My Music Tech

The 21st Century Music Program

2011-06-03T08:41:00.000-05:00

I've written about it already: Music Education must shift (as most of what we do in Education must shift now). But I haven't given a prescription for the shift. I'll focus on music education first since it's where I've spent most of my career.

Once upon a time, as the world was changing and going digital, music was right out front as one of the game changers. Since people love music, they wanted music. As digital formats and broadband increased so did the possibility that music could be made available for next to free. A huge demand ensued. Enterprising individuals with some coding know-how made it possible for people to find music online. That's the beginning of the story and how P2P networking changed the world. The rest is known to us. Napster and other websites that allowed free sharing of music and other copyrighted material were targeted by the RIAA and the copyright wars began.

Now, new modes of distribution and consumption are in place, money is paid to the artists and the world is changed. Of course, the illegal stuff still happens and will continue to-until we radically redfine and de-criminalize file sharing. But it was larely a demand for MUSIC that inspired the whole digital-everything movement. And As Chris Anderson will tell you, once things are digitized, distribution costs are almost nill for a gizzillion copies of the same file (mp3, mp4, .mov, .avi etc..).

So where does secondary Music Education fit into this? Prominently, I think. Center Stage, if you will. Teens and music go hand in hand. They "do" music all the time. In these times, students are downloading, manipulating, re-mixing and listening to music daily. What happens when they come to music "class". What is happening in "General" Music Classrooms today? Do students ever hear "their" music? In a 21st Century Music Program, they should. Do they use technology, loop-based composition software to make their OWN music? In a 21st Century Music Program, they should. Do they get to create and remix music the way they do in the real world? Do they get to download and keep their music as Mp3 files? In a 21st Century Music Program, they should. Is You Tube ever used in music class? i-Tunes? In a 21st Century Music Program, they should be.

It's an important shift because in a 21st century Music Program, there is potential for many more students to be part of the program--shifting it from the old Band/Chorus paradigm and justifying it solidly to School Boards. When you turn all students into Artists, it's difficult to cut a program. That's possible in a 21st Century Music Program.

Music Education Must Shift

2011-06-03T08:19:00.000-05:00

In the last post, I suggested a new paradigm for music education in schools. This paradigm would become less-band/orchestra centric and would have as its base teaching non-band/orchestra/chorus students the tools for music creation, mixing and distribution. Traditional performing ensembles should always have a place in school music programs. Instrumental and Choral Programs are often the public face of music programs. They provide good PR but I think it's also time to embrace a much wider conception of what performing ensembles could be in addition to changing the nature and focus of the "General" Music Program.

Increasingly, students are coming to us with skills on (electric) guitar, keyboards and other instruments (mandolin has become popular recently because of it's use by some mainstream pop artists). Students who don't play instruments are coming to us with much greater exposure to music specifically because of pop culture influences (Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Glee, video games, etc..). A 6th Grade student recently asked if we could play the theme to Halo, a science-fiction video game. Why not? It's perfectly decent music. If we don't do it at school, students are busy learning it anyway , despite the school music program! This is NOT a position we in Music Education want to be in. Imagine students dropping music classes because they don't do music there (or at least music they know). Unfortunately this happens every day in music programs everywhere. I know a student who won the local 'American Idol' contest but dropped Chorus at school. She didn't see the relevance. There are, of course Music Directors who get it, the one's who understand that connection is more important than coverage. So, to further expand the paradigm shift I am suggesting, here's what I think *secondary music programs should include now:

A Music technology Classes (formerly called General Music) where students create, remix and share music (and, yeah, learn the basics, too)<---largest population of students. I suggest this for 100% of the school population if possible.

Guitar "Clubs"<---if don't play guitar, have your students teach you. They would love to teach you how to shred a solo.

Jazz/Rock-Pop Ensembles (any combination of instruments/voices)

(World) Percussion Ensembles (mallet instruments as well as djembes, bongos, congas)

Traditional Music Ensembles (Band/Chorus/Orchestras)

*Note that I am addressing secondary music programs, specifically. Elementary programs should, as most do, continue to incorporate movement, singing, Orff instrument playing, rhythm games and general "experimentation" with music.

Looking for Blues Resources?

