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.