Music Creation Project

Here's my original song "I go to your eyes".  I recorded everything in GarageBand.

Week 6- The Digital Delimma: Learning vs. Consuming. Listening vs. Hearing.

YouTube has really revolutionized learning in almost any life context you can think of.  I've personally used YouTube tutorial videos for many DIY and "How To" projects such as repairing a damaged ceiling in my house, replacing the headlights in my truck, and installing a new screen door on my porch.  I constantly observe my music tech students look up YouTube tutorials on how to play certain songs on guitar or bass or when they have an operational issue with a DAW they can't figure out.  More than likely if there's something you want to know how to do, there's someone out there in the world that can do it, and has made a video showing us how. 

As someone who did not grow up in the digital age and has watched this shift, it's amazing but also intimidating.  As an educator, I can't help but think that free, any time accessible lessons on any subject make students less likely to want traditional classroom style instruction.  Their attention span is shorter because they're used to "consuming" what they learn quickly similar to how they consume anything online.  They're less likely to believe they have to commit anything to memory because the answer to any problem they encounter is on a device in their pocket.  Why should they put it in their brain?

If we look at how Napster and iTunes changed the recording industry by eliminated record stores, and Netflix killed video rental stores, it can be safe to say that YouTube may be putting many private lesson teachers out of work.  Why pay a guitar teacher or travel to a music store for a lesson when I can learn my favorite song for free at my house on my phone?  The universal access to free information on YouTube is exciting and convenient, but scary at the same time. 

YouTube also gives students another source for hearing music.  In chapter 5 this week Bauer discussed the difference between hearing and listening.  I really appreciated this distinction.  As a band director I stress constantly the importance of listening throughout the ensemble for balance, blend, intonation, style etc.  Listening can be hard work.  Hearing is easy.  The digital music age has made hearing even easier.  I think music educators have a real challenge today to get these digital native students to "slow down" and listen to music.  This is counter-intuitive to putting ear buds in and consuming music. 

Week 5 reflection- Backward is Forward

When I first heard the phrase "backward design" in the lecture this week I was apprehensive to agree with the methodology associated with it.  My initial assumption was that this kind of teaching would fall under "teaching the test" or designing everything in curriculum to get students to score high on a test.  For me, our educational motivation and goals should be student learning, growth and maturity.  When the priority becomes test scores, we lose sight of this and instruction lacks real meaning.

The philosophy of backward design as outlined by Bauer in Chapter 7 however, begins with identifying the goals and desired outcomes of a unit or lesson.  Once the end results have been clearly established, the assessments, or "means of evidence" are designed in such a way as to measure accurately and effectively how well the students meet those results.  So, the lesson does begin with designing and sometimes even taking tests, but not just so we can teach what's on going to be on it.  The assessment becomes a tool to reach the goals, NOT the goal itself.  

Our instruction will naturally reflect what our goals are.  As a band director, I should apply these same concepts of making the musical development of the students my primary objective, not contest ratings, trophies, or reputation.  When these are the goals instead of student development, rehearsals can become tedious, less student-centered, and have a heavy diet of literature with few fundamentals and method exercises.  Performance outcome is very important, but will be even more enhanced when rehearsal instruction is student-centered and goal-oriented.  Backward design seems like a natural and very beneficial method to apply in a band class. 

I've been referring to a great article recently by Kenneth Beard when I prepare for my rehearsals.  He says, "Every rehearsal should be like a private lesson."  This statement is very student-focused, and the concepts in this article help achieve that end.

http://banddaddy.com/uploads/Performance_Evaluation_Preparation_1_.pdf

I also came across this article from SmartMusic when I was considering how integrating technology under the framework of backward design might look.

http://www.smartmusic.com/blog/teacher-tip-using-technology-rehearsals/

Chromatik and SmartMusic

The combination of instructional and play-along videos on Chromatik make it an excellent tool for instrumentalists of any ability level.  The sheet music/video combination gives students a new option for learning their favorite charts online free of charge.  Many of my students already use YouTube tutorial videos for learning certain songs, particularly on guitar, bass and piano.  Chromatik now gives wind players quick access to pieces they can hear on YouTube but may be unable to find "how to" videos that guitar players have available.

When playing along with a chart, the pages turn automatically on the screen which prevent you from having to stop playing and turn it yourself.  I thought this was a brilliant feature on the site.  The Chromatik iPhone app allows you to set a speed for the sheet music to scroll along while you play.  The app has a lot of other great features, including a practice log, a metronome, and chromatic tuner.  It also gives you the ability to upload and share 15 seconds of yourself performing.  You can keep a running list of favorite tunes as well to play so you don't have to search back for them later.

One downside to Chromatik is that the sheet music for wind instruments only contains the melody line of each song.  This can be limiting if there are other lines in a chart you would like to see music for a play along with.  The database in Chromatik is almost exclusively popular music.  This is great for getting students excited about practicing at home yet can limit them from practicing music or method material designed to improve their skills on their specific instrument.

SmartMusic seems by all accounts to be the most comprehensive and beneficial interactive practice tool available to instrumental students.  The motto description on the website, "Focused Practice.  Instant Feedback. Documented Progress.", sums up all that SmartMusic provides.  The videos and testimonials from students, educators and parents are remarkable.  SmartMusic boasts a database of 30,000 works for solo and ensemble as well as 50,000 method exercises.  It allows students to practice with or without accompaniment from a home computer or iPad app.  The most impressive feature is SmartMusic's ability to evaluate mistakes they make AS they play through a piece.  Students can perform their assignments and send them to their teachers online.  Teachers can check student work online or from the iPhone app SmartMusic Inbox.  The one year subscription cost of $140 for educators and $40 for students is a worthy investment.  After exploring Smartmusic thoroughly and hearing the first hand accounts of its benefits, I am sold on adding it to my band program.   