2010-10-12T06:54:00.006-05:00

7th grade students and I research the Blues each year. You Tube is part of that research. Many good resources (primary source material!) can be found there. This year we decided to make a list of You Tube users who have significant (and quality) blues resources in their playlists.
We imagine this list could serve as a short-cut for many teachers/students looking for more information about the Blues. Enjoy.

Here is a list 10 of those users.

jemf999
leoncalquin
swinginglance
tcblues
paracite187
truerhymer
ashleyspencermusic
000nuetron000
osir1s
xakyxak

photo credit

Music Education Professional Learning Network Launches

2010-07-19T09:54:00.000-05:00

Watch Out, Here We Come! The Music Education Professional Learning Network launches today, July 19th, 2010. The site is a "freely available public site specifically designed for Music Teachers, Educators interested in Music topics, and pre-service Music Teachers."

Users must register for an account, otherwise the site is free. The MPLN contains Forums, Groups and News/Info. links about aspects of Music Education. Pre-launch, the site had 68 members who Beta-tested the network. These members are among the top music education professionals with an online presence (music ed. teachers, conductors, clinicians, presenters, bloggers, etc..). One of the greatest attributes of the site is that is it is social media rich meaning that there are multiple ways to share information outside the network on different platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo and MySpace. I believe this attribute will insure the site's success. Interestingly, it is also possible to connect IN to the network. For example, by using the hastag #mpln on Twitter, the update will post inside the MPLN network. Nifty!

The launch comes at a time when social networks are becoming increasingly accepted as valid places, forums for learning. There have been a few attempts at creating social networks for music educators but none have achieved a wide membership/following. MENC has had a Mentoring Forum for years (of which I was once a Mentor) but it never quite evolved from the limited 'thread'.

I am convinced that the time is ripe for the Music Education Professional Learning Network. I believe that it will be widely used by Music Education Professionals to connect, discuss, debate, elucidate, elaborate, learn, grow and educate. Is the world ready for Music Education to finally, finally be transformed?

Musical Instruments for the Future

2010-05-18T09:34:00.000-05:00

Use Flixtime to Post Student Creations Online

2010-03-19T11:59:00.004-05:00

Everyone has photos. Everyone listens to music. But putting the two together in a polished way requires some knowledge of software that can create slideshows. An online solution to this is Flixtime.

I use Flixtime for a student composition projects.

1-Students first create loop-based compositions based on a theme ("the environment", for example)
2-Mixdown the music to Mp3 format
3-Find photos to accompany the music
4-Use Flixtime to organize all of the above.

Here's an example from an 8th Grader

The i-Pad in Music Education

2010-02-12T09:45:00.003-05:00

by James Frankel

Well by now you have no doubt heard of the game-changing device from Apple called the iPad. As a huge fan of Apple products, I am always swept up in the frenzy over a major new product release, and the iPad is certainly something I would like to have in my ever growing collection of gadgets. While walking my dog in the woods this morning I thought about how the iPad could fit into music education, and education in general.

Read the rest of the post at James Frankel's Blog.

The Future of Music Is In The Middle

2009-12-30T10:49:00.004-05:00

photo by wadem on flickr

There are claims that streaming music is not the future of music because:

1-wireless connections are unreliable
and
2-people like to "own things"

I would agree but does the future of consumer music need to be an 'either/or' proposition? There are many music professionals and enthusiasts who use both streaming and 'owned' music for different purposes in different contexts.

As Siddhartha learned and advocated, the answer lies in the middle. Hybrid models of digital products are the key to the future-especially in music. The reliability of streaming music will improve with better technology in the future and people will still want to own content.

Creating, Remixing, Streaming and Listening to Music Online

2009-12-09T14:23:00.001-05:00

As technology advances and bandwith + wireless expand like so many galaxies, the possibilities for music creation and listening become nearly limitless. Free possibilities abound. Here are some of my recent favorites/recommendations. Have fun with these.

Music Creation: Notation-Based
Noteflight

Music Creation: Loop-Based
i-nudge
One Motion-drum machine which can be exported as an SWF file.

Music Creation: Web-Based Audio Editing/Hosting
Indaba Music
Myna by Aviary-Use Myna to remix music tracks and audio clips. Apply sound effects and record your own voice or instruments.

Music Streaming/Listening
Grooveshark-Listen to streaming music in a clean, i-tunes-like interface. Create playlists, see photos of artists.

Songza.com-Listen to streaming music at songza.

