http://sywtt.com/?p=2247
Above is a link to a very touching post on "So You Want to Teach?" The author explains that he was troubled with the behavior in his classroom but was afraid to discipline the students out of fear that they might think he hated them. After reading scripture, he decided that those who don't discipline their children don't actually love them. He began to reprimand students often but possibly went to the extreme. After reading the book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (which I don't fully understand quite yet) and reading deeper into scripture, he decided that the teacher needs to enforce essential rules without forcing students to fit one specific image of what he believes a student should look. He did discover that many of the students were not following his 3 basic rules for rehearsal behavior: (1) Do not turn and talk to neighbors, (2) Do not talk while the director is working with another section, and (3) try not to play past the stopping point. He encouraged readers to establish a few basic rules that are taught at the beginning of middle school and remain consistent throughout high school. He then warns the reader not to be obsessed with nit-picky annoyances and try to understand that student behavior will never fit one's conception of "perfect behavior" all the time. I thought his advise was sound, and I'll be honest - I really like reading the Bible, and I think it does provide infinite suggestions on how to become a successful teacher. It was cool to see this author tie the scripture into his career.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Blog #25: Reading Reflections for 11/23/2009
Articles Referenced in this Post: “Assistive Technology”
I found the video of Ari using SoundBeam to be inspiring. I am amazed at the technology – turning movement into music instantly. Now that seems like magic. This clearly has fantastic implications to both music education and music therapy. The music which Ari created was beautiful! I would have never assumed he had this creative ability if he had not demonstrated it with SoundBeam. This person is clearly just as able to create music as other students without disabilities but simply needs a medium of expression. Even those with advanced limitations could create music with SoundBeam because the article mentions that even the twitch of an eyebrow could activate the machine. I’m sure that usual classroom activities could utilize this device as well. It might help a teacher incorporate dance into the general music curriculum, for example. I would love the opportunity to try this device sometime.
I know that the IDEA is constantly being built upon and I think that it’s crucial that those with disabilities have the same educational experience as everyone else. All of last year, I volunteered in the music therapy department of the Cleveland Music School Settlement which was an eye-opening experience for me. Several of the clients I worked with were at first unresponsive to instruction and some did not have speech. Upon first meeting these students, I wondered how the therapist was planning to help them accomplish anything. However, as soon as we applied music to their routine they immediately attended to what the teacher/therapist was doing. Music seems to help those with cognitive disabilities focus. The people I worked with were incredibly motivated to pursue the art. As a group, we formed an ensemble, which played and sang compositions using drum set, congas, piano, hand chimes, xylophone, glockenspiel, and voice. Students were able to follow color patterns posted on the board when changing pitches. All of the clients were extremely attentive during the “rehearsals” anticipating the final product.
We also used the program GarageBand with the clients to create music. We utilized a general ABA form and the group actually worked together in order to select loops that sound musically appropriate. We collaborated, which I thought was fairly incredible, considering two of these clients did not even have speech. Sometimes we searched YouTube videos to find examples of different musical styles. I seem to keep mentioning YouTube in all of my posts probably because it seems to have so many applications for the music teacher. GarageBand, though, is very useable for those who have disabilities. I know that not all parents, however, will be able to send children with disabilities to the Cleveland Music School Settlement for this type of training and therapy. Because of this, I think it’s important for educators to seek out resources such as this volunteer opportunity so that they are prepared to help those with special needs who find themselves in our public school classroom. I am convinced that music has tremendous healing power and I look forward to learning more about music therapy and assistive music technology as I begin my profession.
I found the video of Ari using SoundBeam to be inspiring. I am amazed at the technology – turning movement into music instantly. Now that seems like magic. This clearly has fantastic implications to both music education and music therapy. The music which Ari created was beautiful! I would have never assumed he had this creative ability if he had not demonstrated it with SoundBeam. This person is clearly just as able to create music as other students without disabilities but simply needs a medium of expression. Even those with advanced limitations could create music with SoundBeam because the article mentions that even the twitch of an eyebrow could activate the machine. I’m sure that usual classroom activities could utilize this device as well. It might help a teacher incorporate dance into the general music curriculum, for example. I would love the opportunity to try this device sometime.
I know that the IDEA is constantly being built upon and I think that it’s crucial that those with disabilities have the same educational experience as everyone else. All of last year, I volunteered in the music therapy department of the Cleveland Music School Settlement which was an eye-opening experience for me. Several of the clients I worked with were at first unresponsive to instruction and some did not have speech. Upon first meeting these students, I wondered how the therapist was planning to help them accomplish anything. However, as soon as we applied music to their routine they immediately attended to what the teacher/therapist was doing. Music seems to help those with cognitive disabilities focus. The people I worked with were incredibly motivated to pursue the art. As a group, we formed an ensemble, which played and sang compositions using drum set, congas, piano, hand chimes, xylophone, glockenspiel, and voice. Students were able to follow color patterns posted on the board when changing pitches. All of the clients were extremely attentive during the “rehearsals” anticipating the final product.
We also used the program GarageBand with the clients to create music. We utilized a general ABA form and the group actually worked together in order to select loops that sound musically appropriate. We collaborated, which I thought was fairly incredible, considering two of these clients did not even have speech. Sometimes we searched YouTube videos to find examples of different musical styles. I seem to keep mentioning YouTube in all of my posts probably because it seems to have so many applications for the music teacher. GarageBand, though, is very useable for those who have disabilities. I know that not all parents, however, will be able to send children with disabilities to the Cleveland Music School Settlement for this type of training and therapy. Because of this, I think it’s important for educators to seek out resources such as this volunteer opportunity so that they are prepared to help those with special needs who find themselves in our public school classroom. I am convinced that music has tremendous healing power and I look forward to learning more about music therapy and assistive music technology as I begin my profession.
Blog #24: PLN: Flash Cards for Musical Terms
http://www.musicteachersblog.com/2009/11/using-flashcards-in-music-theory-lessons/
The link above will bring you to a post by Janice on the music teacher's blog, which is mainly dedicated to general music teachers. The video in the post is of a teacher using flashcards to help explain the meaning behind musical terms. I think this could be adapted in a number of ways. For example, I believe I once saw a music card matching game in which students had to match composer faces with their specific compositions. This idea might suit a middle school general music class, however. I really liked how the author of the post noted that she frequently peruses YouTube to find teaching strategies. I've been amazed at the resources YouTube provides since studying at Case. It takes a degree of precaution when doing an initial search but often some really helpful videos come-up for the practitioner.
The link above will bring you to a post by Janice on the music teacher's blog, which is mainly dedicated to general music teachers. The video in the post is of a teacher using flashcards to help explain the meaning behind musical terms. I think this could be adapted in a number of ways. For example, I believe I once saw a music card matching game in which students had to match composer faces with their specific compositions. This idea might suit a middle school general music class, however. I really liked how the author of the post noted that she frequently peruses YouTube to find teaching strategies. I've been amazed at the resources YouTube provides since studying at Case. It takes a degree of precaution when doing an initial search but often some really helpful videos come-up for the practitioner.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Blog #23: Reading Reflections for 11/16/2009
Articles referenced in this post: “Key Concepts for Digital Photography” by Barbara
“Digital Citizenship: Addressing Appropriate Technology
Behavior” by Miles S. Ribble & Gerald D. Bailey
“Copyright and Fair Use in the Classroom, on the Internet, and
the World Wide Web” by University of Maryland University College
+ My own experiences using GIMP.
Using GIMP went fairly smoothly. The interface was different than what I expected as the software is now on a newer version than what was used in Atomic Learning. For some reason, I need to double-click on all of the tool bar features before they work. It also took me a few tries to realize that I must manually select an area before using the paint brush or pen tool. The scale feature in GIMP is particularly helpful in resizing images so that I don’t accidentally exaggerate the width without attending to the length.
The article for today’s reading which was most insightful to me was “Digital Citizenship.” In this writing, the authors categorize the abuses which have accompanied the increased use of technology by young people. One of the categories was titled Inappropriate Communication, and in it the authors mention that many poor writing styles and grammatical errors are encouraged through electronic forms of communication such as e-mail and IM. It’s obvious that the way many people write when they’re chatting online or when they need to send a brief e-mail is extremely informal and stylistically incorrect. These errors are easily translated into their school writing assignments. If students today will be using the keyboard as their main mode of written communication, I think it’s important that we teach them to type well. If a teacher sends an e-mail, he/she should use correct writing style to manifest this philosophy. The author also suggests that teachers only “use e-mails in situations where short responses are most appropriate” (p. 8). This is a great suggestion. Because sending an e-mail is such an easy form of communication, it’s not hard for students to “hide” behind them as opposed to discussing difficult matters in person. It’s important that students value personal communication and know that e-mails cannot be used in all situations.
Under Access, the authors mention that some students still do not have computers in their home. This will depend upon what type of school district a teacher is working in but this has been an issue on my mind throughout our course. I don’t think it’s appropriate for teacher’s to assume that everyone in a class owns a computer. The article notes that only 41% of Blacks and Hispanics are able to use computers in their home as of 2003 (p. 8). On the other hand, some students in certain affluent communities have almost too much access to technology. Under Education, the authors mention that students have been found using cell phones or “hand-helds” to receive answers to tests. This is extremely dangerous. Many schools outlaw the use of cell phones in their buildings during school hours. I believe this may be an effective policy because during the school day, a student’s focus should be on the material that’s provided to them by instructors and on personally interacting with their peers. I know that using technology in the classroom is important and that cell phones are another form of technology, but currently there seems to be too many ways in which these devices can become a distraction.
Another serious concern is discussed under Responsibility, at which point the authors explain how easy it is to download illegal music recordings or copyrighted material off of the internet without giving credit to the author. Such tendencies can turn into a terrible problems as most high schools and certainly universities have strict policies when it comes to plagiarism. Resources on the net are readily available, and it’s great that students have access to copious amounts of information; however, it is imperative that students give credit and that they do not put their own name on writing that is not theirs. With the internet now being in many American homes, I think that high schools need to start emphasizing the dangerous consequences that will accompany plagiarism. With that in mind, it was helpful to read the University of Maryland University College’s “Copyright and Fair Use” document. The most important information was towards the end when it explains fair use policies for educators who are preparing classroom instruction. It seems that as long as the material is not copied often or for more than one class, a teacher is legally allowed to download copyrighted information to share with students. I will definitely keep reviewing this website as I go into my first teaching job.
“Digital Citizenship: Addressing Appropriate Technology
Behavior” by Miles S. Ribble & Gerald D. Bailey
“Copyright and Fair Use in the Classroom, on the Internet, and
the World Wide Web” by University of Maryland University College
+ My own experiences using GIMP.
Using GIMP went fairly smoothly. The interface was different than what I expected as the software is now on a newer version than what was used in Atomic Learning. For some reason, I need to double-click on all of the tool bar features before they work. It also took me a few tries to realize that I must manually select an area before using the paint brush or pen tool. The scale feature in GIMP is particularly helpful in resizing images so that I don’t accidentally exaggerate the width without attending to the length.
The article for today’s reading which was most insightful to me was “Digital Citizenship.” In this writing, the authors categorize the abuses which have accompanied the increased use of technology by young people. One of the categories was titled Inappropriate Communication, and in it the authors mention that many poor writing styles and grammatical errors are encouraged through electronic forms of communication such as e-mail and IM. It’s obvious that the way many people write when they’re chatting online or when they need to send a brief e-mail is extremely informal and stylistically incorrect. These errors are easily translated into their school writing assignments. If students today will be using the keyboard as their main mode of written communication, I think it’s important that we teach them to type well. If a teacher sends an e-mail, he/she should use correct writing style to manifest this philosophy. The author also suggests that teachers only “use e-mails in situations where short responses are most appropriate” (p. 8). This is a great suggestion. Because sending an e-mail is such an easy form of communication, it’s not hard for students to “hide” behind them as opposed to discussing difficult matters in person. It’s important that students value personal communication and know that e-mails cannot be used in all situations.
