Online interactive composition

Are you looking for a way for your students to create, hear and play music? Check out Creating Music. It is an online resources that allows students to crate melodies, hear various instruments and play musical games. Looks very promising, especially if you have younger student musicians.

Movie & Video Game Composition

 These two videos (above and below) are interviews with two gentleman who do composition work in the fields of movies and video games. These are excellent resources for students who are thinking about composition or are looking for some interesting insights.

Teach Music. The Technology Will Follow

Teachers who are searching for lots of good music technology resources should check out: MusicEdTech.com

This website was created by Ms.Barbara Ann Freedman, a teacher at a public high school in Connecticut. While this website appears to be in its infancy, there are already plenty of awesome resources to check out.

 

Mixcraft 5- Audio and Midi Recording Software

This past week I had the opportunity to try out and review Mixcraft 5. Mixcraft 5 is a piece of software that allows the user to easily record audio, manipulate midi files, create loops and a whole lot more. For those of you who are familiar with GarageBand, Mixcraft is the "GarageBand" of the PC. Try out a 14 day demo on Mixcraft's website. This software is released by a company named Acoustica, where their motto is "Software Should Be Easy To Use!"

Podcasting Info

Podcasting Info

If you are looking to learn more about podcasting this is an excellent website. This site includes inofrmation about producing, subscribing and posting podcasts.Chances are, you already own the technology to do it!

12 year old Saxophonist- Georgia On My Mind

Wow, this young saxophonist is only 12 years old in this video. He displays a strong command for the saxophone including the altissimo register, which is impressive for his age. I have heard Gerald Albright's version, and this Korean saxophonist kills it!

Music Technology Podcast

This podcast is produced by CSU-LB faculty member George Wheeler and presents instruction on how to use computer based technology for music composition and audio production. Note: You will need to open iTunes to view the podcast. I have only listened to a portion of these so far. I had never thought of finding this kind of information on iTunes until this popped up in my Google Reader.

Music for the Hearing Impaired

This article comes from a technology review done by MIT. Many of us are faced with the challenges of teaching students of various disabilities. The good news is that there are some excellent new technologies being implemented. Take a moment to check out the above link and learn about the develops of cochlear implants and their impact on music and the hearing impaired.

Music PLN

This popped up in my feed a few days ago. MusicPLN.org is a relatively new online community for music teachers and pre-service music teachers to exchange ideas and seek professional development

Why an "A" is not enough!

Dr. Adam Brennan (Mansfield University) demonstrates the difference between earning a grade of "A" and a piece that is performed "artfully." This video will shed light on problems in our American Education System in a very interesting way!

Note Flight

 Noteflight is a tool for music teachers and their students to use for notating music. Per Noteflight’s Wiki: “Noteflight is an online interactive graphical music-notation editor.” It is a free tool that can be accessed from nearly any computer with an internet connection/browser that supports Adobe Flash. From an educator’s perspective, students can now work on compositions or assignments both at school and at home without expensive notation software.

I found Noteflight fairly easy to use. Teachers looking to use this tool with their students can take comfort in knowing that tutorial videos, FAQ’s and help forums provide excellent help and support to users of varying computer expertise. Creating a free account takes only a few minutes. Students can easily access their work from a computer at school, as well as at home. This tool can readily be used in music theory classrooms as both an instructional aid and as a tool for students to do part writing or other assignments. A band director might use this tool to have students transpose parts or to transcribe a solo for jazz band.

I can already tell that my favorite use of Noteflight will be that I can have students transpose their parts! Next time you need a student to cover or double another part, have your students try inputting the notation themselves. Noteflight even has a transpose feature!

NYSSMA Technology Resources

The New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) has a lot of resources for music teachers on their website. Everything from advocacy materials to music curriculum can be found on their site. The Technology Committee is part of the larger NYSSMA umbrella. On the technology committee's web-page you will find  internet resources as well as music applications that work on the iphone (opens as a pdf.)

Music Technology Articles and Lesson Plans

If anyone is looking for articles supporting a variety of uses for music technology, please check out SoundTree's website. SoundTree is a division of Korg, USA. Additionally, you will find a link located on the left side of the page for teacher resources, including lesson plans!

Listen, Play, Explore with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra has dedicated a portion of their website for students to explore orchestral music in a fun way. Many times students end up staying inside for recess (especially in the North East) due to weather. I have noticed that student's love to play games on the computer, why not music games?!?

Check out the fun games on this website, Beethoven's Baseball is one of my favorites!

Hal Galper- Master Class

This is an excerpt from Hal Galper's Master Class- "The Illusion of an Instrument." Hal Galper discusses research regarding how we play music from our brain to our instruments. Essentially, Galper says that we need to let our ears do more work for us as musicians. Galper is a jazz pianist who has enjoyed a lengthy career as member of Phil Wood's Quintet, Pianist for Cannonball Adderly and a slew of others. This is a very interesting clip with an important message.

Approach to Composition

While completing a virtual field trip for my coursework at Kent, I discovered a useful website through the Vermont Midi Project called an "Approach to Composition." This website includes some helpful resources for implementing composition in your classroom. If you have ever wondered how to get your students started with composition, check this site out! Great links for beginning composers and an intro to music notation software.

Behringer UMX610

I recently purchased a Behringer UMX610 to be used as a midi controller. In the past I have used Yamaha or Roland Keboards in conjunction with a midi box to do all my midi or music notation work. These keyboards have served me well, however a nice feature of the UMX 610 is that it can be connected straight your computer via USB. So far, the keyboard as worked great!

Sheet Music and Ensemble Literature

Al Hemer Music Corp. is an excellent resource for finding and purchasing solo and ensemble literature for your students. Hemmer has the resources to locate and order hard to find sheet music, especially from those which are foreign in publication.