Last FM- Search for, Learn about and listen to music by all types of musicians/artists. Doubles as a social networking site.

Pitchfork.com-Music plus reviews, news and features.

Mp3.com- This is a great site for discovering music that is not restricted by copyright. It is also organized by musical style and genre in a clear manner.

Should School Music Classes Go "I-Phone"

2009-12-07T08:25:00.004-05:00

"The iPhone may be the first instrument —electronic or acoustic — that millions of people will carry in their pockets."

That being said should they be used in school music classes? Professor Wang thinks so.
http://bit.ly/5ApJNv

Top 10 Music Technology Websites

2009-11-19T13:56:00.002-05:00

by Music Tools

1. SOUND ON SOUND

http://www.soundonsound.com/

SOUND ON SOUND has consistently remained at the forefront of music technology since it was launched on Channel 4 TV’s The Tube in 1985 by the visionary SOS Publications Group, championing the convergence of MIDI, computer technology and recording equipment that continues to revolutionise the music production industry today.

The magazine is excellent and the website is no exception!

2. YOU TUBE

Youtube can teach you lots of useless and wondeful things, music technology and software is no exception. If you have query or a problem simply ask yOUTUBE and chances are 14YRD old from Milwaukee will tell you eveything you need to know!2 Audio tuts+

3. Audio Tuts+

Audiotuts+ is an in depth blog for musicians, producers and audio junkies! It features tutorials on the tools and techniques to record, produce, mix and master tracks. Audiotuts+ also features weekly articles for the music obsessive. Our commisisoned tutorials are written by industry experts and professionals, but anyone with an awesome skill to showcase can contribute a post and pay $150 if we publish it.

4. MUSIC RADAR

Like a few of the sites who are on this list, Musicradar.com is not exclusively about guitars, but a good amount of their features, including news, reviews and tutorials focus on guitars and are all of excellent quality, making this another essential stop. And their lists of the most outrageous guitars are simply hilarious…check them out!

5. REMIX MAG

Endles resource of information. Remix educates DJs, engineers, producers, and performers of electronic music about the latest applications and new products specific to the electronic and urban music markets. Remix is the premier consumer magazine in North America dedicated 100 percent to the tools, techniques, and production syles of electronic and urban artists

6. HARMONY CENTRAL

Harmony Central is generally a great place for anyone interested in any sort of musical gear info: tons of resources including news, reviews and forums about synths, souncards, software and much more. Great user reviews section!

7. SYNTHTOPIA

Synthtopia is a portal devoted to electronic music.There are lots of electronica sites, but they all seem to cover one tiny aspect of electronica: trance, classical electronic music, dance, or synthesizers. Synthtopia covers it all.

8. eMUSICIAN

EM is the premiere resource for musicians interested in personal-music production. EM consistently publishes the most “how-to” applications and reviews-a real benefit for the recording musician. Our editors react quickly to changes in the industry to deliver the in-depth technical expertise and tools necessary to successfully use new concepts and technology.Being an American publication this could be the first place you hear news!4 http://www.kaosaudio.com

Kaos Audio is a huge database of audio software and news, books, synth presets, samples and loops libraries, video software, links, interesting free soft and much more for all the audiophiles out there.

9. KAOSS AUDIO

10. COMPUTER MUSIC

CM and its similar sites (Futuremusic etc) have vast array of reviews articles and good image content

Google Gives Apple A Run For It's Money

2009-11-03T07:49:00.007-05:00

Google has launched it's music service quietly, without much fanfare. The company has partnered up with imeem, Lala.com, Myspace,Pandora and Rhapsody. Apple wasn't invited to the party. Taking a closer look it's evident that Apple's i-Tunes just got whacked with a sucker punch. Google's service is subtle. If you search for an artist and/or song using Google's regular search engine, the appropriate match will now be displayed as number one in the results complete with a player provided by LALA that will play any song once through and then any number of times as 30 seconds samples.

Purchasing the track is made simple especially if you use GOOGLE CHECKOUT. Tracks are, on average, .40 cents cheaper than i-Tunes tracks (.89 cents instead of the $1.29) and are delivered as Mp3's for universal playability.

Coming soon: an i-phone app and wireless streaming. That giant sucking sound? That would be digital music market share being transferred to the Google side of the fence. Great times, these, since this is probably not the end of the story. If .89 cents is the new 1.29, could .49 be far away? When all the world is streaming music only, what's that cost? .10 , .05? Nothing?