Under Access, the authors mention that some students still do not have computers in their home. This will depend upon what type of school district a teacher is working in but this has been an issue on my mind throughout our course. I don’t think it’s appropriate for teacher’s to assume that everyone in a class owns a computer. The article notes that only 41% of Blacks and Hispanics are able to use computers in their home as of 2003 (p. 8). On the other hand, some students in certain affluent communities have almost too much access to technology. Under Education, the authors mention that students have been found using cell phones or “hand-helds” to receive answers to tests. This is extremely dangerous. Many schools outlaw the use of cell phones in their buildings during school hours. I believe this may be an effective policy because during the school day, a student’s focus should be on the material that’s provided to them by instructors and on personally interacting with their peers. I know that using technology in the classroom is important and that cell phones are another form of technology, but currently there seems to be too many ways in which these devices can become a distraction.
Another serious concern is discussed under Responsibility, at which point the authors explain how easy it is to download illegal music recordings or copyrighted material off of the internet without giving credit to the author. Such tendencies can turn into a terrible problems as most high schools and certainly universities have strict policies when it comes to plagiarism. Resources on the net are readily available, and it’s great that students have access to copious amounts of information; however, it is imperative that students give credit and that they do not put their own name on writing that is not theirs. With the internet now being in many American homes, I think that high schools need to start emphasizing the dangerous consequences that will accompany plagiarism. With that in mind, it was helpful to read the University of Maryland University College’s “Copyright and Fair Use” document. The most important information was towards the end when it explains fair use policies for educators who are preparing classroom instruction. It seems that as long as the material is not copied often or for more than one class, a teacher is legally allowed to download copyrighted information to share with students. I will definitely keep reviewing this website as I go into my first teaching job.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Blog #22: PLN: 85+ Great Web Resources
http://www.soyouwanttoteach.com/some-cool-sites-i-found-in-october/
Wow! Is anyone looking for a few more good websites to bookmark on their Delicious account? This blog offers over 85 new ideas. Most of them are not specifically music related but are helpful for all educators. There is one on using Audacity with students, though. Many of the sites seem to offer advice for young teachers, and others are sites for student use as well. It's a wealth of information considering that many of them are linked to several others, such as "100 Blogs Every New Teacher Should Read." I would love to take a closer look at these resources.
Wow! Is anyone looking for a few more good websites to bookmark on their Delicious account? This blog offers over 85 new ideas. Most of them are not specifically music related but are helpful for all educators. There is one on using Audacity with students, though. Many of the sites seem to offer advice for young teachers, and others are sites for student use as well. It's a wealth of information considering that many of them are linked to several others, such as "100 Blogs Every New Teacher Should Read." I would love to take a closer look at these resources.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Blog #21: Reading Reflections for 11/9/2009
Articles Referenced in this Post: “Using the Internet in the Music Technology Lab” by Dr. William I. Bauer.
“How People Learn (and What Technology Might Have to Do With It)” by Marcy P. Driscoll
“Multimedia Basics: Pictures” by Dr. Estrella Jorgenson
“Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” by Marc Prensky
All of the readings listed above were interesting; however, the article that provokes the most discussion might be Marc Prensky’s. Overall, I really enjoyed what he had to say and found his immigrant/native analogy to be quite accurate. I think I might have been born into a generation that came just slightly (and I mean slightly) before the current “natives,” although most people my age feel much more comfortable using computers and digital technology than I do. I believe that I will be in one of the first wave of teachers to work with the true digital natives. My “foreign” accent is very strong as I attempt to complete assignments with as little technology as possible. I don’t think I am able to take action the way the author has by creating a video game to teach with (I apparently forgot to take that course in college) but the author did convict me that it is important that I try to relate with young people who may have grown-up in a different culture than I did. The bottom line is, I consider it an honor to be able to teach young people, and if adapting technology to my classroom strategies is the most effective way to relate to them, then I will do everything I can to learn to do that.
Similar to how an immigrant never truly feels at home in the new country he/she has traveled to, I guess I always simply feel betrayed by technology as if I’m on the outside. For instance, in attempting to type this blog, the formatting came out different on this Apple computer I’m using so that the top portion is double-spaced. After clicking every possible button I could find on the tool bar and formatting palatte to change this, I finally gave up, realizing I have no idea what the top of this post will look like when I paste it into Blogger. Computers are not something you can reason with so when my grades and professional future are on the line, I prefer not to rely on them. I don’t feel like I speak their language. I’ve seen many presentations fail due to computer problems and I often wonder if it’s really worth the risk. At the very end of his article, Driscoll mentioned that understanding principles of learning must come before implementing technology. I think that teacher education programs must remember this point.
Prensky did note that digital natives often respond best to video games. I do believe that learning can be fun, but I worry about rather or not all education can be restructured into games. I worry that digital natives often simply turn-off their brains when looking at a video game screen. I think that they may resist thinking on a more critical level when going into this mode. When describing the process of creating such an educational video game, the author stated that he hoped to “eliminate any language that even smacked of education.” That’s a strong statement. Is it wrong for children to know that they are attending school for the essential purpose of learning? However, I thought the author’s ideas on creating real-life simulated challenges (similar to games) was great. He believes these will be more engaging for the current digital generation. I think this encourages teachers to be more creative in their planning and to provide students with learning experiences that may be more meaningful. I’ve heard of a WebQuests before and they sound like a great way to relate to our current students. Young people live and breathe the internet. This resource should be utilized by teachers as often as possible. Many students have the internet at home now so assigning WebQuest tasks for after-school work is not unreasonable. The article mentions that some of these Quests can last for a month or more, which would really help students follow an entire unit and provide a capstone experience. I’m looking forward to learning more about how to create one of these.
“How People Learn (and What Technology Might Have to Do With It)” by Marcy P. Driscoll
“Multimedia Basics: Pictures” by Dr. Estrella Jorgenson
“Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” by Marc Prensky
All of the readings listed above were interesting; however, the article that provokes the most discussion might be Marc Prensky’s. Overall, I really enjoyed what he had to say and found his immigrant/native analogy to be quite accurate. I think I might have been born into a generation that came just slightly (and I mean slightly) before the current “natives,” although most people my age feel much more comfortable using computers and digital technology than I do. I believe that I will be in one of the first wave of teachers to work with the true digital natives. My “foreign” accent is very strong as I attempt to complete assignments with as little technology as possible. I don’t think I am able to take action the way the author has by creating a video game to teach with (I apparently forgot to take that course in college) but the author did convict me that it is important that I try to relate with young people who may have grown-up in a different culture than I did. The bottom line is, I consider it an honor to be able to teach young people, and if adapting technology to my classroom strategies is the most effective way to relate to them, then I will do everything I can to learn to do that.
Similar to how an immigrant never truly feels at home in the new country he/she has traveled to, I guess I always simply feel betrayed by technology as if I’m on the outside. For instance, in attempting to type this blog, the formatting came out different on this Apple computer I’m using so that the top portion is double-spaced. After clicking every possible button I could find on the tool bar and formatting palatte to change this, I finally gave up, realizing I have no idea what the top of this post will look like when I paste it into Blogger. Computers are not something you can reason with so when my grades and professional future are on the line, I prefer not to rely on them. I don’t feel like I speak their language. I’ve seen many presentations fail due to computer problems and I often wonder if it’s really worth the risk. At the very end of his article, Driscoll mentioned that understanding principles of learning must come before implementing technology. I think that teacher education programs must remember this point.
Prensky did note that digital natives often respond best to video games. I do believe that learning can be fun, but I worry about rather or not all education can be restructured into games. I worry that digital natives often simply turn-off their brains when looking at a video game screen. I think that they may resist thinking on a more critical level when going into this mode. When describing the process of creating such an educational video game, the author stated that he hoped to “eliminate any language that even smacked of education.” That’s a strong statement. Is it wrong for children to know that they are attending school for the essential purpose of learning? However, I thought the author’s ideas on creating real-life simulated challenges (similar to games) was great. He believes these will be more engaging for the current digital generation. I think this encourages teachers to be more creative in their planning and to provide students with learning experiences that may be more meaningful. I’ve heard of a WebQuests before and they sound like a great way to relate to our current students. Young people live and breathe the internet. This resource should be utilized by teachers as often as possible. Many students have the internet at home now so assigning WebQuest tasks for after-school work is not unreasonable. The article mentions that some of these Quests can last for a month or more, which would really help students follow an entire unit and provide a capstone experience. I’m looking forward to learning more about how to create one of these.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Blog: PLN: Guitar Hero
http://collective.musiced.net/2007/11/13/guitar-hero/
Above is a link to a blog post written by Jenh on "A Music Education Blog Collective." It brings-up the debate as to rather or not Guitar Hero could actually be used in the music classroom. In reference to her last question, I do not believe that playing Guitar Hero could actually count as playing a musical instrument. I've never played the game but my brother stated that it represents "all the vanity of playing guitar without requiring any of the skill." However, I did watch a presentation in the graduate research seminar last semester by a student who observed rather or not students' scores on rhythm tests increased after playing Guitar Hero. Her results concluded that the game could help students learn rhythmic concepts. I believe that there could be benefits of using Guitar Hero in the classroom but only after several modifications have been made. Obviously, the content of the music playing will need to be monitored as some songs may not be school appropriate. Teachers would need to decide exactly what they are planning on teaching through the game and what check points students will need to reach in order to meet those outcomes. Students will also have to see the game as a way of participating in music as opposed to simply becoming a famous rock musician.
Above is a link to a blog post written by Jenh on "A Music Education Blog Collective." It brings-up the debate as to rather or not Guitar Hero could actually be used in the music classroom. In reference to her last question, I do not believe that playing Guitar Hero could actually count as playing a musical instrument. I've never played the game but my brother stated that it represents "all the vanity of playing guitar without requiring any of the skill." However, I did watch a presentation in the graduate research seminar last semester by a student who observed rather or not students' scores on rhythm tests increased after playing Guitar Hero. Her results concluded that the game could help students learn rhythmic concepts. I believe that there could be benefits of using Guitar Hero in the classroom but only after several modifications have been made. Obviously, the content of the music playing will need to be monitored as some songs may not be school appropriate. Teachers would need to decide exactly what they are planning on teaching through the game and what check points students will need to reach in order to meet those outcomes. Students will also have to see the game as a way of participating in music as opposed to simply becoming a famous rock musician.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Blog #19: Reading Reflections for 11/2/2009
Texts referenced in this post: “Mulimedia Basics: Text” & “Multimedia Basics: Sound” byDr. Estrella Jorgenson
“WorldWideWaveForms” by Thad Brown
There were parts of these readings that were comprehensible for a digital immigrant such as myself. Much of the “Text” article by Dr. Jorgenson made sense. I now know what many of the font terms I’ve seen in past mean, such as Sans Serif, Postscript, and TrueType. I understand that a word processing program takes the keys I type and assigns a binary number to it in a language that can be understood by all computers. I was not aware that RTF and HTML were related. I assumed that HTML specifically pertained to websites but this is not the case. HTMLs are word processed documents and I wonder if it’s possible to type reports in the form of HTML as opposed to a Word document. I guess I’m still a little confused on the differences between the various file formats.
I enjoyed reading the “Sound” article as well, which began fairly basic. It described what exactly sound is and how it is picked-up by the human ear vs. how it is picked-up by recording devices. Sound waves are transformed into pictures of the electronic voltage they produce. With cassette tapes, these pictures are printed onto a magnetic tape and the picture is eventually read back by the stereo. However, digital recording is different because they actually assign numbers to the voltage signal and no picture is created. Another term I’ve apparently been confused about is kilohertz, which actually refers to the quality of a recording and not the amplitude. Kiloherz refers to the amount of sound which is being picked-up every second (frames/sec.). The article became slightly too complicated for me after this; however, the author’s overriding point was that recordings of higher quality sound take-up more space.
