MUE6696 Week 6 Blog

In Week 6 readings, we were updated on copyright laws. While we value quick access to materials of use in our classrooms, we need to be cognizant of copyright laws so that we are not in violation. Public domain, copyright free or Creative Commons are the safest for classroom teachers. Also, if we do our own compositions, and they were created after January 1, 1978, the copyright "is in effect for the lifetime of the creator plus 70 years. Works made for hire or whose creator is unknown have a copyright of 95 years from the date of publication or 120 years from when they were created, whichever time period is less." (Bauer, 2014; p 161-2)

PBL exposes students to real-world learning activities through answering a series of questions or "meeting a challenge." Questions can be from either the instructor or the student, but must create critical thinking while students are communicating and collaborating. Students are free to approach finding the solution however they choose. Feedback is important so that students do not lose the intensity necessary to conclude the challenge.

Webquest has users identifying resources from the web. Students are posed with a project and guided through the initial task, process, learning outcomes and evaluation. Resource links can be provided or discussed with the instructor so that the project can be completed satisfactorily. Students are enticed to complete the project through prompts through the WebQuest site. Looking forward to getting my students to interact while completing this project.

MUE6696 - Week 5 - The Week of Program Evaluations

Week 5 Blog

 is an online program used to edit online videos.  This week’s project had us create a tour of a video, to include four interactions.  My tour took me and my students down memory lane, as we are preparing the “Theme from “Love Story”” which is foreign to my students.  None of them have ever heard the theme before, nor saw the movie. However, we are preparing for a concert that features music from television shows and movies, so this assignment will be used in the very near future.

The music software evaluation project had us explore programs on PC, MAC, Android or other tablet devices.  Music Theory Helper is the Android program that was used for my evaluation.  It will remain on my mobile device, thanks to this assignment, for quick reference in the future.  My students will be encouraged to download it as well.

Our discussion this week was centered on “Responding to Music with Technology.”  How do you use technology to develop your students’ response to music?  My students are greeted with music playing, so that they are put in a place of contemplation before class starts.  As they are beginners, every effort is made to make sure they do not become mechanical musicians. 

We also listened to our classmates’ fun remixes in Audacity, of a popular tune from the Madasgascar movie.  It’s interesting how everyone came up with different versions while using the same files and program.  Our different approaches show how creative we can be.

This week was a rough one.  Learning music software in order to evaluate it presented challenges and highlights.  One challenge was time.  Juggling time for evaluation while completing other coursework was a bit rough, but most of the work was completed on time.

MUE6696 - Week 4 - Audacity and Three Programs

This week's adventure with technology exposed us to four programs.  The following four programs are a welcome addition to any classroom as long as the resources are available for students to utilize them fully.  They are the four top programs that were discussed this week in class.

Audacity is an audio editor used to create or recreate musical selections.  There were two projects done in this program, one that  called for us to edit a .wav file by amplifying and fading sections.  The other project had us "remix" a familiar piece, creating a new selection in the process.

Music Prodigy is a practice assessment tool, that assists teachers in keeping track of students' practice time.  This program is designed for use with Apple iPad and iPhone, as well as Android devices.  There is a special feature in the program that has tone recognition which alerts the teacher to what needs to be worked on. 

SmartMusic is a program that allows students to perform along with the computer in preparation for rehearsals with a live accompanist or group.  Because there is immediate feedback with the use of this program, students' skill levels increase at a pretty rapid rate.

For many years, YouTube has been used by educators as a learning tool in the classroom.  Nine out of ten times, you can find a near perfect rendition of a piece of music that you may be working on.  By sharing these videos with students, they develop an aural appreciation for the work they may be working on.

Additionally, our reading provided some information that can be used if your are developing a unit plan or are building a syllabus.  The information is broken down by age group for ease of use.  Technology in the classroom is the wave of the present.  All the activities in this course are directing us in that path.

Creating Music with Technology - Focus on Composition

As a firm believer in basic music teaching before anything else in my classroom, the past three weeks have altered my beliefs considerably.  Standard notation remains the foundation for my teaching, however, experimenting with non-notational software have provided me with an alternative for students that may not comprehend the standards.  

Soundtrap would open children’s minds to playing around with different sounds based on the provided loops, sound effects, etc.  Creating a piece of music utilizing those loops and other offerings would be somewhat of a challenge at first, but given the MIDI feature, the fun would be unlimited.

MIDI and digital audio opens up a whole new world of music to students that may have difficulty grasping or comprehending approaches to reading music notation.  With MIDI, students can play using a device hooked into the computer while with digital audio, they can sample from existing recordings.  There are many free programs out now that students can access online that they can play around with on their own.  However, it would be nice if they understood what they are doing from a music teacher than by hit and miss learning.  

Students today are more technologically savvy than their teachers, however when faced with MIDI and digital audio, music teachers should be able to speak from an educated standpoint to point them in the right direction about setup and usage in a composition.   

