A blog for all things tech in the field of music education.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Native Instrument's MASCHINE (Video of the Day!)
Check out this video of Jeremy Ellis performing on Native Instrument's new MASCHINE. Do you think this technology would work in the music classroom? Or is this something best left to the professional and home amateur?
Auralia 4 (Demo - Aural Theory)
After checking out www.goodear.com, a free ear training program available online, I decided to search out something that was a little more substantial. What I found is the aural theory program Auralia 4 ($99-$149), and its companion theory program Musition 4 (www.risingsoftware.com). This review will be of Auralia 4 only. I will give the software a learning curve of a 9 (well-designed interface), and its effectiveness as a teaching tool a 9 (integration of written and aural examples and lessons). On their website you can find a demo for both mac or pc. I downloaded the demo, so I'll base most of my review on this.
Overview: Auralia 4 has several types of aural exercises that can either be completed individually, or as courses designed to fit different types of syllabi (AP theory, jazz, band, solfeggio, or Auralia's companion programs from Musition). Each syllabus highlights different courses specific to each (for example, the band syllabus focuses on interval and chord recognition, scales, several rhythm courses, forms, tuning etc.) Each exercise or course is preceded with a lesson, of which includes musical examples that are always "clickable." Students may use a USB/MIDI device (to play back answers), a microphone (to sing answers), a solfeggio tree, or a mouse for multiple choice. There are assessments that track different users results, which can be printed, saved to pdf, or exported as a CSV file (spreadsheet). As an administrator, you can set up multiple classes and track users through the program.
Strengths: Auralia 4 is a very organized theory program with an attractive user interface. There is a wide variety of exercises that accommodate differing learning styles (visual/aural/tactile). The program has an attractive, interactive user interface that gives students the ability to answer questions through performance. Courses are catered toward both beginner and advanced students and are highly customizable for particular classes or individual students.
Improvements: "Beginner" does not mean absolute beginner. They do assume that the student knows basic notation, thus making the program only beneficial for some elementary and older students. Auralia 4 operates with multiple windows. Sometimes these windows become cluttered or become covered. When demoing an absolute pitch exercise, I tried to close out of this and was unable to back out (I had to restart the entire program). Also, I like that Auralia 4 will compare your answer to the correct one if you get it wrong, however you are not able to hear the difference. Thus, a teachable moment is sort of lost at that point. Clicking can get a little old, and I would like the option of navigating the program with a keyboard.
Implementation: Auralia 4 would work well in ensemble or theory courses. It could work well with general music students, but only after they have a firm grasp of basic notation concepts. Because of the way the score keeping is designed, it would be a great way to create homework to develop musicianship. These concepts could be implemented into warmup routines, or used to highlight concepts in the ensemble literature (like formal principals, or cadences). Auralia 4's Courses would line up very well with lessons taught in class, or they could be used to lesson plan.
Recommend? : Yes. This program is fresh, and the company likes hearing from its users. Auralia 4 seems like a good all around aural theory program that would be easily implemented into the curriculum. All and all, this program is much more interactive than the free software, due to the "clickability" of examples for listening, and the ability to plugin your own devices. Try the demo for yourself, and check out the embedded video from their website. I recommend using a USB divice such as M-Audio's KeyStudio (shop.avid.com).
Overview: Auralia 4 has several types of aural exercises that can either be completed individually, or as courses designed to fit different types of syllabi (AP theory, jazz, band, solfeggio, or Auralia's companion programs from Musition). Each syllabus highlights different courses specific to each (for example, the band syllabus focuses on interval and chord recognition, scales, several rhythm courses, forms, tuning etc.) Each exercise or course is preceded with a lesson, of which includes musical examples that are always "clickable." Students may use a USB/MIDI device (to play back answers), a microphone (to sing answers), a solfeggio tree, or a mouse for multiple choice. There are assessments that track different users results, which can be printed, saved to pdf, or exported as a CSV file (spreadsheet). As an administrator, you can set up multiple classes and track users through the program.
Strengths: Auralia 4 is a very organized theory program with an attractive user interface. There is a wide variety of exercises that accommodate differing learning styles (visual/aural/tactile). The program has an attractive, interactive user interface that gives students the ability to answer questions through performance. Courses are catered toward both beginner and advanced students and are highly customizable for particular classes or individual students.
Improvements: "Beginner" does not mean absolute beginner. They do assume that the student knows basic notation, thus making the program only beneficial for some elementary and older students. Auralia 4 operates with multiple windows. Sometimes these windows become cluttered or become covered. When demoing an absolute pitch exercise, I tried to close out of this and was unable to back out (I had to restart the entire program). Also, I like that Auralia 4 will compare your answer to the correct one if you get it wrong, however you are not able to hear the difference. Thus, a teachable moment is sort of lost at that point. Clicking can get a little old, and I would like the option of navigating the program with a keyboard.