It all just might become FREE.

How SMARTMUSIC is Legitimizing Music Education

2009-11-01T14:49:00.006-05:00

In music (band) class, we identify misconceptions, make note of them and make sure to re-teach each individual student in need of such "response to intervention". We have always operated this way and always will. Anyone teaching right now knows that "RTI" is one of the current buzz words in Education. Here are a few more:

Standards-based education
Differentiated instruction
Using data to drive instruction
Performance-based assessment
21st century learning

Did you know that educational objectives are being met in music education programs using SMARTMUSIC software in the band and choral music curriculum?

HOW SMARTMUSIC HELPS STUDENTS LEARN

SMARTMUSIC is the name given to software now available for use by music teachers and music students (MakeMusic, Inc.). Smartmusic is described as "learning software with the power to transform music learning. Students of all ages and skill levels can play or sing with professional accompaniments, making practice both rewarding and fun." It is quietly revolutionizing the field of music education. When used, it transcends expectations, fixes misconceptions and ensures steady progress by student musicians. And best of all SMARTMUSIC can be discussed using an educational lens.

SMARTMUSIC IS STANDARDS-BASED
Smartmusic allows students to perform music along with accompaniments or to simply play a line of music at a time. Music standards such as reading music, understanding and executing musical instructions (articulation and dynamics, for example) are addressed within the context of each composition, exercise or folk song.

SMARTMUSIC ALLOWS FOR DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
SMARTMUSIC contains music at a variety of levels from basic to advanced. A teacher can assign specific exercises for each student depending on their specific needs (to address misconceptions and weaknesses). These assignments are delivered digitally (via e-mail and by the student signing into the Smartmusic database).

ASSESSMENT IN SMARTMUSIC IS PERFORMANCE-BASED
Proper music instruction has always been performance-based since the only way a student can demonstrate understanding is to execute the skill(s) on his or her instrument. Music Education was doing performance-based assessment long before the term became an Educational Imperative. By it's very nature, Smartmusic uses a performance-based assessment model.

SMARTMUSIC IS DATA DRIVEN
Using data to drive instruction is, again, something that has always been done in music education. However, Smartmusic kicks it up a notch. Data are collected as recordings of student performances. These data are automatically uploaded to a "gradebook" kept on Smartmusic's servers. This gradebook looks like a regular gradebook with columns of assignments. The recorded performances are accessed by clicking an icon next to each student's name. Additionally a snapshot of what notes/rhythms students played correctly or incorrectly is viewable by the click of a mouse. Correct notes/rhythms are green in color and incorrect notes/rhythms are red. Intangibles such as tone quality, intonation, articulation and interpretation can then be rated by the teacher using the recording. Based on the strehgth (or weakness) of the data, music can be reassigned or new music can be assigned to address particular issues.

SMARTMUSIC IS A 21st CENTURY LEARNING TOOL
SMARTMUSIC makes use of technology in engaging, creative and meaningful ways to ensure high quality, data-based music learning. Importantly, it is a tool that helps music students and music teachers do what they have always endeavored to do-to learn to be competent, independent musicians and to teach music effectively.

Photo credits:
Nationaal Archief / Spaarnestad Photo / J. van Eijk, SFA003001896.
Saxaphoon by Oude School at flickr

NOTE: This blog is in no way affiliated with Smartmusic or Make Music, Inc. The views and opinions expressed in the post are those of educatioanal blogger Andrew Garcia.

Download Music At Jamendo

2009-10-12T09:57:00.001-05:00

On Jamendo artists allow anyone to download and share their music. It's free, legal and unlimited.

Spotify: A Music App Too Good to be True?

2009-07-30T19:46:00.003-05:00

According to an article over on Intomobile, Spotify is an application that is the best thing to happen to music since Napster, and Spotify is coming to the iPhone.

Basically Spotify you can imagine as an iTunes where everything is free, you simply click a tune and it begins playing, you create a playlist and it is assigned a permanent URL that can be shared.