Bicycle Built for Two Repost

Creating Music - Audiation - Improvisation

Creating music has changed a lot since my introduction to music many moons ago.  My understanding of creating music was putting the song that resides in your heart on paper using common music notation, by hand.  

When I was in undergraduate, I was introduced to Sibelius and Finale.  This week, MuseScore and NoteFlight have been added to my arsenal for creating music.  The benefit of these two programs is that they are more accessible, and affordable to students than Sibelius and Finale.  The intricacies involved with learning both programs are minute in comparison to the paid programs and provide a good foundation for stepping up to either one.  

One of the constraints that my students would face is access to an internet or wifi connection.  Like many of my colleagues, we toggle or hotspot from our phones and students, and allow students the use of our personal computers during class time.  While this is not a recommended method, we know that as teachers we do what we must to get the job done.

 MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) and the explanations provided in the text, were really appreciated.  For years I have heard the term MIDI and had a basic understanding of how a MIDI device worked.  Prior to reading the MIDI section in Bauer (2014), my experimentation was by sound and sight.  The section from pages 26 to 30, cleared up a lot of my remaining questions.

                                      

                                  

Improvisation stirs so many memories in my mind of fear of failure, that subconsciously, it was not allowed in my classroom.  Kratus’ (1996) seven-level sequential model reminded me of the process one must take to successfully improvise and/or create music, which now provides me with an avenue of teaching my students to do the same.  The first level, exploration, was the main reason for my fears, however I have given my students all the avenues to approach improvisation with little to no fear.  When they leave my class, unlike the graphic above, they leave with the graphic below. 

                                             

Auditation personally defined – being able to convey through music that which has been internalized through hearing or learning in a classroom.

                   

                                      

Audiation can come through listening to the radio, YouTube or playing around with technological programs.  Good audiation will lead to good improvisation by utilizing programs like Online JamSession (where you can play along with accompaniment) to master the craft.  Improvisation and audiation will go hand in hand, but as educators we will all agree with Bauer (2014, p. 57) when he says, “the most important way to learn improvisation is systematic practice.”

Bicycle Built for Two Assignment

Bicycle Built for Two in Noteflight

https://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/70814032313446e61b514717a5650881fd287f32


Noteflight is similar to MuseScore -- both online programs.  Noteflight is somewhat user friendly without the aid of  the Keyboard Command Summary.  First the pros -- Thankfully, there are a few universal commands which made memorization of strokes easy for maneuvering the program.  (For example, cutting and pasting.)  Finding instruments and other commands was relatively easy, as well as, entering additional parts of a chord (the chords with three notes).  With exploration of tabs, all functions are easily accessible.  The only downfall (constraint) is the sound of a couple instruments.  While the piano sound is pretty good, the flute was not as authentic.   Other than that, the program can be useful in a classroom because of its easy access and cost.  The only other hinderance may be access to wifi in the classroom.  (In my district, IT is not aware of educational tools like this, so they may need to be notified of its use in the classroom for access.)

Technology - It's Impact on Education and Our Lives

Technology, as defined in the reading is “used in reference to computers and related digital tools that can be used to help humans develop an understanding of concepts and skills necessary to create, perform and respond to music.”  (Bauer, 2014)  Technology is as much a part of one’s life as music is. 

As a minor techie, observations of my students and the community at large, shows how much technology impacts our society.  Most students have cell phones, laptops, tablets or iPads/iPods attached to wireless speakers.  Other members of society have the same items, in addition to wireless earpieces, segues and the like.

In general education, technology is present via the use of smart boards and computers in the classroom.  From elementary school, students are exposed to game-like learning using the boards and/or computers, but some are left behind if their districts cannot afford current technology.  As a result, “technology use is often not commonplace.” (Bauer, 2014)

Today’s students (our youth) are labeled digital natives while adults (teachers, parents) are digital immigrants.  These labels, while both comical and true, provided me with a chuckle as I considered my interactions with students and their parents as it relates to technology. The students find the technology so easy and comfortable and the parents are literally afraid.

TPACK – Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge – the model used to intersect technological, pedagogical and content knowledge.  Technology in this model is “a tool to serve the learning of subject matter content.”  (Bauer, 2014)  Content is the understanding of the subject matter, while pedagogical knowledge is the understanding of general principles.

Utilizing programs like Sibelius, Finale, Logic and Garageband, students will be exposed to industry-changing tools used in music production today.  These programs should only be utilized after students demonstrate an advanced understanding of music’s basics to include theory and/or advanced placement classes.  Online programs like Incredibox can be used to have students explore their musical creativity.

The following link is a mix I created in Incredibox (but did not share) for one of our week 1 assignments for MUE6696.  It is an example of how students can have fun while learning:  http://www.incredibox.com/mix/55E3947CA09C1-V2