Biography

Barry R. Hill, D.Ed.
Professor of Music
Director, Music Recording Technology Program
Director, Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning
Lebanon Valley College of Pennsylvania

Dr. Hill is professor of music and director of the Music Recording Technology Degree Program at Lebanon Valley College of Pennsylvania. He is responsible for developing curriculum, teaching courses in the areas of recording and music business, developing and maintaining multi-room recording studio facilities, and advising nearly eighty students in this unique four-year liberal arts program. Prior to this position he created a similar program at Elizabeth City State University, developing a curricular program and state-of-the-art facilities that reflect practices in the music industry.

Along with his experience in developing and teaching academic programs he has various areas of experience in the industry. As a recording engineer, he has a long list of album credits, including several national chart-placing singles. A member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and the Audio Engineering Society, his knowledge of music technology has been utilized for recording productions, concert performances, theater sound design, theme park shows, system installations, workshops, and seminars.

His current research interests and publications involve instructional design and learning theories, finding ways to make learning more meaningful and effective. This affects how courses are designed and delivered while guiding development of specialized resources used in class. He is currently engaged in studies on mental models of recording engineering designed to reveal how experts approach audio recording, thus informing the instructional design of audio recording degree programs. Information on mental models and how they are applied in education can be found at his website www.mentalmodelassessment.org.

Learning Recording Engineering: Fundamental concepts and operations is a textbook and audio CD set designed to teach recording practices in the studio. This is not a “Pro Tools for Dummies” type of book. There are no true audio instructional texts available commercially that make sense from a human learning theory orientation. This text is specifically designed to help novices learn and understand principles of recording systems and operations that allow them to quickly learn and use any type of technology they encounter down the road.

His intense interest in human learning and developing effective instructional environments has led to the development of the College’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. As director of the Center, Dr. Hill oversees seminars, faculty forums, grants, and the development of resources that can aid faculty in better understanding how students learn. 

An advocate for improving the school music experiences for students ages K-12, he teaches a graduate course entitled Psychology of Music Teaching and Learning for the Master’s of Music Education program at LVC. This course focuses on applying what we know about human learning to the field of music education, giving school music teachers the opportunity to re-think how they approach their classes and students.

Dr. Hill holds degrees in Instructional Design from The Pennsylvania State University, Music Technology and Interactive Media from New York University, and Music with Recording Arts from the University of North Carolina Asheville. An accomplished pianist, he has performed in numerous capacities including symphony performances, solo competitions, theme park shows, and various bands and ensembles. He currently serves as pianist, worship music director, and sound consultant for his church.