Dr. Kenneth Klaus of Nicholls State University recently answered the call from VH1 to add a little Dave Matthews to the mix in lesson plans for America’s high school students.

Klaus’ regular duties as a professor of music and director of choral activities include schooling the voices of choral students at Nicholls. His latest project, however, allowed him to branch out a bit. Klaus wrote a set of three lesson plans for the “Storytellers” series that airs on cable television’s VH1, in conjunction with MENC: The National Association for Music Education. Music teachers across the nation record the “Storytellers” program and use the accompanying lesson plans in their classes. The program on the Dave Matthews Band aired Feb. 7.

Klaus was selected from a pool of applicants, all members of MENC, an organization Klaus has belonged to for 25 years.

“I was told that the program would be about the Dave Matthews Band, which was fine with me because I enjoy their eclectic mix of musical styles,” he said.

His three lesson plans, prepared for students in grades seven through 12, introduced students to the types of musical instruments used by the band, the techniques used to produce musical sound on the instruments, musical styles employed by the band, the functions of parts of songs, artistic elements used by the band and the meaning of the song lyrics and how they are presented. By the end of the three-part series, students were asked to decide what the term “art” means to them and were expected to have a rudimentary understanding of the relationship between music and other means of artistic expression.