Implementation: Auralia 4 would work well in ensemble or theory courses. It could work well with general music students, but only after they have a firm grasp of basic notation concepts. Because of the way the score keeping is designed, it would be a great way to create homework to develop musicianship. These concepts could be implemented into warmup routines, or used to highlight concepts in the ensemble literature (like formal principals, or cadences). Auralia 4's Courses would line up very well with lessons taught in class, or they could be used to lesson plan.
Recommend? : Yes. This program is fresh, and the company likes hearing from its users. Auralia 4 seems like a good all around aural theory program that would be easily implemented into the curriculum. All and all, this program is much more interactive than the free software, due to the "clickability" of examples for listening, and the ability to plugin your own devices. Try the demo for yourself, and check out the embedded video from their website. I recommend using a USB divice such as M-Audio's KeyStudio (shop.avid.com).
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Pat Metheny's Orchestrion (video of the day!)
This is a really cool project from one of my favorite jazz guitarists, Pat Metheny. From www.patmetheny.com: "This project represents a conceptual direction that merges an idea from the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the technologies of today to create a new, open-ended platform for musical composition, improvisation and performance."
www.good-ear.com (free online ear training)
The first series of programs I looked at are music theory and ear training programs, many of which are free and available on the internet. I will answer a series of questions about each program, essentially what the features are, what I like or didn't like, how user friendly it is, and how and if I'd use it in my classroom (each on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest or best). For those of you who are looking for this sort of thing, it will hopefully provide a good starting point for your own experimentation.
(Instead of posting one giant post, I will break up each of these and post one or two every day or so)
The first site I looked at was www.good-ear.com, a free online ear training website. I would give it a learning curve of 9 (simple, clean), and an 8 for use as an instructors tool (needs pre-instruction).
The exercises include: intervals for the beginner (simple, major/minor, etc.), more advanced intervals (ascending/descending, both diatonic and chromatic), chords (major/minor/inversions), scales (modes, pentatonic, minor, etc.), cadences (full progressions, and bass only), jazz chords, note location (based on solfeggio), and perfect pitch (pitch memory).
Strengths: There is a variety of exercises that focus on developing students' ability to recognize things by ear. There are also options that include slowing down the tempo, changing the volume, or changing the instrument, which helps keeps the exercises fresh. The student also has the opportunity to replay the exercises any number of times. There are different levels that either limit the exercises so that students can focus on basics, or can include the whole range of notes, scales, intervals etc. for the more advanced students.
Improvements: Each section could be prefaced with a lesson, or at least a description of the exercise or instruction (it is sort of like jump in head first, oh and good luck with that!). It would be hard to assign this as homework to be graded, because there would be no way of submitting the assignment other than a screen shot of the number of exercises that were right. This also does not specify which exercises the student completed, or how well he did on a particular exercise. It simply keeps track of the total number of exercises completed. The lessons do get a big monotonous (dare I say boring?), especially after clicking "try next one!" several times. It is very plain, no flashy stuff here! Also, there are no rhythm exercises.
How to implement: It would be possible to use in an ensemble class, perhaps as a warm-up exercise, or a general lesson in theory and aural theory. In concert band it could be a great way to break up rehearsing every copule of weeks and teach the fundamentals and develop the musicians' ear training and theory knowledge (outside of rehearsing). I would definitely use different exercises in conjunction with teaching certain concepts. An example of using this program in jazz band would be to use the scale exercises and have the students "figure out" the scale on their instrument (such as half-whole diminished). This could be used in conjunction with lessons on improvisation. Over time, they should be able to play all scales from memory and hopefully able to incorporate the theory into practice (half-whole diminished over a ii-V-I for example). I would not let most students loose without some instruction. Overall it is a good "drill" program, particularly for theory or general music students.
Recommend? Yes. I would use this program several times in secondary music theory, general music, and jazz classes especially as labs and possibly homework assignments. It could be used in ensemble settings as group warm-up exercises, as well as general musicianship training.
(Instead of posting one giant post, I will break up each of these and post one or two every day or so)
The first site I looked at was www.good-ear.com, a free online ear training website. I would give it a learning curve of 9 (simple, clean), and an 8 for use as an instructors tool (needs pre-instruction).
The exercises include: intervals for the beginner (simple, major/minor, etc.), more advanced intervals (ascending/descending, both diatonic and chromatic), chords (major/minor/inversions), scales (modes, pentatonic, minor, etc.), cadences (full progressions, and bass only), jazz chords, note location (based on solfeggio), and perfect pitch (pitch memory).
Strengths: There is a variety of exercises that focus on developing students' ability to recognize things by ear. There are also options that include slowing down the tempo, changing the volume, or changing the instrument, which helps keeps the exercises fresh. The student also has the opportunity to replay the exercises any number of times. There are different levels that either limit the exercises so that students can focus on basics, or can include the whole range of notes, scales, intervals etc. for the more advanced students.