I was not aware that Apple’s QuickTime was a free application. This software could certainly have many benefits for music educators but I’m looking forward to understanding the technology better. I have enjoyed taping my teaching endeavors since being here at Case but I have struggled to actually post the video clips onto my eportfolio. I was never trained how to do this and I have always had to ask for help from a friend. I wonder, however, if I will have access to the technology that will allow me to post videos online after leaving school (Case). I know I certainly cannot play mini DVs from my own computer. Dr. Jorgenson also suggested that I browse shareware.com which I now intend to do. I was confused, for example, rather or not MoviePlayer was a free application or if it was part of QuickTime or if it was an entirely separate package all together.
Thad Brown’s article discussed how recording software encodes sound. He explained the term which occurs when audio codecs simply eliminate sounds that have the same harmonic content of another, louder sound. It essentially takes away the softer sounds that are “not needed.” This seem alright, but it’s unfortunate that some of my performers might get cut from the performance simply due to the recording process. The subsequent discussion about MP3 files and the use of CBR or VBR was a little confusing but I think my main concern is that whatever sound clips I post on the internet can be heard by any listener who accesses the link, regardless of what type of computer they have. It’s not worth the work of posting the music online if people cannot actually play it. At one point in the article, the author mentioned the HTML code for embedding a sound file. I was excited to realize that I already know how to do that from this week’s tutorial!
“WorldWideWaveForms” by Thad Brown
There were parts of these readings that were comprehensible for a digital immigrant such as myself. Much of the “Text” article by Dr. Jorgenson made sense. I now know what many of the font terms I’ve seen in past mean, such as Sans Serif, Postscript, and TrueType. I understand that a word processing program takes the keys I type and assigns a binary number to it in a language that can be understood by all computers. I was not aware that RTF and HTML were related. I assumed that HTML specifically pertained to websites but this is not the case. HTMLs are word processed documents and I wonder if it’s possible to type reports in the form of HTML as opposed to a Word document. I guess I’m still a little confused on the differences between the various file formats.
I enjoyed reading the “Sound” article as well, which began fairly basic. It described what exactly sound is and how it is picked-up by the human ear vs. how it is picked-up by recording devices. Sound waves are transformed into pictures of the electronic voltage they produce. With cassette tapes, these pictures are printed onto a magnetic tape and the picture is eventually read back by the stereo. However, digital recording is different because they actually assign numbers to the voltage signal and no picture is created. Another term I’ve apparently been confused about is kilohertz, which actually refers to the quality of a recording and not the amplitude. Kiloherz refers to the amount of sound which is being picked-up every second (frames/sec.). The article became slightly too complicated for me after this; however, the author’s overriding point was that recordings of higher quality sound take-up more space.
I was not aware that Apple’s QuickTime was a free application. This software could certainly have many benefits for music educators but I’m looking forward to understanding the technology better. I have enjoyed taping my teaching endeavors since being here at Case but I have struggled to actually post the video clips onto my eportfolio. I was never trained how to do this and I have always had to ask for help from a friend. I wonder, however, if I will have access to the technology that will allow me to post videos online after leaving school (Case). I know I certainly cannot play mini DVs from my own computer. Dr. Jorgenson also suggested that I browse shareware.com which I now intend to do. I was confused, for example, rather or not MoviePlayer was a free application or if it was part of QuickTime or if it was an entirely separate package all together.
Thad Brown’s article discussed how recording software encodes sound. He explained the term which occurs when audio codecs simply eliminate sounds that have the same harmonic content of another, louder sound. It essentially takes away the softer sounds that are “not needed.” This seem alright, but it’s unfortunate that some of my performers might get cut from the performance simply due to the recording process. The subsequent discussion about MP3 files and the use of CBR or VBR was a little confusing but I think my main concern is that whatever sound clips I post on the internet can be heard by any listener who accesses the link, regardless of what type of computer they have. It’s not worth the work of posting the music online if people cannot actually play it. At one point in the article, the author mentioned the HTML code for embedding a sound file. I was excited to realize that I already know how to do that from this week’s tutorial!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
PLN Blog: Dallas Symphony For Kids Site
http://www.dsokids.com/
I had a blast reviewing internet resources for music educators while completing the social bookmarking assignment. Everyone should try the link above, which will bring you to the Dallas Symphony Kid's site and click on 'Games.' It's a blast!! You can play Beethoven baseball and actually create a baseball team of composers. The other notable game is Composer Time Machine, in which a time machine actually "spits-out" composers of various eras. The composer stands-up and states an interesting fact about him/herself, and the player needs to place the composer in the appropriate historical era. The fact which the composer mentions actually has nothing to do with the era he/she represents, but it's cute. The web site also includes tutorials on basic music theory and brief biographies of the big name composers in the history of Western music. DSO For Kids has also posted information about all of the orchestral instruments along with sound clips to accompany both the instruments and the composers. This would be great for very young students (and apparently for me as well).
I had a blast reviewing internet resources for music educators while completing the social bookmarking assignment. Everyone should try the link above, which will bring you to the Dallas Symphony Kid's site and click on 'Games.' It's a blast!! You can play Beethoven baseball and actually create a baseball team of composers. The other notable game is Composer Time Machine, in which a time machine actually "spits-out" composers of various eras. The composer stands-up and states an interesting fact about him/herself, and the player needs to place the composer in the appropriate historical era. The fact which the composer mentions actually has nothing to do with the era he/she represents, but it's cute. The web site also includes tutorials on basic music theory and brief biographies of the big name composers in the history of Western music. DSO For Kids has also posted information about all of the orchestral instruments along with sound clips to accompany both the instruments and the composers. This would be great for very young students (and apparently for me as well).
Friday, October 23, 2009
Blog #17: Reading Reflections for 10/26/2009
Material referenced in this post:
“A Collaborative Approach to Collecting Online Music Resources” by Dr. William I. Bauer
“Wikis in Plain English” by The Common Craft
“Social Bookmarking in Plain English” by The Common Craft
“Searching the Web in Plain English” by The Common Craft
del.icio.us tutorials by Atomic Learning
I found both wikis and del.icio.us to be very understandable and extremely useful. I am looking forward to beginning both of these projects because I know they will manifest a large number of resources for music educators. I really did not understand what a wiki was until watching the videos. It seems like it can be a great way to collect information and facilitate ongoing discussions online as opposed to sending copious e-mails which may quickly become confusing. I enjoy the Common Craft videos because I am so behind in the field of online resources. I am thankful that they explain these tools in simple terms. During the video, though, I did find myself wondering how reliable wikis can be in terms of valid information on a topic. Can any internet user make changes to a wiki or are they password protected? In the camping video, it seemed like anyone could easily change a wiki. That’s why I think it would be important to click the “notify me tab,” so that the creator is sent a message every time a change is made to the Wiki.
Finding web pages that are appropriate and useful can be a challenge so I also found the “Searching the Web in Plain English” video to be helpful. I was not aware that if I type a “-“ sign next to a word in my search engine, all sites that include this word will be excluded from my results. I haven’t tried this yet, but I can imagine it being extremely useful. I think the key in all of this is social networking. A music educator should be concerned with what others have found on the web and I’m still slightly unsure of how to do this. I believe the tutorials mentioned that all of my bookmarks are public by default, unless I marked them otherwise. Does that mean that all other users can see my bookmarks or just those in my network? I probably need to read the assignment guidelines more carefully, but I also don’t quite know how to add users to my network. Dr. Bauer’s article stated that I should click the Network link and then type musiceducation. Will that include me into the network of any user who tags sites as musiceducation? Also – the article suggested that I use the tag “mued” for anything related to music education. Are all other music teachers, new to the del.icio.us network, familiar with this term? I’m also still slightly confused about RSS feeds. RSS feeds have to go to my Google Reader, correct? They are not notifications sent to my e-mail account(?). Are there different varieties of RSS feeds? I still love the acronym, though – “Really Simple Syndication.”
Overall, I am glad to have both a wikispace and a delicious account. I feel better knowing what these tools are and how to access them. My greatest concern at the moment, however, is that I may stop using them at the completion of this course. I going to practice working with both of these accounts throughout the semester so that utilizing such resources will become like second nature.
“A Collaborative Approach to Collecting Online Music Resources” by Dr. William I. Bauer
“Wikis in Plain English” by The Common Craft
“Social Bookmarking in Plain English” by The Common Craft
“Searching the Web in Plain English” by The Common Craft
del.icio.us tutorials by Atomic Learning
I found both wikis and del.icio.us to be very understandable and extremely useful. I am looking forward to beginning both of these projects because I know they will manifest a large number of resources for music educators. I really did not understand what a wiki was until watching the videos. It seems like it can be a great way to collect information and facilitate ongoing discussions online as opposed to sending copious e-mails which may quickly become confusing. I enjoy the Common Craft videos because I am so behind in the field of online resources. I am thankful that they explain these tools in simple terms. During the video, though, I did find myself wondering how reliable wikis can be in terms of valid information on a topic. Can any internet user make changes to a wiki or are they password protected? In the camping video, it seemed like anyone could easily change a wiki. That’s why I think it would be important to click the “notify me tab,” so that the creator is sent a message every time a change is made to the Wiki.
Finding web pages that are appropriate and useful can be a challenge so I also found the “Searching the Web in Plain English” video to be helpful. I was not aware that if I type a “-“ sign next to a word in my search engine, all sites that include this word will be excluded from my results. I haven’t tried this yet, but I can imagine it being extremely useful. I think the key in all of this is social networking. A music educator should be concerned with what others have found on the web and I’m still slightly unsure of how to do this. I believe the tutorials mentioned that all of my bookmarks are public by default, unless I marked them otherwise. Does that mean that all other users can see my bookmarks or just those in my network? I probably need to read the assignment guidelines more carefully, but I also don’t quite know how to add users to my network. Dr. Bauer’s article stated that I should click the Network link and then type musiceducation. Will that include me into the network of any user who tags sites as musiceducation? Also – the article suggested that I use the tag “mued” for anything related to music education. Are all other music teachers, new to the del.icio.us network, familiar with this term? I’m also still slightly confused about RSS feeds. RSS feeds have to go to my Google Reader, correct? They are not notifications sent to my e-mail account(?). Are there different varieties of RSS feeds? I still love the acronym, though – “Really Simple Syndication.”
Overall, I am glad to have both a wikispace and a delicious account. I feel better knowing what these tools are and how to access them. My greatest concern at the moment, however, is that I may stop using them at the completion of this course. I going to practice working with both of these accounts throughout the semester so that utilizing such resources will become like second nature.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
PLN: "Interactive Whiteboards: Using them in the Music Classroom" by Janice
http://www.musicteachersblog.com/2009/10/interactive-whiteboards-using-them-in-the-music-classroom/
This URL above is linked to the "Music Teachers Blog" designed to collect resources for all types of music teachers. Janice's post requests readers to send ideas for using Smart Board. At the bottom of the page is a link to an article about a teacher in California who is very enthusiastic about using the new tool in her classroom. She explains her ideas in very simple terms for those who are unfamiliar with the technology. She notes that a teahcer can be as creative as he/she wants - if you have much computer experience, great; but if you don't, it's still possible to put together extremely engaging lesson plans for the students. I am all for Smart Boards! I substitute teach at a poor elementary school in my home district (when I'm at home) and even this school of limited resources was able to find grant money to put Smart Boards in every classroom. The kids are absolutely enthralled with them! Students are so excited for every lesson. I hope that administrators will not exclude music classrooms when purchasing Smart Boards becuase they could be used in so many ways. It seems Janice also posted a video at the bottom of her blog but it was taken off for permission of use reasons. Let me know if anyone has any other teaching or learning experiences with a Smart Board.