Here's a video explaining this music app.

http://www.spotify.com/en/#video

Shifting the Focus of Music Education

2009-03-29T17:40:00.002-05:00

Moving forward, music teachers need to consider teaching all non-band/chorus students to experience, analyze and to create music-whether they (students) can read music or not. This can be achieved in a variety of ways...from drumming to the use of software to create loop-based compositions. I believe that music education is becoming closely linked to media education and we must begin teaching both!

More at Educational Paradigms.

To Survive, School-Based Music Education Music Shift

2009-03-28T14:49:00.001-05:00

Music Education is traditionally thought of in terms of General Music, Band and Chorus. But, except in a few schools, the vast majority of students are not enrolled in Band and Chorus.

So, how should we teach music to everyone else? Should reading music be a priority? Notating music? Are these, perhaps, roadblocks to music creation, involvement and enjoyment?

The REALITY is that, even among people who earn a living as musicians, only a full 10% can actually read music. A popular example is Paul McCartney. Would anyone call Sir Paul musically illiterate? Hardly. He's made quite a few dollars in his day as a performing musician.

The shift now needs to be towards experiencing, analyzing and constructing music. We have the tools, thanks to technology, to "compose" music without having to write music notation. Loop-based music software allows us to achieve this (ie...Sony Acid, Pro Tools, etc..). We music educators can and should provide access to these tools for all students in the future. When we do, we may proudly proclaim that EVERY student is a music student.

One Person Playing Lead and Bass Line for Blue Bossa!

2009-03-04T08:40:00.002-05:00

This is pretty inspiring stuff for any musician. Zack Kim demonstrates his ability to play lead and bass lines for the tune Blue Bossa.

Inspiring Youth Orchestra From Venezuela

2009-02-19T15:38:00.002-05:00

The Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra contains the best high school musicians from Venezuela's life-changing music program, El Sistema. Led here by Gustavo Dudamel, they play Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10, 2nd movement, and Arturo Márquez' Danzón No. 2.

The Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra is the national high-school-age youth orchestra of El Sistema, made up of the best young musicians from throughout Venezuela.Full bio and more links

Online Music Lessons taught by Artists!

2009-02-19T10:11:00.002-05:00

There's nothing like a great song to inspire music fans to want to learn to play it themselves, but doing it right is rarely easy. Enter Now Play It, a UK-based site that offers video instruction taught by the artists themselves.

Launched last year, Now Play It aims to get people as close to the artists and songs they love as possible. To do that, it offers downloadable video tutorials on the art and craft of playing hundreds of different songs on guitar, bass, piano or drums, many of them led by the artists who wrote or perform them. Paul McCartney, Blur and KT Tunstall are among the artists currently offering instruction on the site, and users can search for tutorials by artist, song, instrument, difficulty level or tutor. Now Play It's full tutorials, priced at GBP 3.99, are typically split into three parts—lesson, recap and play-through—and are at least 15 minutes long. In-house tutorials follow the same format but with instruction by a Now Play It tutor instead. 'Lite' tutorials, meanwhile, are just two parts—play-through and recap—and are generally between three and six minutes long; pricing is GBP 1.99. Downloads are available in MP4 or Windows Media Video formats.

With Generation C's penchant for content production, Now Play It is sure to find an enthusiastic audience among the many consumers out there seeking to create, to express themselves and to make the music they love their own. Being taught by a well-known artist, meanwhile—even if by video—is sure to give them a heaping helping of status skills and stories to share about the experience. Now Play It currently offers a forum for community discussion, but a logical next step, it seems to us, would be to give consumers a place to show off the results of their instruction with video and recordings of them playing the music they learned—along with opportunities to critique and discuss. If there's anything better than content, it's content plus community!

Website: www.nowplayit.com

Spotted by: Lloyd Salmons

Some More Great Trombone Playing (and a Little Craziness)

2009-02-09T08:29:00.002-05:00

Since My Music Tech is on a Trombone kick, check out this gem from a Swede with some MAJOR Trombone skills. The juxtaposition of the prom dress and the jazz playing is priceless. Oh, the dancing just adds a cherry on top!

Crazy, Funky Trombone Solo by Fred Wesley

2009-02-09T08:18:00.003-05:00

Maceo Parker and the P Funk Band are the masters for FUnk! ALl of the band members were/are unbelievably amazing technicians. All aspiring jazz trombonists (and jazz soloists) need to know the name Fred Wesley!