Improvements: Each section could be prefaced with a lesson, or at least a description of the exercise or instruction (it is sort of like jump in head first, oh and good luck with that!). It would be hard to assign this as homework to be graded, because there would be no way of submitting the assignment other than a screen shot of the number of exercises that were right. This also does not specify which exercises the student completed, or how well he did on a particular exercise. It simply keeps track of the total number of exercises completed. The lessons do get a big monotonous (dare I say boring?), especially after clicking "try next one!" several times. It is very plain, no flashy stuff here! Also, there are no rhythm exercises.
How to implement: It would be possible to use in an ensemble class, perhaps as a warm-up exercise, or a general lesson in theory and aural theory. In concert band it could be a great way to break up rehearsing every copule of weeks and teach the fundamentals and develop the musicians' ear training and theory knowledge (outside of rehearsing). I would definitely use different exercises in conjunction with teaching certain concepts. An example of using this program in jazz band would be to use the scale exercises and have the students "figure out" the scale on their instrument (such as half-whole diminished). This could be used in conjunction with lessons on improvisation. Over time, they should be able to play all scales from memory and hopefully able to incorporate the theory into practice (half-whole diminished over a ii-V-I for example). I would not let most students loose without some instruction. Overall it is a good "drill" program, particularly for theory or general music students.
Recommend? Yes. I would use this program several times in secondary music theory, general music, and jazz classes especially as labs and possibly homework assignments. It could be used in ensemble settings as group warm-up exercises, as well as general musicianship training.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
What is Music Education Technology? (Essay #1 - Intro)
(This is part 1 of the first of a series of essays on music education technology)
A brief discussion of the term "technology" will shed some light into this question. Encyclopedia Brittanica Online partially defines technology as, "the application of scientific knowledge to the practical aims of human life." The term "science" refers to the study of the "physical world and its phenomena" that involves "unbiased, systematic experimentation" (Encyclopedia Brittanica Online). When these terms are applied to music education technology, we can decipher this as "the application of systematic experimentation to practical teaching and learning in the music classroom."
Wikipedia states that, "Technology can be most broadly defined as the entities, both material and immaterial, created by the application of mental and physical effort in order to achieve some value." Technology isn't limited to computers or cell phones. It could refer to a car engine, an oven, or even your toothbrush. In music, some of the earliest technology included the musical instruments, and later the phonograph. Technology in specific fields often become "sticky" when they are used in a variety of ways, or by a large population. Specific bits of technology develop as they become more popular.
Today there is a wide variety of technology available to music educators. In this first essay I will explore different some of these types of technology, particularly computer software, internet websites, and applications. I will also take a look at some new hardware that can be used with or without computers.
Look for the next part 2 of essay #1: "Music Theory" soon
A brief discussion of the term "technology" will shed some light into this question. Encyclopedia Brittanica Online partially defines technology as, "the application of scientific knowledge to the practical aims of human life." The term "science" refers to the study of the "physical world and its phenomena" that involves "unbiased, systematic experimentation" (Encyclopedia Brittanica Online). When these terms are applied to music education technology, we can decipher this as "the application of systematic experimentation to practical teaching and learning in the music classroom."
Wikipedia states that, "Technology can be most broadly defined as the entities, both material and immaterial, created by the application of mental and physical effort in order to achieve some value." Technology isn't limited to computers or cell phones. It could refer to a car engine, an oven, or even your toothbrush. In music, some of the earliest technology included the musical instruments, and later the phonograph. Technology in specific fields often become "sticky" when they are used in a variety of ways, or by a large population. Specific bits of technology develop as they become more popular.
Today there is a wide variety of technology available to music educators. In this first essay I will explore different some of these types of technology, particularly computer software, internet websites, and applications. I will also take a look at some new hardware that can be used with or without computers.
Look for the next part 2 of essay #1: "Music Theory" soon
Friday, March 4, 2011
Funny Music Tech Video
Okay, so its 7:45AM, and I'm sitting in my office. What could be more productive than doing random searches of music technology on Youtube?! I found someone in a similar position who made this video on three pieces of software and technology that I'll be looking at soon. Enjoy!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Introduction to "The Music Ed Tech Project"
Welcome to my new blog, "The Music Ed Tech Project"! This blog was created as a creative way to submit assignments that fulfill the requirements of an independent study about (you guessed it!) music education technology! Each week starting in April, 2011, I will create a new blog entry that will explore specific aspects of technology in the music ed classroom. These will be my official "assignments," and will focus on the use of websites, software, hardware, instruments, etc. as teaching tools, the use of technology with special education students, and the advantages and disadvantages of using this technology. The study will culminate with curriculum projects that will focus on the integration of this technology into different music curriculums, mainly high school band and high school general music. When it is all said and done, I hope to keep the blog going as a reference for future and current music educators.
I'm so glad to have you here! Please feel free to comment with suggestions, and anything that you have found or used in your classroom.
Thanks!
--Chris
Music Ed Grad Student
I'm so glad to have you here! Please feel free to comment with suggestions, and anything that you have found or used in your classroom.
Thanks!
--Chris
Music Ed Grad Student
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