This URL above is linked to the "Music Teachers Blog" designed to collect resources for all types of music teachers. Janice's post requests readers to send ideas for using Smart Board. At the bottom of the page is a link to an article about a teacher in California who is very enthusiastic about using the new tool in her classroom. She explains her ideas in very simple terms for those who are unfamiliar with the technology. She notes that a teahcer can be as creative as he/she wants - if you have much computer experience, great; but if you don't, it's still possible to put together extremely engaging lesson plans for the students. I am all for Smart Boards! I substitute teach at a poor elementary school in my home district (when I'm at home) and even this school of limited resources was able to find grant money to put Smart Boards in every classroom. The kids are absolutely enthralled with them! Students are so excited for every lesson. I hope that administrators will not exclude music classrooms when purchasing Smart Boards becuase they could be used in so many ways. It seems Janice also posted a video at the bottom of her blog but it was taken off for permission of use reasons. Let me know if anyone has any other teaching or learning experiences with a Smart Board.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Blog #15: Reading Reflections for 10/12/2009
Articles Referenced in this Post: “Computer-Aided Instruction” from Experiencing
Music Technology
“New Dimensions in White” by Chad Criswell
“SMART Boards in the General Music Classroom”
by Jennifer Mercer
“Automatic Accompaniment Generators” by John
Kuzmich Jr.
“One Computer Can Deliver Whole-Class Instruction”
by Kirk Kassner
There were a number of interesting ideas that came up within these articles. I enjoyed Kuzmich’s discussion of Band-in-a-Box and its use for teaching young instrumentalists. I was able to learn about this program in the music computer lab at Allegheny College and I hope to use it again soon. This software is able to create accompaniment harmonies for any student solo. The teacher only needs to put in the chord changes and choose a style. This application makes jazz improvisation much more accessible! Up to 40 loops can be selected so students can practice for several choruses. If I remember correctly, the software can also improvise its own melody to give the performer a few starting ideas.
I was first introduced to SmartMusic through a high school band director I was observing. He was having his students come in on an individual basis to practice solo-and-ensemble pieces with the program. SmartMusic has 85% of the entire band/string solo literature available at the high school or college level. I don’t know how the program keeps track of all of that music but it provides a personal accompanist for every user. SmartMusic can respond to the musician by adjusting tempo according to the performance. Kuzmich also mentioned that more than 30 states are now allow SmartMusic accompaniments for solo-and-ensemble performances. As a school ensemble director, it would be relieving to know that I wouldn’t have to find an accompanist for all of my students. This software could possibly help me monitor practice sessions as would the iPAS technology; however, it seems that students would need to have the program on their home computer for this to happen. I’m not sure if this would be possible for everyone, considering that I still can’t assume that there is a computer with internet access inside the home of all young musicians. I have also listened to the Bruce Pearson’s Standard of Excellence CD accompaniment before and thought it was a great resource. It provided fun harmonies to accompany the exercises in the method book and also a number of full band accompaniments for the full band pieces. This would be convenient for the elementary teacher who was having difficulty conveying the style of a piece to the beginning ensemble.
I was impressed with the Interactive White Board articles and truly believe that this is one of the most innovative technologies implemented in school classrooms within the past decade. When I’m at home, I substitute teach at a poor, rural elementary school in my local district. Even this school, running on a limited budget, was able to get SMART boards for every single classroom in the building through a grant….with the exception of the music classroom. Teachers at the school are given in-service training on how to use these tools and they are utilized in every room. The students absolutely love using the SMART boards and are much more attentive during instruction. I can imagine that they might have several uses in the music classroom. A teacher could write different melodic lines using a notation software and ask students to unscramble it, or the teacher could select different graphics in order to display form on the board.
I was glad that Kassner attempted to tackle the issue of how to structure classroom activities with only one computer available, although I’m not sure if he offered any solid answers. As I’ve been learning about the several technologies which can be utilized in the music classroom, it generally seems that, realistically, the teacher must be the one to use to software in order to produce something to use during instruction. In order for students to all use a software program, there would need to be enough computers for everyone in the class. Kassner suggested that the teacher split the students into teams and give each a turn at answering a question on the computer. All other teams wait while it is not their turn. I really think that creating a game of jeopardy (with no computers) would be a more effective way to accomplish such objectives. The teacher would have the freedom of creating several different categories, which would cover more material during the game. I think this might create a more interactive environment in which all students would be more engaged. The learning stations seemed like a more feasible model for incorporating the computer into classroom activities; however, in this situation the teacher might not be able to monitor the progress of each individual. The solution, clearly, is that school boards need to provide computer labs for every music curriculum in this country. I believe in miracles.
Music Technology
“New Dimensions in White” by Chad Criswell
“SMART Boards in the General Music Classroom”
by Jennifer Mercer
“Automatic Accompaniment Generators” by John
Kuzmich Jr.
“One Computer Can Deliver Whole-Class Instruction”
by Kirk Kassner
There were a number of interesting ideas that came up within these articles. I enjoyed Kuzmich’s discussion of Band-in-a-Box and its use for teaching young instrumentalists. I was able to learn about this program in the music computer lab at Allegheny College and I hope to use it again soon. This software is able to create accompaniment harmonies for any student solo. The teacher only needs to put in the chord changes and choose a style. This application makes jazz improvisation much more accessible! Up to 40 loops can be selected so students can practice for several choruses. If I remember correctly, the software can also improvise its own melody to give the performer a few starting ideas.
I was first introduced to SmartMusic through a high school band director I was observing. He was having his students come in on an individual basis to practice solo-and-ensemble pieces with the program. SmartMusic has 85% of the entire band/string solo literature available at the high school or college level. I don’t know how the program keeps track of all of that music but it provides a personal accompanist for every user. SmartMusic can respond to the musician by adjusting tempo according to the performance. Kuzmich also mentioned that more than 30 states are now allow SmartMusic accompaniments for solo-and-ensemble performances. As a school ensemble director, it would be relieving to know that I wouldn’t have to find an accompanist for all of my students. This software could possibly help me monitor practice sessions as would the iPAS technology; however, it seems that students would need to have the program on their home computer for this to happen. I’m not sure if this would be possible for everyone, considering that I still can’t assume that there is a computer with internet access inside the home of all young musicians. I have also listened to the Bruce Pearson’s Standard of Excellence CD accompaniment before and thought it was a great resource. It provided fun harmonies to accompany the exercises in the method book and also a number of full band accompaniments for the full band pieces. This would be convenient for the elementary teacher who was having difficulty conveying the style of a piece to the beginning ensemble.
I was impressed with the Interactive White Board articles and truly believe that this is one of the most innovative technologies implemented in school classrooms within the past decade. When I’m at home, I substitute teach at a poor, rural elementary school in my local district. Even this school, running on a limited budget, was able to get SMART boards for every single classroom in the building through a grant….with the exception of the music classroom. Teachers at the school are given in-service training on how to use these tools and they are utilized in every room. The students absolutely love using the SMART boards and are much more attentive during instruction. I can imagine that they might have several uses in the music classroom. A teacher could write different melodic lines using a notation software and ask students to unscramble it, or the teacher could select different graphics in order to display form on the board.
I was glad that Kassner attempted to tackle the issue of how to structure classroom activities with only one computer available, although I’m not sure if he offered any solid answers. As I’ve been learning about the several technologies which can be utilized in the music classroom, it generally seems that, realistically, the teacher must be the one to use to software in order to produce something to use during instruction. In order for students to all use a software program, there would need to be enough computers for everyone in the class. Kassner suggested that the teacher split the students into teams and give each a turn at answering a question on the computer. All other teams wait while it is not their turn. I really think that creating a game of jeopardy (with no computers) would be a more effective way to accomplish such objectives. The teacher would have the freedom of creating several different categories, which would cover more material during the game. I think this might create a more interactive environment in which all students would be more engaged. The learning stations seemed like a more feasible model for incorporating the computer into classroom activities; however, in this situation the teacher might not be able to monitor the progress of each individual. The solution, clearly, is that school boards need to provide computer labs for every music curriculum in this country. I believe in miracles.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Blog #14: PLN: How Music Teachers Can Manage Time Efficiently
http://www.menc.org/resources/view/teaching-music-current-featured-article
I’ve included the MENC site on my PLN because I rarely have time to log on and update myself about what’s going on in the world of music education. MENC recently alerted my PLN that the newest issue of Teaching Music has been released and that several of the articles are now available online. The link above will bring you to a feature article entitled “Change Your Tempo” which is about how music teachers, ensemble directors in particular, can manage their time to be more efficient. The notion of how to accomplish all that is required of a teacher seems a little intimidating to me as a pre-service teacher and I’ll take all the advice I can take. This article discusses both long-term curriculum planning and also daily lesson planning. Suggestions on when, where, and how to do those two tasks are provided. I particularly liked Manfredo’s suggestion at the end about how he set-up his to-do list. I plan on trying this.
I’ve included the MENC site on my PLN because I rarely have time to log on and update myself about what’s going on in the world of music education. MENC recently alerted my PLN that the newest issue of Teaching Music has been released and that several of the articles are now available online. The link above will bring you to a feature article entitled “Change Your Tempo” which is about how music teachers, ensemble directors in particular, can manage their time to be more efficient. The notion of how to accomplish all that is required of a teacher seems a little intimidating to me as a pre-service teacher and I’ll take all the advice I can take. This article discusses both long-term curriculum planning and also daily lesson planning. Suggestions on when, where, and how to do those two tasks are provided. I particularly liked Manfredo’s suggestion at the end about how he set-up his to-do list. I plan on trying this.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Blog #13: PLN: What age should a beginning teacher work with?
http://musicmattersblog.com/2009/09/28/monday-mailbag-best-age-student-for-a-beginning-teacher/
Above is a link to an entry in the Music Matters blog which is about what the best age for beginning teachers to work with is. The article mostly pertains to private piano teachers I believe, but the philosophies mentioned by the writer are still interesting. She notes that many non-musicians believe that their children, who are beginning their musical journey, could study and benefit from a less-knowledgeable teacher at first and then, should the child become more serious about the hobby, could “move-up” to a more proficient teacher later. How untrue that is! Beginning students are the most excited they will ever be about creating music because the entire concept is new to them. Young musicians should be placed with teachers that can impress and motivate them to become serious about pursuing the art. Not all teachers have a good understanding of how to work with students of young ages either. It takes commitment and passion to commit to helping the new student grow serious and learn the fundamentals of a new instrument. I’m glad that the author noted this. She feels that it might be recommendable for inexperienced teachers to work with students who have had a number of years of lessons as opposed to working with those who have not played before. She also notes that the personality of the new teacher is also an obvious consideration.
Above is a link to an entry in the Music Matters blog which is about what the best age for beginning teachers to work with is. The article mostly pertains to private piano teachers I believe, but the philosophies mentioned by the writer are still interesting. She notes that many non-musicians believe that their children, who are beginning their musical journey, could study and benefit from a less-knowledgeable teacher at first and then, should the child become more serious about the hobby, could “move-up” to a more proficient teacher later. How untrue that is! Beginning students are the most excited they will ever be about creating music because the entire concept is new to them. Young musicians should be placed with teachers that can impress and motivate them to become serious about pursuing the art. Not all teachers have a good understanding of how to work with students of young ages either. It takes commitment and passion to commit to helping the new student grow serious and learn the fundamentals of a new instrument. I’m glad that the author noted this. She feels that it might be recommendable for inexperienced teachers to work with students who have had a number of years of lessons as opposed to working with those who have not played before. She also notes that the personality of the new teacher is also an obvious consideration.
