Technology Assisted Music Learning Week # 3

In this weeks module we had an opportunity to create more music through the use of music technology. We also had a great discussion post for module 3. The discussion prompt gave us an opportunity to give our personal insight about non traditional music students and how to incorporate music technology for non traditional music students. I was amazed to see that 80% of our student population in our schools are non traditional music learners. Obviously this makes sense to me when I think about my current teaching situation and my band program. I currently have around 90 students in my band program. I would consider to have a small band program than most other schools. However, there are over 1300 students that attend our school. I can't help but to think about the other students that are non traditional music students and learners of music. I feel that music technology is definitely a way to get those students involved in music learning. I know for a fact that the students I do not teach enjoys some type of music. I observe students on a daily basis walking down our halls with ear buds and headphones listening to some type of music. I even observe some students singing along to the music that they are listening too without a care in the world about who see or hear them. The non traditional music student may not know how to read music or play any type of instrument but they have passion for the enjoyment of music.

I feel that music technology programs would be a great way to get non traditional music students involved in music learning. However, some schools love the concept of music technology but are not fortunate enough to have adequate finances available to purchase technology software programs and equipment. My school was recently awarded a federal grant to purchase technology software programs and equipment. I feel that it is going to take teachers, school administrators and parents to push the issue of the incorporation of music technology in our classrooms to bridge the gap between traditional and non-traditional music students.

Soundation is a great computer software program that teachers can use to incorporate music learning though technology. for module 3 we had an opportunity to create our own music composition through the use of loops, MIDI and digital audio. I really enjoyed exploring the different sounds that were available to use for my composition. This is a free software program that can be used by students of all ages. I did run into a few technical issues during the creation process of my composition. However, I feel that the more I explore and practice with Soundation I be able to overcome the technical issues that I experienced before.
 

Technology Assisted Music Learning Week #2

As I continue to learn and explore music technology through our readings and assignments, I can't help but to be amazed at the continuous advancements of music through technology. This weeks discussion prompt gave us an opportunity to discuss improvisation and it's lack of acceptance in the classroom. I feel that this is a very interesting topic that is widely discussed among musicians as well as music educators. I feel that improvisation is an important aspect to incorporate in music performance as well as music education. Improvisation allows for musical creativity for musicians and students that are learning music. As I explained in my discussion post, I feel that Improvisation tends to scare people away. I definitely think that this is due to the fact that some people are not familiar with improvisation are just simply do not know how to improve at all. The frightening misconception of improvisation can be easily cured by creative exploration. The Kratus 7 level sequential process will definitely help in improving and individuals fear of improvisation. Coincidentally, the first steps of Kratus's method is exploration. If we get out of our shell and explore improvisation of music we will find our knowledge and confidence of improvisation will become second nature. Confidence in improvisation will go a long way in the classroom as well. When students are able to witness the instructors confident ability to perform and teach improvisation,  the students will then become confident in their own ability to grasp the concept of improvisation. I also found and shared some interesting information through my PLN. One article I found on Feedly was about keeping music in schools. A group of students from Utah performed at the state capital to prove and make a significant statement of the importance of keeping music in our schools.

Also, we had an opportunity to learn about to music software programs that allows for music composition. MuseScore and Noteflight are two free music software programs that allows for creative music composition. I have had previous experiences with Finale and Cakewalk music software programs. However, I feel that MuseScore and Noteflight are great programs to use in the classroom as well as creating your own personal compositions. Personally, I felt more comfortable using the MuseScore program rather than the Noteflight program. Both software programs are similar in features and notation input but for some reason I had some slight difficulty with the Noteflight program. The tutorials for both programs were a great help in completing the assignments. I feel that I will get a better understanding of Noteflight if I continue to explore and create other compositions on my own. It's just a matter of becoming more comfortable with the software and it's capabilities. I do feel that I could definitely use both software programs for my classroom instruction with my students.  I have attached the link to my composition below "A Bicycle Built for Two" 

 

 http://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/c59e1ce8a6226a60aeef9834e52eaa20408d1363

 

Technology Assisted Music Learning Week #1

The advancements of music technology has made a huge impact in todays society. From classroom instruction to recording the next Grammy award winner; technology assisted music has had an effect on our society whether we like it or not. I was very excited to see that I would be taking a course in music technology. However, I must admit that this first week has been a bit challenging for me in some areas of just setting up the necessary technology requirements for the class. So far this week has been an eye opening experience for me. These eye opening experiences have been quite difficult yet I feel that it will definitely help me with technology networking, communication and music.

I have always considered myself to be a fan of any type of new technology. However, I am not that experienced with the social media and networking tools such as Feedly, Google+, and Twitter. Therefore I was eager to establish my personal learning network. I have heard nothing but positive things about Google+ in relation to how it can assist with news, articles and social communication. Although I have heard all of these positive things, I was still afraid to step out and try it for myself prior to this class. Thankfully, this class requires us to use Google+ as well as another program called Feedly. I am so amazed at all the things you can do with Google+ and Feedly. There are so many resources that can be explored on various topics. I love the different communities that you are able to join and have the capabilities to communicate wit other people that are in the community. A member of our class has already said that the Google + site helps us to interact with each other more frequently. Therefore, we are not limited to just our group members in our discussion post groups.

One of the activities for this week allowed for us to have a creative experience with Incredibox. Incredibox is a free computer program that allows you to create a remix of beatboxing, whistling and vocals. I really enjoyed creating my remix with the "dudes". The directions are pretty easy to understand and the process to create a remixed composition is actually simple. I feel that the best way for anyone to understand and appreciate incredibox is to just explore the different ways you can compose a remix with the various sounds of the 'dudes".  I feel that students of all ages would definitely enjoy this computer program. The students will gain an understanding of simple music composing techniques such as creating a musical composition with variations of layers of tones and rhythms.  I am excited to learn about music technology and ways to implement music technology in my classroom instruction. I am looking forward to see what week 2 has in store for us.