Module 3

This week’s module was centered on music technology that can be effectively implemented in the classroom and performance ensemble.  There was a special emphasis placed on another compositional software, Soundation. Honestly, I feel that non-traditional music classes are the wave of the future.  I recall an open discussion in one of my undergraduate music education courses where we were strategizing on how to convince students on the relevance of music programs in the public school. The bottom line was that most students today feel disconnected from the traditional forms of music programs such as band, chorus and orchestra.  This is evident by numbers in music programs across the nation which are often considered in government and in legislation.  I remember hearing the statistic that classical music accounts for less than 2% of concert ticket sales nationally.  All the while, reality music television shows and commercial popular music is on the rise.  If our objective is to truly reach the student of today, we have to be willing to meet them where they are and be able to educate them in the world we live in.  I am not suggesting replacing Brahms with the commercial flavor of the month, however, I am saying that if we don't figure out a way to make music education appealing to the aspiring musicians of today, then we are going to miss out on a group of gifted individuals.  These various classes are a way to reach out to them and allow them the benefit of learning music in a way that is relevant to them.

The main constraint to these sorts of programs will probably be lack of financial support.  Another concern that was realized through one of my classmate’s discussion posts, is the lack of the performance element. A solution to the latter may be remembering to give students an opportunity to have their musical works heard and possibly performed by others.  This could also serve as a great collaboration opportunity between performing ensembles and non-traditional music courses. Researching grant programs and utilizing social sites like, Donors Choose could help ease the financial burden often associated with these ventures as well.

The NTMs (non-traditional music students) account for a significant percentage of students today.  Even those who enjoy performing in an ensemble could benefit from some of these courses.  The reading this week were more of a review of materials and information that I was already familiar with, however, the discussion of the performance ensembles and how technology can be successfully integrated into them was helpful.  Practical ideas such as using tuners ad metronomes in student practice was helpful.  I personally liked the suggestion of Smart Music as I have been trying to get this software in my school since the beginning of the year. I particularly enjoyed the reading the following profiles on www.musiccreativity.org this week:

 http://www.musiccreativity.org/profiles_ntm_schools_in_act/oak-hills-high-school-cinci.html

http://www.musiccreativity.org/profiles_ntm_schools_in_act/adrian-high-school-adrian-m.html

http://www.musiccreativity.org/profiles_ntm_schools_in_act/stuart_country_day_school_o_2.html

The second profile was my favorite and most closely resembled the type of course I would like to build specifically because of the film scoring aspect.  Using programs such as Donors Choose, I could acquire the computers and software needed for the course. It included:

• Software Used: Garage band,  Reason,  Logic Express
• Hardware Used: iMacs
• Class NTM Activities:  Classes are primarily composition based although the beginning class is open to all students.  Students have a variety of simple composition projects (usually weekly) that includes composing for certain aspects of media. ( ex. jingles for commercials, video games, audio books, etc. ). These projects progress in length and complexity all the way up to composing music and creating Foley for film scoring.

The third profile was least like what I would desire in my course.  Many of the programs were designed as clubs rather than courses since they constructed instruments like dulcimers and used them in their programs.  This profile included:

• Software Used: Finale, Practica Musica, GarageBand
• Hardware Used: Guitars, dulcimer kits, smartboards, projectors, cameras, clavinovas, handbells.

• Class NTM Activities:  Stuart has a very unusual and restrictive schedule as far as the arts are concerned.  Most of what we offer, except Honors/AP, is more of a club than a class.  When I finally accepted this, then the program took off.  I planned for what WOULD work and did not whine about what would not.

 
I was excited to explore Soundation for two main reasons: it is free and it is assessable through most any web browser. This means that I could actually assign my students technology projects that they could work on at home!  This is exciting news for educators because one of the main reasons music educators give for not giving technology assignments is that is takes up rehearsal time.  With this program, students could actually demonstrate their knowledge of music standards addressed in the classroom.  Overall, I would say the Soundation project was a successful learning experience for me.  I did not experience very many challenges with Soundation, mainly because it is so similar to Garageband and most of my recording experience comes from using that software.  One particular technology point that slowed me down a bit is the precision of placement for the loops and tracks.  If they are placed even slightly to the left or the right, the software will read the placement as an intentional compositional choice. This doesn’t happen as often with Garageband because there are ways to magnify the individual tracks so that the ticker marks are highly visible for correct placement.  Additionally, one can add copy multiple tracks in Garaband and paste them at a quicker rate.  I did not find this feature in Soundation or at least I have not figured it out yet.