2nd Software Review. Free 10-day demo of Recorder Teacher 98. There are a bunch of sound buttons in this program, but Jing did not pick up any of the actual sounds. When a student answers correctly, a polite "bark" can be heard. An incorrect answer earns a more aggressive "bark". There are listening examples of an expert and examples of every concept taught.
The ability to demonstrate a program or give instructions in the form of a movie could be a terrific time-saver. We as teachers repeat ourselves a lot. I think I will use this program to demonstrate usage and methods that I use over and over each year. It would also be good as a digital review document.
http://screencast.com/t/uZi73EZH
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Video with Pictures and Music
A video with still pictures, music and narration can be very helpful in a music class. The video below can be used in any marching band class. It has still pictures of our actual opening drill and is matched to the music that will be played, too.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Technology-Assisted Learning Software Evaulation
Using Smart Compostition Software in Music Class
Looping software can be so much fun! It is such a great way to get kids (and adults) excited about music composition before they can read music! Results are instantaneous and changes are easy if you can drag and drop. I plan to use this software in my Applied Music class in the technology and recording unit. The students will create their own composition, save it as a .wav file and burn it to an original class CD. We will also explore the MIDI capabilities of a lot of the software and add in some .mid files as well as some digital recordings of live performances. What a wonderful way to get the kids involved in not only performance and practice, but actual music production! The beauty of this family of programs (ACID, Ableton, Super Duper Music Looper and Band-In-A-Box to name a few) is that the students' compositions can be done quite simply or in a very complex and involved manner. Thus, it is an appropriate activity for the very young learner to the accomplished musician.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Original Graphic in a .pdf File
The following is an example of how an original graphic might be used in a document. The link below is to a .pdf file of Goldthwaite High School's nearly complete Marching Band Techniques Handbook. The handbook itself is a detailed description of body positions and movement techniques that the Golden Eagle Band uses along with teaching tips for the student leadership.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/4019653/MarchingTechiques
http://www.scribd.com/doc/4019653/MarchingTechiques
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Original Graphic
When a completely new graphic is created electronically, like this one, it can be used on webpages, in emails, in letters and on concert programs without the worry of copyright infringement or a nasty lawsuit. Just remember to make sure any clipart is freeware or that you have paid any necessary fees or gotten the appropriate permissions.
Edited Digital Photograph
Drum Line Camp was a success. Silly pictures like this one is a great way to catch a student's attention and draw them into the meat of an article or post or lesson. Putting a edited picture into a Power Point presentation or a Word document is an effective way to communicate. After all, a picture really is worth a thousand words.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Screen Shot
Mario Paint Composer is very appropriate music writing program for young students. It uses familiar characters and sounds from Nintendo's famous Mario games. It is a free download from unFun Games. I like that it uses a visual subdivision of the beat to organize notes.
Music Notation Software
This is a screen shot of taken of Coda Music's Notepad Freeware. It is a wonderful beginning level program that is appropriate for students just beginning to understand note reading. Students can write their own tunes, listen to them, add lyrics, and write up to 8 staves.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Annotated Bookmark List
This video is a version of the "Mighty Morphing Power Rangers" theme that was written with Mario Paint, a free music writing software. Mario Paint was designed as an add-on to Super Mario World, Nintendo's famous namesake. It is extremely kid friendly, especially for young ones, but can be used to write fairly complex and creative songs. Below is a link to the download site.
http://www.unfungames.com/mariopaint
http://www.myspace.com/thelittlemermaidmusic
This site is particularly appropriate for elementary-aged children. It would be a great companion to the movie in that there are several high quality recordings of music from the musical and several fun links to silly stuff like Mermaid icons.
http://www.myspace.com/potosongs
This site features recordings and video from the stage production “Phantom of the Opera”. The snap shots and the video clips are of the actual stage production. The plot is briefly explained along the side of the cast list. It would be an excellent site to teach several elements of stage productions as opposed to movies.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Technology in Music Education
Class 1 7/14
There is a wealth of information in today's readings. Actually, a lot of it was lists and activities for familiarizing students with different file types, recording procedures for audio and video, file conversion, file manipulation, uploading, downloading and a host of other projects.
Another bit of valuable information is the consolidation list that equates the TI:ME standards with both national academic standards and national music education standards. For those of us who need to carefully document that we have taught what the law requires, it is a way of reconciling what we need to teach with what we have to teach.
There is also a great deal of justification to teach music using technology. Notice that I did not write "teaching music technology". The emphasis in the music classroom should always be teaching music, but several reasons for doing so through technology are heightened interest and attention, varying teaching methods, and the state requires teachers to use technology in all subject areas. Besides all that, it's just fun to mix it up every now and then.
Class 1 7/14
There is a wealth of information in today's readings. Actually, a lot of it was lists and activities for familiarizing students with different file types, recording procedures for audio and video, file conversion, file manipulation, uploading, downloading and a host of other projects.
Another bit of valuable information is the consolidation list that equates the TI:ME standards with both national academic standards and national music education standards. For those of us who need to carefully document that we have taught what the law requires, it is a way of reconciling what we need to teach with what we have to teach.
There is also a great deal of justification to teach music using technology. Notice that I did not write "teaching music technology". The emphasis in the music classroom should always be teaching music, but several reasons for doing so through technology are heightened interest and attention, varying teaching methods, and the state requires teachers to use technology in all subject areas. Besides all that, it's just fun to mix it up every now and then.
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