Week 4 Reflection- performance and practice

I would have practiced trumpet much more consistently as a middle school student if the technology that exists now were available then.  The software and online resources available to music education now are so versatile and beneficial to students and teachers.  I have always planned to get SmartMusic "eventually" and have even attended several GMEA seminars about it through the years.  Getting a subscription to it has just moved to the top of my priority list for next school year.  

I was able to relate most closely this week to the topic of recording rehearsals and performances.  I have found this to be one of the most important tools for my students and myself, in both improving our ensemble awareness, and preparing for concerts. When approaching a performance, I typically record each piece or a run of the program two to three times a week.  This allows us to hear our development and improvement on each piece.  It also gives me the chance to listen closely for areas we need to perfect.  I make detailed lists of these specific spots and address each of them at the next rehearsal.  Sometimes these are simple things for students to mark in their parts and don’t require any rehearsal time.  Other times we have to dig deeper into the areas of weakness and spend more significant time working sections of the music.

To get the most accurate and helpful representation of how the band sounds it is crucial to get the best quality recording for the environment.  Since we rehearse most often in the band room, I have to consider levels, EQ, reverb, and mic placements to ensure that I will hear all the parts accurately and authentically.  I have a small 4-channel Presonus Audiobox with USB input so it’s easy to plug in my laptop and use any audio recording software or DAW.  I use Garageband because I’m most familiar with it and it’s convenient to navigate multi-track recording and levels.  I have one centered overhead condenser mic and three directional condenser mics mounted on the front wall of the room close to the ceiling.  Recording with each mic on its own mono track allows me to balance the band, and sometimes mute or solo tracks to hear things I would not usually hear from the podium. 

Soundation review

This project was my first experience using Soundation.  Most of my composing in DAWs has been in GarageBand and Logic.  For my first composition attempt in Soundation I wanted to write something that contained a range of representative electronic sounds from the loop library since most of the free sounds were electronic.  When I write loop-based electronic music in a DAW, I typically make it a goal to keep consistent 4-measure phrases to maintain musical flow and avoid redundancy, which can happen easily with techno-type tracks.  I also wanted to connect one idea to the next by extending a loop from one particular phrase into the next while cutting and adding others. 

            The software was easy to navigate and I was surprised at how versatile it was being web-based and free.  The aspect I liked most was that you could use any prerecorded files regardless of the tempo or key.  When adding a new loop, Soundation gives you the option to stretch the time or alter the pitch of the loop to match the material in your tracks.  This gives you the creative freedom to use any of the loops in the library at your discretion.  It was also easy to add tracks, edit levels, cut, extend, and copy sound clips.  The solo and mute buttons are exactly like any other DAW available. 

            As a Garageband user, I missed all the keyboard shortcuts and the scrolling playback feature.  I found myself hitting the “Z” key trying to jump back to the beginning but nothing would happen.  I did not like that you have to manually scroll when the music goes past what you have written on the screen.  The track would sometimes skip or freeze during playback when scrolling across the screen.  I found the lack of MIDI sounds available for the MIDI keyboard limiting.  The DAWs I am used to have a substantial library of sounds to play through the keyboard. 

            In terms of educational value, I think Soundation is a good introduction to DAWs and working with loops and track editing.  Being free and web-based, it is assessable to most any student and school.  This makes it extremely valuable to music classes for simple composition projects.  I would use Soundation in any of my short, loop/MIDI assignments in which I give music tech students a required number of tracks, length and other phrasing or measure criteria to complete for a grade.  I would however continue using GarageBand and Logic in a studio setting with more extensive recording/composing projects. 

I think students would enjoy Soundation as an Internet DAW.  I have actually had music tech students who have already used it in their personal time.  Many of them do not own Mac computers so they cannot access GarageBand at home.  Logic and Pro Tools are expensive for high school students, so having something online that is free and can still give them a DAW experience at home is very appealing. 

Week 3- Composition as a pedagogical discipline

I've always incorporated student composition into my music tech class curriculum, both through Finale and DAWs.  Student musical development and growth are always evident from the beginning of the year, writing simple rhythms and melodies, to the end of the year when they are composing complex original multi-track MIDI/digital songs.  The theory lessons I teach at the first of the year both enhance and are enhanced by composition projects.  I have found that the more we apply the theoretical concepts into our compositions, the better students do on theory tests and the quality of their compositions increases. 

I've been challenged this week by Bauer to consider adapting some form of composition project into my band classes.  I'm typically so focused on the next concert, auditions or festivals that I don't feel I have time to spend on something like composing.  With the evidence of how students mature musically in my music tech classes, I don't know why up until now I haven't tried to get band students writing their own music.  The closest thing we've done to composing in band class is simple 4-8 measure rhythm writing exercises when doing rhythm reviews.  I've never taken the class to the music tech lab or given them melodic composition projects for a grade.  

Chapter 3 in Bauer's book highlights the benefits of composition in relationship to overall student musicianship.  In this chapter I was introduced to Music-COMP- Music Composition Online Mentoring Program.  I visited their website and I've been astounded by the quality of original compositions from students as young as 3rd Grade.  The website has recordings from the past two "Opus" performances featuring music composed by students from 3rd-12th grade. 

http://music-comp.org/opus-28-audio-recordings/
http://music-comp.org/opus-29-audio-recordings/

The two belief guidelines from Music-COMP listed in Chapter 3 that stood out to me were "Using notation software develops music literacy" and "Composition is one element of a well-rounded curriculum" (Bauer, 60).  I'm really interested now in getting my students involved in composing, whether through something like Music-COMP or giving them chamber group instrumentation and doing class compositions.