Microsoft: Too Square To Be Hip

2009-01-26T15:50:00.003-05:00

Leave it Microsoft to mar the image of Music Technology. Some of us have been using and promoting music technology in schools in a serious and positive way to promote and change the image of how music is traditionally taught (and learned).

Along comes Microsoft and its supposed addition to music technology. They call it Songsmith. This is just painful, dorky stuff....(watch the video) and it discredits musicians and music teachers.

What gets created is plain, trite and not very substantive. Better to promote music literacy through technology than to promote erroneous notions that one can "write" songs by singing badly. Don't we have enough of that with 'Idol'?

A Musical Reflection of the Times We're In

2009-01-20T10:39:00.005-05:00

As Obama calls us to service and changes the country for the better, I can think of no better musical reflection than this recording by Maceo Parker and James Brown. I can envision President Obama listening to this at 3 a.m. after the parties are over and he has a quiet moment back at the White House to reflect for himself.

THE SOUL OF A BLACK MAN

The i-Phone As A Musical Instrument

2008-12-09T12:42:00.005-05:00

Ever since Apple opened up the i-Phone, apps for it seem to crop up daily. I don't think too many people saw this one coming: The i-Phone-As-Musical-Instrument. True enough, this app "senses" the pressure of one's breath on the microphone. Digital keys show up (in the classic ocarina pattern) on the face allowing an individual to play the i-Phone. Really! Check it out.

Using Creative Commons To Create New Works

2008-12-08T10:48:00.003-05:00

In the last post, I provided a link to better help (music) educators understand how they can use copyrighted material.

Taking this a step further, here's an excellent introduction about Creative Commons. Go Create!

Confusion Over Copyright In Education

2008-12-08T09:35:00.002-05:00

Many educators are shying away from using copyrighted material in class. In most cases, they are being too cautious because they're not aware that they have more rights.

Hoping to clear up the confusion over the "fair use" of digital materials in teaching and learning, a panel of university professors has developed a "Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education."

The document clarifies how fair use applies to the most common situations where media-literacy educators make use of copyrighted materials in their work. It offers guidance for instructors so they can make informed fair-use judgments (including the use of music in education).

How to Grab Flash Videos From a Website

2008-11-29T08:01:00.002-05:00

If you're using tools to create digital music, chances are you're well positioned to begin experimenting with video (or you already are using free and easy tools such as windows movie maker.) In a recent post, I wrote about programs that will allow you to download, rip and/or convert video formats.

Another possibility exists in Vixy.net, an online video conversion service where all you need to do is supply the URL of a video file and indicate what format you want to convert to. When you submit a URL, it will download and convert to the video format, and then you can download the converted file.

Then what? How about adding in some of your own (or mixed) music to create new content?

Top 10 Reasons to use Loop-Based Music Software in Music Class

2008-11-26T10:33:00.002-05:00

Why use loop-based composition software in a music class?

Here are 10 reasons:

Students don't need prior knowledge of music fundamentals (though this knowledge certainly helps)
It is empowering when students are working on "real" music in their own way.
It is empowering because students can work on projects for "real world" purposes. (ie..creating music for school functions, websites; podcasting)
It is empowering because students can export their work as Mp3 files and share them on the web or put them on their i-pods where their name comes up as "the artist"
Music class becomes inextricably linked with technology which means two budgets feed the program.
All Music Standards can be taught in some way using loop-based composition
Students love it.
The software is fairly inexpensive given the possibilities
Independent work allows for one-on-one interaction between teacher and student. Perfect for differentiating learning.
Public Relations: When students talk up their experiences with loop-based composition, they spread the word that something exciting is happening in music at school (beyond the band and choral programs.)

More about Garageband

More about Sony Acid. Using Sony Ac id to teach Song Form

Technorati Tags: sony acid,garageband,digital music,music technology

Video Tools: Want to Rip Video or Convert Video Format?

2008-10-31T07:02:00.001-05:00

Audio technology is becoming tightly linked to video technology especially as bandwidth increases. Editing audio is fairly straightforward if you're using free, simple programs like Audacity. And ripping audio is now something elementary students do with regularity. But what about ripping and editing video? What about video conversion (say from .mov to .avi)?

