Daniels mixes music with character education program

Steve Moyer/Daily Mail-- Brent Daniels talks brings students into the act as he promotes character education through music, during a program presented at Bronaugh R-7 school on Oct. 12.

Brent Daniels has the kind of job lots of people dream of and few achieve. Daniels is a musician who provides music for movies, television shows and video games. Daniels grew up in Minnesota and moved to Los Angeles 10 years ago. Last year Daniels married and moved to southern Oregon.

"I couldn't do what I do without education," Daniels said. "I never wanted to be a teacher but I do enjoy showing kids how things work."

Daniels was in Bronaugh for character education assembly Friday.

"This is a great group," Daniels said. "I enjoy it when you can have fun while you learn."

Daniels met his wife when she came to audition for his band and found she shared his values.

"It was great meeting someone who shared how I believed," Daniels said. "In L.A. they don't think about character very much and it can be a hard place to live. My wife had family in Oregon so we moved there and the values are closer to what I grew up with."

Daniels said that the equipment had changed a bit since he started but it was basically the same.

"I'm using some of the same kind of equipment I was using in 1993 but the concepts are the same," Daniels said. "Computers have gotten more user friendly and cheaper but it's not that much different."

During the course of his presentation, Daniels in-volved audience members in making a part of a school song. For example, students and teachers spoke into the microphone while Daniels altered the sounds to use in the song he created.

One student vocally imitated some hip-hop sounds which he altered into drum sounds. Audience claps and foot stomps also became drum notes. He edited a student's phrase, "I like to eat pizza" and to make a musical note. A teacher's monkey sounds -- "ooh ooh aah aah eeh eeh eeh" -- were left pretty much alone, although he did change the pitch. After sampling the voices and altering them to fit together Daniels produced a loop, a repeating portion of a song. Daniels also urged audience members to come up and dance to the final result, which all members of the audience seemed to enjoy.

Before ending his presentation Daniels brought the subject back around to character, and its importance in dealing with others.

"Good character is important, everything you do, everything you accomplish, is determined by your character," Daniels said.