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.
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In regards to the one computer instruction article, I agree that it's certainly preferred to have computers for all (or at least a projector, smartboard, or other tool to make it easier to interact with an entire class). However, I can see how this approach could work for teachers that simply don't have the resources available. Perhaps as you gain experience with some of the software discussed in the CAI article, you'll get ideas of how to apply these technologies in a classroom with limited equipment.
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