Blog #12: Reading Reflections for 10/5/2009
Articles referenced in this blog entry: “Capturing Your Sound: A Guide to Live Recording" By Time Clukey
“Tips and Techniques: Picture This” by Scott Watson
“TIME Technology Strategies” from Technology
Strategies for Music Education
I felt very discouraged after reading Clukey’s article about how to record school ensemble performances. I completely agree that recording students is an essential component of an adequate music program today. The second article by Watson mentioned that kids love hearing recordings of themselves, and this is so true. Providing recordings is a prime motivator for our students and essential for teaching them how to evaluate their own musical progress. However, Clukey promised at the beginning of his article that the procedure for recording concerts could be both very understandable for the educator and inexpensive for the educator’s budget. At no point in his writing did I feel that either of these statements were true. The author mentioned device after device after device necessary to record performances and the total expenditure was a few thousand dollars or possibly much more. I was also very unfamiliar with every piece of hardware, software, and procedure that the author reviewed. There were many words in the article that were left undefined such as Phantom power, LED meters, normalization, platform-specific wave form, and several others. I felt that Clukey’s discussion was way over my head which terrifies me as a future educator because I know that the ability to work with this technology is essential. I think I need someone to walk me through the process of using this equipment because I don’t believe I’ve ever handled any of the items mentioned under the ‘Building Your Recording Kit’ side bar on page 28. The author did note that local music stores can help teachers evaluate fair prices for the equipment and hopefully I’ll be able to utilize such local resources.
The information about setting-up the equipment did make some sense to me. I think that if one is going to expend the effort to produce a recording of a group’s performance, he/she might as well aim for a quality product. It is imperative that mics are placed far enough away from the audience so that general noise from the hall is not picked-up but also far enough away from the performers to ensure that sounds coming from all sides of the ensemble will be picked up. I’ve heard many band recordings where one microphone was obviously too close to a specific section, or even worse, too close to one specific player! It would be helpful for the director to schedule a sound-check and allow time to experiment with microphone position. It seems like the best situation is when the ensemble can rehearse in the same hall they perform in. The Wind Symphony and Wind Ensemble I played in during my undergraduate work was able to do this so our director always had an accurate concept of how each piece would sound for the final performance. Even if the ensemble doesn’t rehearse in the same place they perform, having one performance venue would still familiarize the conductor with the reverberation and echo of the hall.
After reading the recording section of the document; however, the process of setting-up and tearing-down does seem extensive and time consuming. A busy concert week is always to be expected, though. However, the truth is, professionals go to school and earn degrees, even graduate degrees, in sound recording. I’m worried that I won’t have the resources to learn what I need to know about creating a polished recording. The editing (‘Postproduction: Transfer and Processing’) section of the article also put me at a loss. I feel completely unqualified to complete this kind of audio editing. I do not feel the author was speaking to someone on my level.
I did really enjoy Watson’s article, however, which explained how to visually display the sounds of student instrumentalists. Classes of beginners would love this and I completely agree with the author. Most people are visual learners and seeing the sound that they produce would illustrate the concepts of expressive style in ways that no other method could. The results would be incredible. It seemed like it might be difficult to have an entire group of beginners huddled around a computer to see the resulting sound waves, though. I liked Watson’s description of demonstrating first on one’s own instrument, displaying the “correct” picture on the computer screen, and then asking students to attempt to match it. This is an incredible form of feedback which allows students to see the differences between contrasting styles.
“Tips and Techniques: Picture This” by Scott Watson
“TIME Technology Strategies” from Technology
Strategies for Music Education
I felt very discouraged after reading Clukey’s article about how to record school ensemble performances. I completely agree that recording students is an essential component of an adequate music program today. The second article by Watson mentioned that kids love hearing recordings of themselves, and this is so true. Providing recordings is a prime motivator for our students and essential for teaching them how to evaluate their own musical progress. However, Clukey promised at the beginning of his article that the procedure for recording concerts could be both very understandable for the educator and inexpensive for the educator’s budget. At no point in his writing did I feel that either of these statements were true. The author mentioned device after device after device necessary to record performances and the total expenditure was a few thousand dollars or possibly much more. I was also very unfamiliar with every piece of hardware, software, and procedure that the author reviewed. There were many words in the article that were left undefined such as Phantom power, LED meters, normalization, platform-specific wave form, and several others. I felt that Clukey’s discussion was way over my head which terrifies me as a future educator because I know that the ability to work with this technology is essential. I think I need someone to walk me through the process of using this equipment because I don’t believe I’ve ever handled any of the items mentioned under the ‘Building Your Recording Kit’ side bar on page 28. The author did note that local music stores can help teachers evaluate fair prices for the equipment and hopefully I’ll be able to utilize such local resources.
The information about setting-up the equipment did make some sense to me. I think that if one is going to expend the effort to produce a recording of a group’s performance, he/she might as well aim for a quality product. It is imperative that mics are placed far enough away from the audience so that general noise from the hall is not picked-up but also far enough away from the performers to ensure that sounds coming from all sides of the ensemble will be picked up. I’ve heard many band recordings where one microphone was obviously too close to a specific section, or even worse, too close to one specific player! It would be helpful for the director to schedule a sound-check and allow time to experiment with microphone position. It seems like the best situation is when the ensemble can rehearse in the same hall they perform in. The Wind Symphony and Wind Ensemble I played in during my undergraduate work was able to do this so our director always had an accurate concept of how each piece would sound for the final performance. Even if the ensemble doesn’t rehearse in the same place they perform, having one performance venue would still familiarize the conductor with the reverberation and echo of the hall.
After reading the recording section of the document; however, the process of setting-up and tearing-down does seem extensive and time consuming. A busy concert week is always to be expected, though. However, the truth is, professionals go to school and earn degrees, even graduate degrees, in sound recording. I’m worried that I won’t have the resources to learn what I need to know about creating a polished recording. The editing (‘Postproduction: Transfer and Processing’) section of the article also put me at a loss. I feel completely unqualified to complete this kind of audio editing. I do not feel the author was speaking to someone on my level.
I did really enjoy Watson’s article, however, which explained how to visually display the sounds of student instrumentalists. Classes of beginners would love this and I completely agree with the author. Most people are visual learners and seeing the sound that they produce would illustrate the concepts of expressive style in ways that no other method could. The results would be incredible. It seemed like it might be difficult to have an entire group of beginners huddled around a computer to see the resulting sound waves, though. I liked Watson’s description of demonstrating first on one’s own instrument, displaying the “correct” picture on the computer screen, and then asking students to attempt to match it. This is an incredible form of feedback which allows students to see the differences between contrasting styles.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Blog #11: PLN: Facebook for Teachers
http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds2.feedburner.com%2FSoYouWantToTeach
Above is a link to a new entry in the blog “So You Want to Teach.” I apologize for continually commenting on this blog, but the entries are always extremely practical for pre-service teachers such as myself. This posting was about Facebook which is so practical to my life right now because I have been a new Facebooker for a little over a week at this point. I feel torn about the issues because I’ve heard several teachers advise against having a Facebook account. I plan on having absolutely nothing on my Facebook page that I would be ashamed of having other future employers or students see; however, I still feel nervous. I think the author is correct to wait until his high school students have graduated before friending them. Facebook could really allow students to enter our personal lives in ways they’re not supposed to. The argument to the author’s philosophy was to use privacy settings but I really don’t even know how to manipulate these yet. I am very interested on what other teachers have to say on the issue of Facebook. It is difficult for those of my generation to not have a Facebook now but I would certainly be willing to get rid of my account if it might jeopardize my career goals.
Above is a link to a new entry in the blog “So You Want to Teach.” I apologize for continually commenting on this blog, but the entries are always extremely practical for pre-service teachers such as myself. This posting was about Facebook which is so practical to my life right now because I have been a new Facebooker for a little over a week at this point. I feel torn about the issues because I’ve heard several teachers advise against having a Facebook account. I plan on having absolutely nothing on my Facebook page that I would be ashamed of having other future employers or students see; however, I still feel nervous. I think the author is correct to wait until his high school students have graduated before friending them. Facebook could really allow students to enter our personal lives in ways they’re not supposed to. The argument to the author’s philosophy was to use privacy settings but I really don’t even know how to manipulate these yet. I am very interested on what other teachers have to say on the issue of Facebook. It is difficult for those of my generation to not have a Facebook now but I would certainly be willing to get rid of my account if it might jeopardize my career goals.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Blog #10: Reading Reflections for 9/28/2009
Articles Referenced in this Blog Entry: “Sequence-stration” by Scott Watson
“Using MIDI accompaniments for Music Learning at School and at Home” by Fred Kersten
I really appreciate that the authors of all of the articles we’ve been reading have focused on communicating to an audience that knows very little about technology. I’m fortunate that this class has started us from the beginning in terms of using these software programs. I’m even learning the definitions to words I’ve always wondered about, such as URL (which I now know means Uniform Resource Locator). I know that my future students will likely be up to date on all of these resources and I think it’s important that I use such interests to lead them to a better understanding of music. For example, as mentioned by Kersten, young people love surfing the net for music files and would be very motivated to find sound clips if I posted them to a site. The use of sequencing devices truly makes comprehensive musicianship possible. In order to take a MIDI file and import it into Sibelius, students will need some background knowledge in theory, form, and orchestration. After listening to several MIDI files over the course of this week, however, I am nervous that students might forget the importance of human expression after much exposure to the standard MIDI sound. It is difficult for a computer to recreate a performance with the same level of expressivity that a living musician could. I want my students to know that there is a true difference between music created by a computer and music created by a person.
The “Sequence-stration” article confirmed the notion that often MIDI files can sound extremely unmusical. Compositions can become cheesy as if from a “low-budget kung fu film,” as Watson put it. This might lower my student’s expectations for what good music is. Watson’s article truly made me excited to use programs such as Garage Band. I’ve never been a composer and it’s fun to think of myself as one. It seems that the program makes it quite easy to create basic accompaniments for melodies. It was interesting to read that Watson himself is an elementary school band teacher and he uses this technology at such a high level. Creating fun accompaniments to back-up beginning performers can get them extremely excited to practice. It still takes considerable thought, though to create such a harmony with appropriate instrumentation and style. It seems like it would take a great deal of experimentation to develop a familiarity with all of the instruments in Garage Band. Watson noted that they have even included several world instruments which would help me expose my students to styles of foreign cultures with considerable ease. I loved the “timbral alchemy” section of the article which explained that the number of different sounds one can create with a sequencer program is practically endless. Layering two different timbres seems like it could be extremely useful; I’m just not entirely sure how to do this on Garage Band.
Over the past few weeks as I’ve been required to use Sibelius 5 and now Garage Band, I’ve been forced to think more about theory and compositional technique. According to Watson, in order to write a piece that will sound good (or authentic) between different synthesizers, one needs to write idiomatically for a particular instrument. For my Sibelius project, I had to know the specific ranges of the few instruments I was arranging for. As a music education major, I should have known this information anyway. Using such software has encouraged me to revisit my music theory and orchestration background.
On a separate note, I found the “humanize” function to be interesting although I’m not fully certain of what it does. Watson indicated that it adds an element of human error to the computer performance of a specific note (“adding slight, random variations to note timing, key velocity, and duration,” as the article states). Another idea which Watson mentioned was to play various synthesized MIDI melodies for students and ask them to suggest an appropriate instrumentation for the particular passage. This would promote close listening and critical thinking. Overall, I think that music educators who are comfortable using MIDI programs can add a new level of creativity to their rehearsals and classrooms.