The folks at Lifehacker have provided this handy list:

10. VLC media player (Open source/All platforms)

Ok, so VLC is a media player, not converter, but if you're watching digital video, it's a must-have—plus VLC can indeed rip DVD's, as well as play ripped discs in ISO format (no actual optical media required.) VLC can also play FLV files downloaded from YouTube et al, no conversion to AVI required. Since there's a portable version, VLC's a nice choice for getting your DVD rips/saved YouTube video watching on wherever you go.

9. MediaCoder (Open source/Windows)

Batch convert audio and video compression formats with the open source Media Coder for Windows, which works with a long laundry lists of formats, including MP3, Ogg Vorbis, AAC, AAC+, AAC+V2, MusePack, WMA, RealAudio, AVI, MPEG/VOB, Matroska, MP4, RealMedia, ASF/WMV, Quicktime, and OGM, to name a few.

8. Avi2Dvd (Freeware/Windows)

Make your video files burnable to a DVD with Avi2Dvd, a utility that converts Avi/Ogm/Mkv/Wmv/Dvd files to Dvd/Svcd/Vcd format. Avi2Dvd can also produce DVD menus with chapter, audio, and subtitle buttons.

7. Videora Converter (Freeware/Windows only)

Videora Converter is a set of programs, each designed to convert regular PC video files into a format tailored to your favorite video-playing handheld device. The Videora program list includes iPod Video Converter (for 5th gen iPods), iPod classic Video Converter (for 6th gen classic iPods), iPod nano Video Converter (for 3rd gen iPod nanos), iPod touch Video Converter, iPhone Video Converter, Videora Apple TV Converter, PSP Video 9, Videora Xbox360 Converter, Videora TiVo Converter, and Videora PMP Converter. Lifehacker alum Rick Broida used Videora in conjunction with DVD Decrypter to copy DVDs to his iPod.

Honorable Mention: Ares Tube for Windows converts YouTube and other online videos to iPod format.

6. Any Video Converter (Freeware/Windows only)

Convert almost all video formats including DivX, XviD, MOV, rm, rmvb, MPEG, VOB, DVD, WMV, AVI to MPEG-4 movie format for iPod/PSP or other portable video device, MP4 player or smart phone with Any Video Converter, which also supports user-defined video file formats as the output. Batch process multiple files that AVC saves to a pre-selected directory folder, leaving the original files untouched.

5. Hey!Watch (webapp)

Web application Hey!Watch converts video located on your computer desktop as well as clips hosted on video sites. Upload your video to Hey!Watch to encode it into a wide variety of file formats, like H264, MP4, WMV, DivX, HD Video, Mobile 3GP/MP4, iPod, Archos and PSP. Hey!Watch only allows for 10MB of video uploads per month for free, and from there you pay for what you use, but it's got lots of neat features for video publishers like podcast feed generation and automatic batch processing with options you set once.

4. VidDownloader (webapp)

When you don't want to mess with installing software to grab that priceless YouTube clip before it gets yanked, head over to web site VidDownloader which sucks in videos from all the big streaming sites (YouTube, Google Video, iFilm, Blip.TV, DailyMotion, etc.), converts 'em for you to a playable format and offers them for download. Other downloaders for online video sites buy you a Flash FLV file, but VidDownloader spits back an AVI file.

3. iSquint (Freeware/Mac OS X only)

Convert any video file to iPod-sized versions and automatically add the results to your iTunes library. iSquint is free, but Lifehacker readers have praised the pay-for iSquint upgrade, VisualHub, which offers more advanced options for a $23 license fee. Check out the feature comparison chart between iSquint and VisualHub.

2. DVD Shrink (Freeware/Windows only)

Copy a DVD to your hard drive and leave off all the extras like bonus footage, trailers and other extras to save space with DVD Shrink. Download Adam's one-click AutoHotkey/DVD Shrink utility to rip your DVDs to your hard drive for skip-free video play from scratchy optical media.

Honorable mention: DVD Decrypter (beware of advertisement interstitial page), which Windows peeps can use to copy DVDs to their iPods.

1. Handbrake (Open source/Windows, Mac)

Back up your DVD's to digital file with this open source DVD to MPEG-4 converter app. See also how to rip DVDs to your iPod with Handbrake.

How to Share Your Music On The Web Legally

2008-10-28T12:05:00.001-05:00

I personally long for a day when music will be readily available in digital format without restrictions and without menacing copyright laws. But, alas, we're still bound by antiquated rules as the battle between the RIAA and everyone continues.

