another person from their hometown how to play steel or conga drums);
- How an insider teaches an outsider (such as a native of Latin America teaching someone from the Middle East salsa and bachata); and
- How an outsider teaches other outsiders (like a teacher born and raised in Cleveland learning string instrument techniques while traveling to India and then going to a school in Parma to teach those traditions).
“A lot of the time, students come to classes with deep musical experiences that likely don’t resemble the classic traditions of some classrooms,” said Helton. “So a teacher trained in a Western classical way, which is how most music schools prepare teachers, may need to shift their pedagogies to help students feel more welcome.”
Beyond campus, Helton prioritizes making time to stay actively engaged as a musician—whether performing with the Cleveland Winds, jamming to heavy metal, or demonstrating his skills with the bassoon and bass guitar.
“It’s one thing to teach others how to love music, but I can never neglect my own musicianship,” he said.