“Using MIDI accompaniments for Music Learning at School and at Home” by Fred Kersten
I really appreciate that the authors of all of the articles we’ve been reading have focused on communicating to an audience that knows very little about technology. I’m fortunate that this class has started us from the beginning in terms of using these software programs. I’m even learning the definitions to words I’ve always wondered about, such as URL (which I now know means Uniform Resource Locator). I know that my future students will likely be up to date on all of these resources and I think it’s important that I use such interests to lead them to a better understanding of music. For example, as mentioned by Kersten, young people love surfing the net for music files and would be very motivated to find sound clips if I posted them to a site. The use of sequencing devices truly makes comprehensive musicianship possible. In order to take a MIDI file and import it into Sibelius, students will need some background knowledge in theory, form, and orchestration. After listening to several MIDI files over the course of this week, however, I am nervous that students might forget the importance of human expression after much exposure to the standard MIDI sound. It is difficult for a computer to recreate a performance with the same level of expressivity that a living musician could. I want my students to know that there is a true difference between music created by a computer and music created by a person.
The “Sequence-stration” article confirmed the notion that often MIDI files can sound extremely unmusical. Compositions can become cheesy as if from a “low-budget kung fu film,” as Watson put it. This might lower my student’s expectations for what good music is. Watson’s article truly made me excited to use programs such as Garage Band. I’ve never been a composer and it’s fun to think of myself as one. It seems that the program makes it quite easy to create basic accompaniments for melodies. It was interesting to read that Watson himself is an elementary school band teacher and he uses this technology at such a high level. Creating fun accompaniments to back-up beginning performers can get them extremely excited to practice. It still takes considerable thought, though to create such a harmony with appropriate instrumentation and style. It seems like it would take a great deal of experimentation to develop a familiarity with all of the instruments in Garage Band. Watson noted that they have even included several world instruments which would help me expose my students to styles of foreign cultures with considerable ease. I loved the “timbral alchemy” section of the article which explained that the number of different sounds one can create with a sequencer program is practically endless. Layering two different timbres seems like it could be extremely useful; I’m just not entirely sure how to do this on Garage Band.
Over the past few weeks as I’ve been required to use Sibelius 5 and now Garage Band, I’ve been forced to think more about theory and compositional technique. According to Watson, in order to write a piece that will sound good (or authentic) between different synthesizers, one needs to write idiomatically for a particular instrument. For my Sibelius project, I had to know the specific ranges of the few instruments I was arranging for. As a music education major, I should have known this information anyway. Using such software has encouraged me to revisit my music theory and orchestration background.
On a separate note, I found the “humanize” function to be interesting although I’m not fully certain of what it does. Watson indicated that it adds an element of human error to the computer performance of a specific note (“adding slight, random variations to note timing, key velocity, and duration,” as the article states). Another idea which Watson mentioned was to play various synthesized MIDI melodies for students and ask them to suggest an appropriate instrumentation for the particular passage. This would promote close listening and critical thinking. Overall, I think that music educators who are comfortable using MIDI programs can add a new level of creativity to their rehearsals and classrooms.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Blog #9: Reading Reflections for 9/21/2009
Articles Referenced in this blog: “The MIDI-Digital Audio Shuffle” by Dennis
Mauricio and Steve Oppenheimer
Case Blackboard>Technology Assisted Music
Education>Course Materials>MIDI Resources.
This is a very difficult blog for me to write. I have read Mauricio and Oppenheimer’s article listed above and also several lengthy descriptions of what MIDI is exactly from the copious postings in our course materials section of Blackboard. Computers have always seemed like magic to me – I’ve never quite understood how they work. So these readings about the process in which MIDI communicates digital messages was slow-going and frustrating at times. The computer jargon is foreign to my vocabulary. I’m going to write what I do understand about MIDI. It is not a sound recording but a performance instruction. MIDI sends messages which explain how a synthesizer can re-create a performance. It is a standard way to communicate between different types of software. Before its development in 1982, much music could not be produced across software programs meaning that recording artists could not share their works. MIDI offered a solution to this.
To utilize MIDI files, I need to have a five pin cable. Synthesizers and computers which are creating or sending these files can have three different ports – MIDI IN, MIDI OUT, and MIDI THRU. The first receives messages, the second releases them, and the third allows messages to be sent from a series of synthesizers linked together – this is apparently called “daisy chaining.” MIDI explains a number of things about a musical performance such as note pitch, note length, volume of note, and the tempo (which is part of the set-up data). There is a fixed number of sounds which MIDI can identify for the synthesizer; however, the list is quite extensive. Dr. Estrella posted a comprehensive chart of this on his Exploring MIDI website. Because MIDI is not a sound file, but only a message about sounds, the standard MIDI file tends to be fairly small and is encoded as .mid. The form of these messages is still completely confusing for me. I don’t have an understanding of codes which begin with 0 or 1, or the difference between status bytes vs. data bytes. I now understand the term digital, though! Digital refers to computers because computers communicate through a series of digits (either 0 or 1).
The Mauricio and Oppenheimer article debates the appropriate use of either digital audio files or MIDI. It seems that digital audio files are much larger and may not be interpretable by some software. However, an audio file is an exact copy of a particular performance. The copy will be similar to the original and allows for better accuracy. MIDI files seem most convenient to music educators, however. They can be exported in and out of Sibelius so that melodies can be transposed or the instrument selection can be switched. Music teachers will of course need to make adjustments for their specific ensemble if they would like to use a piece of music they downloaded from the web. The Scorch application we explored last class seems very practical, although I don’t know exactly how to get permission to print-out a piece. The amount of space on a public school computer can also be fairly limited, so the compressed size of the MIDI file would likely be convenient.
The only problem I see about MIDI files is that they require some type of software to change the messages into sound. This could be problematic if the school I’m working at has not purchased Sibelius or another synthesizer program. But being able to share music can be so beneficial for students. Even just showing interested performers that they can go online to sites such as Just Jazz, which we explored last class, could be a boost in motivation. I hope my students will understand and appreciate that technology has made it possible to share all genres of music with people across the globe.
Mauricio and Steve Oppenheimer
Case Blackboard>Technology Assisted Music
Education>Course Materials>MIDI Resources.
This is a very difficult blog for me to write. I have read Mauricio and Oppenheimer’s article listed above and also several lengthy descriptions of what MIDI is exactly from the copious postings in our course materials section of Blackboard. Computers have always seemed like magic to me – I’ve never quite understood how they work. So these readings about the process in which MIDI communicates digital messages was slow-going and frustrating at times. The computer jargon is foreign to my vocabulary. I’m going to write what I do understand about MIDI. It is not a sound recording but a performance instruction. MIDI sends messages which explain how a synthesizer can re-create a performance. It is a standard way to communicate between different types of software. Before its development in 1982, much music could not be produced across software programs meaning that recording artists could not share their works. MIDI offered a solution to this.
To utilize MIDI files, I need to have a five pin cable. Synthesizers and computers which are creating or sending these files can have three different ports – MIDI IN, MIDI OUT, and MIDI THRU. The first receives messages, the second releases them, and the third allows messages to be sent from a series of synthesizers linked together – this is apparently called “daisy chaining.” MIDI explains a number of things about a musical performance such as note pitch, note length, volume of note, and the tempo (which is part of the set-up data). There is a fixed number of sounds which MIDI can identify for the synthesizer; however, the list is quite extensive. Dr. Estrella posted a comprehensive chart of this on his Exploring MIDI website. Because MIDI is not a sound file, but only a message about sounds, the standard MIDI file tends to be fairly small and is encoded as .mid. The form of these messages is still completely confusing for me. I don’t have an understanding of codes which begin with 0 or 1, or the difference between status bytes vs. data bytes. I now understand the term digital, though! Digital refers to computers because computers communicate through a series of digits (either 0 or 1).
The Mauricio and Oppenheimer article debates the appropriate use of either digital audio files or MIDI. It seems that digital audio files are much larger and may not be interpretable by some software. However, an audio file is an exact copy of a particular performance. The copy will be similar to the original and allows for better accuracy. MIDI files seem most convenient to music educators, however. They can be exported in and out of Sibelius so that melodies can be transposed or the instrument selection can be switched. Music teachers will of course need to make adjustments for their specific ensemble if they would like to use a piece of music they downloaded from the web. The Scorch application we explored last class seems very practical, although I don’t know exactly how to get permission to print-out a piece. The amount of space on a public school computer can also be fairly limited, so the compressed size of the MIDI file would likely be convenient.
The only problem I see about MIDI files is that they require some type of software to change the messages into sound. This could be problematic if the school I’m working at has not purchased Sibelius or another synthesizer program. But being able to share music can be so beneficial for students. Even just showing interested performers that they can go online to sites such as Just Jazz, which we explored last class, could be a boost in motivation. I hope my students will understand and appreciate that technology has made it possible to share all genres of music with people across the globe.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Blog #8: PLN: A Rule-Free Band Room?
http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds2.feedburner.com%2FSoYouWantToTeach
Above is the URL to another very interesting blog from "So You Want to Teach." The author describes how he is not spending any time explaining rules to his middle school band students. He has posted the band handbook on the ensemble's website and sends home a form for parents to sign stating that they have read this. He does mention that he reviews a few policy issues at the first rehearsal, such as bathroom passess, phone use, etc. Joel believes that by the time students reach middle school, they know general rules for functioning within a classroom - such as raising your hand when you would like to contribute to the conversation. Occassionally, students will need reminders, but they do not need an entire lecture on the subject. The author notes that the school administration makes sure that the students know the larger school rules and these same principles can be applied inside classrooms. Middle schoolers do not need another six smaller sets of rules for each new room they enter. This is an interesting concept Joel writes about. He explains that his rehearsals revolve around trust which is an important element for good musical organizations. Joel also wrote that he spends the extra time which was previously spent on rule explanation on getting to know the students and learning names.
Above is the URL to another very interesting blog from "So You Want to Teach." The author describes how he is not spending any time explaining rules to his middle school band students. He has posted the band handbook on the ensemble's website and sends home a form for parents to sign stating that they have read this. He does mention that he reviews a few policy issues at the first rehearsal, such as bathroom passess, phone use, etc. Joel believes that by the time students reach middle school, they know general rules for functioning within a classroom - such as raising your hand when you would like to contribute to the conversation. Occassionally, students will need reminders, but they do not need an entire lecture on the subject. The author notes that the school administration makes sure that the students know the larger school rules and these same principles can be applied inside classrooms. Middle schoolers do not need another six smaller sets of rules for each new room they enter. This is an interesting concept Joel writes about. He explains that his rehearsals revolve around trust which is an important element for good musical organizations. Joel also wrote that he spends the extra time which was previously spent on rule explanation on getting to know the students and learning names.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Blog #7: PLN: 10 Things For a First Year Teacher To Do
http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds2.feedburner.com%2FSoYouWantToTeach
Pasted above is a link to the “So You Want to Teach” blog. In this entry, the author relates to teachers who are entering the field for the first time this fall. He remembers how overwhelming the new job can be and encourages readers not to make an ultimatum about the career of teaching based on their first reaction. His major recommendation is to keep a level head at all times and to think about decisions before reacting to stressful situations. Joel provides ten suggestions for new teachers. Most of them make a great deal of sense. I always appreciate advice for first year teachers! I also really liked the list of related articles which are linked at the bottom of the blog. Most of them are about dealing with stress and would be worth taking a look at.
Pasted above is a link to the “So You Want to Teach” blog. In this entry, the author relates to teachers who are entering the field for the first time this fall. He remembers how overwhelming the new job can be and encourages readers not to make an ultimatum about the career of teaching based on their first reaction. His major recommendation is to keep a level head at all times and to think about decisions before reacting to stressful situations. Joel provides ten suggestions for new teachers. Most of them make a great deal of sense. I always appreciate advice for first year teachers! I also really liked the list of related articles which are linked at the bottom of the blog. Most of them are about dealing with stress and would be worth taking a look at.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Blog #6: Reading Reflections for 9/14/2009
Articles Referenced in this blog: “The Vermont MIDI Project” by Steven Estrella
“Creative Thinking and Music Technology” by
Peter Webster
“TI:ME Teaching Standards” in Technology
Strategies for Music Education
Ch. 14: Music Education Applications in Sibelius: A Comprehensive Guide to Sibelius Music Notation Software
The two readings I enjoyed most from those mentioned above was the article on the VT MIDI Project and chapter 14 in Sibelius. After reading the former, I was amazed at what Sandi MacLeod did for students of the VT and NY schools who have now implemented this program. I completely agree that composition teaches students more about the elements of music than do most other experiences. The structure of many current public school music programs is mostly performance focused and does not allot time for writing music or instruction on how to write music. This type of creation, though, would truly excite students to pursue the art seriously. I was impressed with how young these student composers are! The article mentioned several middle school works and even a few created by fourth graders.
The composers who collaborate with these young students must have a very positive effect on the kids. I enjoyed reading that to be a mentoring composer of the Vermont MIDI Project, one must go through some amount of training in how to work with young students. The article mentioned that composers are asked to always be positive about a new work and to state criticism gently. They are not to be overly insistent and know that the students have the right to reject the suggestions made by the composers. The philosophy here sounds very student-focused.
It is also great, that the students are asked to describe their piece along with their artistic decisions. This encourages them to think more closely about their writing. Composers ask simple questions at first, such as, “Is this melody singable or playable” or “Does this remind you of anything a piece you’ve heard in the past?” These prompts are perfect for aspiring composers. The student must complete a series of revisions which means that this instruction is sequenced. Attempting to write a new piece using computer notation software would open-up a world of questions on how music works and how different sounds function within a composition. I like that VMP holds a four-day Summer Institute every summer, meaning that schools have yearly opportunities to join this program and that even teachers with limited technology skills can be trained to avail this resource to their students. I hope to be competent with Sibelius in order to help my future students learn how to use the program.
Although I still feel a little nervous using a sophisticated software such as Sibelius 5, chapter 14 made it clear that the program can be an incredible teaching tool. For the ensemble director, its most important use is the ease in which a melody can be given to all sections of the group. If there is a difficult passage that my young trumpet players are struggling with, but it highlights several musical concepts which I would like the entire band to attend to, I could transcribe the melody for every instrument and hand it out in score form. This would also manifest to the musicians that the notation is different for every instrument. Bassoons cannot look at the same cleft that flutes look at, for example. This might even lead into the beginnings of score reading. It seems that extracting the rhythms from any passage is fairly easy with Sibelius 5 as well. The chapter mentioned that Sibelius includes more than 1,700 worksheets designed for the music classroom. What an amazing resource! Before beginning a piece, I could hand-out one of these worksheets which addresses the particular concepts highlighted in the new music, rather that be a new key signature, a new mode, complex rhythms, or intricate dynamic markings. This would focus the class’s attention on the important features of the piece.
Sibelius can also provide part of a melody with additional staff paper for students to finish the composition with. Students might really enjoy this project if they’re given a starting point to work from. The author also explains that Sibelius includes several poems which students could write a melody to. Some might prefer this, particularly if they were allowed to choose their text. It’s going to take some time to explore all that this program has to offer, and my greatest fear is that when new versions are made, they will be dissimilar from the one I am studying. Technology is constantly changing but hopefully some of the basics will remain unchanged.
“Creative Thinking and Music Technology” by
Peter Webster
“TI:ME Teaching Standards” in Technology
Strategies for Music Education
Ch. 14: Music Education Applications in Sibelius: A Comprehensive Guide to Sibelius Music Notation Software
The two readings I enjoyed most from those mentioned above was the article on the VT MIDI Project and chapter 14 in Sibelius. After reading the former, I was amazed at what Sandi MacLeod did for students of the VT and NY schools who have now implemented this program. I completely agree that composition teaches students more about the elements of music than do most other experiences. The structure of many current public school music programs is mostly performance focused and does not allot time for writing music or instruction on how to write music. This type of creation, though, would truly excite students to pursue the art seriously. I was impressed with how young these student composers are! The article mentioned several middle school works and even a few created by fourth graders.
The composers who collaborate with these young students must have a very positive effect on the kids. I enjoyed reading that to be a mentoring composer of the Vermont MIDI Project, one must go through some amount of training in how to work with young students. The article mentioned that composers are asked to always be positive about a new work and to state criticism gently. They are not to be overly insistent and know that the students have the right to reject the suggestions made by the composers. The philosophy here sounds very student-focused.
It is also great, that the students are asked to describe their piece along with their artistic decisions. This encourages them to think more closely about their writing. Composers ask simple questions at first, such as, “Is this melody singable or playable” or “Does this remind you of anything a piece you’ve heard in the past?” These prompts are perfect for aspiring composers. The student must complete a series of revisions which means that this instruction is sequenced. Attempting to write a new piece using computer notation software would open-up a world of questions on how music works and how different sounds function within a composition. I like that VMP holds a four-day Summer Institute every summer, meaning that schools have yearly opportunities to join this program and that even teachers with limited technology skills can be trained to avail this resource to their students. I hope to be competent with Sibelius in order to help my future students learn how to use the program.
Although I still feel a little nervous using a sophisticated software such as Sibelius 5, chapter 14 made it clear that the program can be an incredible teaching tool. For the ensemble director, its most important use is the ease in which a melody can be given to all sections of the group. If there is a difficult passage that my young trumpet players are struggling with, but it highlights several musical concepts which I would like the entire band to attend to, I could transcribe the melody for every instrument and hand it out in score form. This would also manifest to the musicians that the notation is different for every instrument. Bassoons cannot look at the same cleft that flutes look at, for example. This might even lead into the beginnings of score reading. It seems that extracting the rhythms from any passage is fairly easy with Sibelius 5 as well. The chapter mentioned that Sibelius includes more than 1,700 worksheets designed for the music classroom. What an amazing resource! Before beginning a piece, I could hand-out one of these worksheets which addresses the particular concepts highlighted in the new music, rather that be a new key signature, a new mode, complex rhythms, or intricate dynamic markings. This would focus the class’s attention on the important features of the piece.
Sibelius can also provide part of a melody with additional staff paper for students to finish the composition with. Students might really enjoy this project if they’re given a starting point to work from. The author also explains that Sibelius includes several poems which students could write a melody to. Some might prefer this, particularly if they were allowed to choose their text. It’s going to take some time to explore all that this program has to offer, and my greatest fear is that when new versions are made, they will be dissimilar from the one I am studying. Technology is constantly changing but hopefully some of the basics will remain unchanged.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Blog #5: PLN New York Times Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/nyregion/29teachers.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Listed above is a news article posted in the Region section of the New York Times which was sent to my Google Reader account. Due to budget problems, the US Department of Education put a hiring freeze on new teachers last spring. Principals were told that they need to hire staff members who are already on their district’s payroll but have no permanent position in order to fill their vacancies for the fall. Principals have refused to hire from this pool, however, knowing that they are unqualified. In the city of New York, this has left 1,800 positions still open! Many well-qualified, unemployed teachers are very frustrated that they cannot apply for jobs that are open and principals are upset that they are now being limited in who they can select as faculty members. Many of these New York positions will remain open by the start of classes on September 9 forcing many schools to enlarge class sizes.
Listed above is a news article posted in the Region section of the New York Times which was sent to my Google Reader account. Due to budget problems, the US Department of Education put a hiring freeze on new teachers last spring. Principals were told that they need to hire staff members who are already on their district’s payroll but have no permanent position in order to fill their vacancies for the fall. Principals have refused to hire from this pool, however, knowing that they are unqualified. In the city of New York, this has left 1,800 positions still open! Many well-qualified, unemployed teachers are very frustrated that they cannot apply for jobs that are open and principals are upset that they are now being limited in who they can select as faculty members. Many of these New York positions will remain open by the start of classes on September 9 forcing many schools to enlarge class sizes.
Blog #4: Reading Reflections for 9/7/2009
Articles referenced for this posting:
“11 Innovative Uses for Notation Software” by Scott Watson
“Notation Software: The Ultimate Tool for the Music Teacher” by Dr. Tom Rudolph
“Notation Software: A Versatile Tool for Music Educators” by C. Floyd Richmond
After working with Sibelius more closely and reading these articles, I certainly believe that it is essential for music teachers to be familiar with notation software programs. I think that its most important use for the ensemble director is its ability to transcribe music. It is unwise to assume that every piece of repertoire ordered for a school band will arrive fitted for that specific group. Often, there may be parts that are too technically challenging for some players – Rudolph mentioned that often he needs to rearrange the clarinet parts for his young students who cannot cross the break yet. Or the orchestration may not align with the band’s roster. Often a band director will have far too many saxophones but almost no tubas. Putting the “second altos” on the tuba part would be a good solution.
Watson added that notation software can reduce the stress in an ensemble director’s life. He explained an example where the band was needed to play for a school assembly. Rather than having the entire group participate, he rearranged the music to fit a more select ensemble of volunteers only. The ability to transpose music and print out new parts could yield wonderful chamber music. A director could prepare music for small groups which the players are generally interested in practicing and performing. I do think that this takes a degree of skill on the director’s part, however. Watson mentioned the possibility of transcribing a piano accompaniment for a solo instrument into band parts. I’m not sure if I’m competent enough to do this. He even described a situation where he wrote a harmonic accompaniment for a trumpet solo, and, although he wrote that the accompaniment was simple, I’m afraid that still might be out of my league of compositional skills. Encouraging students to write their own meloldies, though, and then allowing them to put their work onto Sibelius sounds exciting, though. They could begin with manuscript paper, writing a melody for their instrument only and then later it could be imported into Sibelius. Students would be incredibly motivated to see their work printed on the page.
I had difficulty relating to Richmond’s article, however, because mostly wrote about activities for which each student would need access to a computer. If I am working with a school ensemble of eighty, it would be hard to get each student onto a computer. Richmond advocates compositional projects through the use of notation software but I really think that the basics of theory should be learned using paper and pencil first before a new computer program is introduced. Richmond and Watson referred to a notation software’s ability to play back music for the students. I understand that Sibelius can do this but I think original recordings would be preferable. When learning a piece of repertoire students should listen to a real ensemble perform with real people making real musical decisions. This will widen their musical vocabulary. Listening to several interpretations will also help.
Overall, I think that implementing notation software into the classroom can really impress and motivate students. I liked how Watson noted that his students loved to have music dedicated to them. This is so true and it can certainly provoke a compositional interest in them. My greatest fear is that I am still unfamiliar with computers in general. Statements such as “Any modern sequencing software can export a recorded performance as a standard MIDI file that can then be imported into a notation program for playback” (Richmond, p.39) are really difficult for me to understand. To be honest, I don’t know what a sequencing program is right now. “Quantization settings” was also above me. I look forward to defining these terms in the near future.
“11 Innovative Uses for Notation Software” by Scott Watson
“Notation Software: The Ultimate Tool for the Music Teacher” by Dr. Tom Rudolph
“Notation Software: A Versatile Tool for Music Educators” by C. Floyd Richmond
After working with Sibelius more closely and reading these articles, I certainly believe that it is essential for music teachers to be familiar with notation software programs. I think that its most important use for the ensemble director is its ability to transcribe music. It is unwise to assume that every piece of repertoire ordered for a school band will arrive fitted for that specific group. Often, there may be parts that are too technically challenging for some players – Rudolph mentioned that often he needs to rearrange the clarinet parts for his young students who cannot cross the break yet. Or the orchestration may not align with the band’s roster. Often a band director will have far too many saxophones but almost no tubas. Putting the “second altos” on the tuba part would be a good solution.
Watson added that notation software can reduce the stress in an ensemble director’s life. He explained an example where the band was needed to play for a school assembly. Rather than having the entire group participate, he rearranged the music to fit a more select ensemble of volunteers only. The ability to transpose music and print out new parts could yield wonderful chamber music. A director could prepare music for small groups which the players are generally interested in practicing and performing. I do think that this takes a degree of skill on the director’s part, however. Watson mentioned the possibility of transcribing a piano accompaniment for a solo instrument into band parts. I’m not sure if I’m competent enough to do this. He even described a situation where he wrote a harmonic accompaniment for a trumpet solo, and, although he wrote that the accompaniment was simple, I’m afraid that still might be out of my league of compositional skills. Encouraging students to write their own meloldies, though, and then allowing them to put their work onto Sibelius sounds exciting, though. They could begin with manuscript paper, writing a melody for their instrument only and then later it could be imported into Sibelius. Students would be incredibly motivated to see their work printed on the page.
I had difficulty relating to Richmond’s article, however, because mostly wrote about activities for which each student would need access to a computer. If I am working with a school ensemble of eighty, it would be hard to get each student onto a computer. Richmond advocates compositional projects through the use of notation software but I really think that the basics of theory should be learned using paper and pencil first before a new computer program is introduced. Richmond and Watson referred to a notation software’s ability to play back music for the students. I understand that Sibelius can do this but I think original recordings would be preferable. When learning a piece of repertoire students should listen to a real ensemble perform with real people making real musical decisions. This will widen their musical vocabulary. Listening to several interpretations will also help.
Overall, I think that implementing notation software into the classroom can really impress and motivate students. I liked how Watson noted that his students loved to have music dedicated to them. This is so true and it can certainly provoke a compositional interest in them. My greatest fear is that I am still unfamiliar with computers in general. Statements such as “Any modern sequencing software can export a recorded performance as a standard MIDI file that can then be imported into a notation program for playback” (Richmond, p.39) are really difficult for me to understand. To be honest, I don’t know what a sequencing program is right now. “Quantization settings” was also above me. I look forward to defining these terms in the near future.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Blog #3: Noteflight
http://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/302518b5ee5dd829b36891b0eb6685a8f09fa22c
For 8/30/2009
Pasted above is the URL to my first Noteflight composition (A Bycicle Built for Two). Noteflight seemed extremely easy to use and the videos provided were very helpful. I have not used composition software in quite some time. At Allegheny College, we were taught how to use Sibelius 3 and when I first came to Case I was given a brief introduction on how to use Finale. However, it has been much time since I have used either program so I was slightly intimidated when first logging on to Noteflight. I encountered few difficulties, however. It took me a little while to figure out how to enter text, particularly the “Moderate Waltz Tempo” explanation at the top of the piece. How to add text was not discussed in the videos or the printed tutorial. However, I was able to navigate the program quickly. At one point I had to move all notes in the piano treble cleft back one measure due to my own mistake. It took me a minute but I solved this problem as well. The option of adding a vocal part did not seem to be available at first. I used a staff for “flute” and then relabeled it. A voice feature might be helpful especially if the computer could assume that a vocal part will eventually require text with it.
I think that this program will be a great asset to music teachers. Many schools may not be able to afford Finale or Sibelius for their music staff. A music teacher needs no additional hardware and no CDs sent in the mail to use this program. One simply needs a computer and internet access to start creating music on Noteflight. Ensemble directors often need to excerpt different selections or transpose them for various sections. For example, a director could want the tuba section to be exposed to the melody of a suite that the band is playing so that they have a clear understanding of the phrasing being used. He/she could write out the melody for the tubas and any other section in the same situation and print it from Noteflight. Directors could also create their own warm-ups through this program. It is fairly easy to place all instrument parts on one large score so that each musician can see what all other sections are playing throughout the exercises. It’s good to know that this program is available and I hope to practice and become a little faster at entering the notes.
For 8/30/2009
Pasted above is the URL to my first Noteflight composition (A Bycicle Built for Two). Noteflight seemed extremely easy to use and the videos provided were very helpful. I have not used composition software in quite some time. At Allegheny College, we were taught how to use Sibelius 3 and when I first came to Case I was given a brief introduction on how to use Finale. However, it has been much time since I have used either program so I was slightly intimidated when first logging on to Noteflight. I encountered few difficulties, however. It took me a little while to figure out how to enter text, particularly the “Moderate Waltz Tempo” explanation at the top of the piece. How to add text was not discussed in the videos or the printed tutorial. However, I was able to navigate the program quickly. At one point I had to move all notes in the piano treble cleft back one measure due to my own mistake. It took me a minute but I solved this problem as well. The option of adding a vocal part did not seem to be available at first. I used a staff for “flute” and then relabeled it. A voice feature might be helpful especially if the computer could assume that a vocal part will eventually require text with it.
I think that this program will be a great asset to music teachers. Many schools may not be able to afford Finale or Sibelius for their music staff. A music teacher needs no additional hardware and no CDs sent in the mail to use this program. One simply needs a computer and internet access to start creating music on Noteflight. Ensemble directors often need to excerpt different selections or transpose them for various sections. For example, a director could want the tuba section to be exposed to the melody of a suite that the band is playing so that they have a clear understanding of the phrasing being used. He/she could write out the melody for the tubas and any other section in the same situation and print it from Noteflight. Directors could also create their own warm-ups through this program. It is fairly easy to place all instrument parts on one large score so that each musician can see what all other sections are playing throughout the exercises. It’s good to know that this program is available and I hope to practice and become a little faster at entering the notes.
Blog #2: PLN: Setting-up My Google Reader
For 8/30/2009
I had a blast creating a Google Reader account. I was not aware that I could have so much fun using a computer! Everything worked fine and the computer has yet to explode on me. Many educators have shared their resources across the net and I hope to take advantage of these. Thus far, I have subscribed to the following: The International Society for Technology in Education, Classics for Kids, Jazz Profiles, So You Want to Teach?, The National Association for Music Education , Learning.now, the education sections of the New York Times, USA Today, and EducationNews.com, and the music education section of a job postings site. Several of these web links have already sent me postings. It seems fairly easy to use although I’m not sure how I’ll read through all of this information every day. As our article mentioned, it seems like a teacher could have so much information sent to him/her, that lesson plans would practically create themselves. I’m still slightly confused about what Folksonomies are but I’m sure I’ll be learning soon. I think I not only struggle with technology but I also have trouble with networking and keeping in touch with other professionals in my field. I think the Google Reader could help with both problems. I am also always behind in the news so I really hope to sign into the account on a regular basis and begin to catch-up on some of the issues. I’m looking forward to class and hearing what other students have chosen to subscribe to!
I had a blast creating a Google Reader account. I was not aware that I could have so much fun using a computer! Everything worked fine and the computer has yet to explode on me. Many educators have shared their resources across the net and I hope to take advantage of these. Thus far, I have subscribed to the following: The International Society for Technology in Education, Classics for Kids, Jazz Profiles, So You Want to Teach?, The National Association for Music Education , Learning.now, the education sections of the New York Times, USA Today, and EducationNews.com, and the music education section of a job postings site. Several of these web links have already sent me postings. It seems fairly easy to use although I’m not sure how I’ll read through all of this information every day. As our article mentioned, it seems like a teacher could have so much information sent to him/her, that lesson plans would practically create themselves. I’m still slightly confused about what Folksonomies are but I’m sure I’ll be learning soon. I think I not only struggle with technology but I also have trouble with networking and keeping in touch with other professionals in my field. I think the Google Reader could help with both problems. I am also always behind in the news so I really hope to sign into the account on a regular basis and begin to catch-up on some of the issues. I’m looking forward to class and hearing what other students have chosen to subscribe to!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Blog #1: Course Readings for 8/31/2009
Reflecting on the article "A Conceptual Framework for Technology-Assisted Music Learning" by Dr. William I. Bauer.
Blog #1: Course Reading for 8/31/2009
“A Conceptual Framework for Technology-Assisted Music Learning” by Dr. William I. Bauer
I enjoyed reading about the TPACK model. I think that technology can enhance classroom activities in great ways. It concerns me that I am a “digital immigrant,” as the article calls it. I’ve always felt like an outsider when it comes to technology and at least five or six steps behind the game. I think change makes me nervous and technology is always changing. I know that the use of digital music players provide an entire library of music for students and has made our art very accessible. Students no longer need to wait to hear a live concert in order to have a quality music experience. Most notably, technology has increased the rate and efficiency at which we can communicate. To ignore new technological innovations would literally leave the practicing educator out of the loop.
I am glad to know that many schools are pushing to educate both students and practitioners about technology. For two summers now I have substitute taught in an elementary school near my home. This elementary school is the poorest in our district; however, even they have made great strides in using technology. Beginning in kindergarten students take two computer classes a week. Kindergarten seems extremely young to be using these machines but the students are taught how to at least turn them on and play simple games on them. Their curriculum progresses from there and I am confident that these young people will have a much better attitude about using computers than I did by the time I finished middle school. Students at this elementary school are encouraged to type their documents as well although it is rarely required. Every teacher and assistant teacher was trained to use Smart Boards and one of these was put into almost every single classroom. The Smart Boards made many lessons come alive for students and motivated them to focus. I think they could be very effective in the music classroom so I hope to someday learn more about them.
The article made it clear that the use of technology in the classroom cannot be random. The teacher needs a clear understanding of what “affordances” each technology possesses. This means that teachers still need to be creative in their lesson planning – the computers will not do the teaching for us. This is reassuring but I know I still tend to avoid technology all together. I’m excited to take this class so that I feel like more of an insider, like one of the “natives.” This will probably motivate me to pursue workshops on new computer programs at professional development conferences. This article explains that the use of technology can engage students in music even if they don’t have formal training and I think this is so important. I think that students of all musical abilities should be able to appreciate a musical experience. I would never want to deprive my students of resources that would allow them to have that. I’m glad that I will be having the opportunity to work out my TPACK this semester!
Blog #1: Course Reading for 8/31/2009
“A Conceptual Framework for Technology-Assisted Music Learning” by Dr. William I. Bauer
I enjoyed reading about the TPACK model. I think that technology can enhance classroom activities in great ways. It concerns me that I am a “digital immigrant,” as the article calls it. I’ve always felt like an outsider when it comes to technology and at least five or six steps behind the game. I think change makes me nervous and technology is always changing. I know that the use of digital music players provide an entire library of music for students and has made our art very accessible. Students no longer need to wait to hear a live concert in order to have a quality music experience. Most notably, technology has increased the rate and efficiency at which we can communicate. To ignore new technological innovations would literally leave the practicing educator out of the loop.
I am glad to know that many schools are pushing to educate both students and practitioners about technology. For two summers now I have substitute taught in an elementary school near my home. This elementary school is the poorest in our district; however, even they have made great strides in using technology. Beginning in kindergarten students take two computer classes a week. Kindergarten seems extremely young to be using these machines but the students are taught how to at least turn them on and play simple games on them. Their curriculum progresses from there and I am confident that these young people will have a much better attitude about using computers than I did by the time I finished middle school. Students at this elementary school are encouraged to type their documents as well although it is rarely required. Every teacher and assistant teacher was trained to use Smart Boards and one of these was put into almost every single classroom. The Smart Boards made many lessons come alive for students and motivated them to focus. I think they could be very effective in the music classroom so I hope to someday learn more about them.
The article made it clear that the use of technology in the classroom cannot be random. The teacher needs a clear understanding of what “affordances” each technology possesses. This means that teachers still need to be creative in their lesson planning – the computers will not do the teaching for us. This is reassuring but I know I still tend to avoid technology all together. I’m excited to take this class so that I feel like more of an insider, like one of the “natives.” This will probably motivate me to pursue workshops on new computer programs at professional development conferences. This article explains that the use of technology can engage students in music even if they don’t have formal training and I think this is so important. I think that students of all musical abilities should be able to appreciate a musical experience. I would never want to deprive my students of resources that would allow them to have that. I’m glad that I will be having the opportunity to work out my TPACK this semester!
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