What do you do if you want to share music, though? Maybe you're a blogger who wants to make a particular point and that point would be perfectly made with a specific song by, say, Madonna. OK, poor example-still you get the point. Maybe you're a budding musician just getting into the "online scene" and you want to upload some covers you've recorded just to get your talent out there.

STREAMING MUSIC

Anyone who has used pandora, or songza or even i-tunes knows what streaming music is: music that is streamed over the Internet without the ability to download. Streaming is precisely the ticket for those of you looking to share but avoid breaking the law.

OVI: YOUR MEDIA SERVED UP YOUR WAY

To create streams of music, I like OVI for it's simplicity and embed options which means you can create small music players of your music within a website or blog. A good example can be found here. To upload your music:

Create and account
Upload your music
Drag tunes you want to share into your Public Channel
Copy the embed code for songs you want to share.
Paste into your website or blog.

That's it. Now you're sharing your music legally and, with any luck you're gaining the kind of exposure you're looking for.

Technorati Tags: music,mp3,my music tech,music technology,digital music,ovi,riaa,pandora,songza,streaming music

The I-Phone More Popular Than Kindle E-Reader

2008-10-27T19:42:00.004-05:00

I write some time ago whether Apple would be able to compete with Amazon's Kindle E-Book Reader by creating a similar (read: better) device. Looks like they don't have to.

Forbes reports that...

It's official: The iPhone is more popular than Amazon.com's Kindle. And not just in the obvious categories like listening to music, browsing the Web or the other applications where Kindle barely competes. Now, the iPhone is also muscling into Amazon's home turf: reading books.

Read the rest here....

Matisyahu: Rock, Reggae and Religion

2008-10-12T14:19:00.006-05:00

When Matisyahu emerged with his debut album, Shake Off the Dust...Arise, in 2004, his musical persona seemed to some a novelty. Here was a Hasidic Jew, dressed in a black suit with a broad-brimmed black hat worn over a yarmulke, and sporting a full, untrimmed beard, who nevertheless performed toasting raps about the glories of traditional Judaism over reggae beats in a dancehall style directly from Jamaica, punctuating his performances with stage diving. It may have seemed like a joke at first, but Matisyahu was serious, and he began to attract press notices to go with the enthusiastic audiences that packed his concerts. (by William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide)

This song, Time of Your Song is classic Matisyahu. You just might get hooked.

Amazon.com Widgets

You Tube, Toddlers and The Future of Music

2008-10-12T13:37:00.005-05:00

Digital technology has made it easy to create new works from existing art, but copyright law has yet to catch up.

In early February 2007, Stephanie Lenz's 13-month-old son started dancing. Pushing a walker across her kitchen floor, Holden Lenz started moving to the distinctive beat of a song by Prince, "Let's Go Crazy." He had heard the song before. The beat had obviously stuck. So when Holden heard the song again, he did what any sensible 13-month-old would do -- he accepted Prince's invitation and went "crazy" to the beat. Holden's mom grabbed her camcorder and, for 29 seconds, captured the priceless image of Holden dancing, with the barely discernible Prince playing on a CD player somewhere in the background.

Valerie Sinclair

Ms. Lenz wanted her mother to see the film. But you can't easily email a movie. So she did what any citizen of the 21st century would do: She uploaded the file to YouTube and sent her relatives and friends the link. They watched the video scores of times. It was a perfect YouTube moment: a community of laughs around a homemade video, readily shared with anyone who wanted to watch.

Sometime over the next four months, however, someone from Universal Music Group also watched Holden dance. Universal manages the copyrights of Prince. It fired off a letter to YouTube demanding that it remove the unauthorized "performance" of Prince's music. YouTube, to avoid liability itself, complied. A spokeswoman for YouTube declined to comment.

Read the rest of this excellent article by Lawrence Lessig at the Wall Street Journal.

Music Video: An American Prayer

2008-10-12T13:34:00.001-05:00

Dave Stewart has released the song and video called An American Prayer. This blog's author endorses Barack Obama for President and wishes fervently that American's Prayers get answered this time around for the sake of each other and for the broken enterprise called public (music) education.

Stream Your Own Music With Twango

2008-09-28T18:35:00.005-05:00

In the last post, I recommended Seeqpod as a useful tool to help you embed music on a webpage or in a blog. While there is plenty music to choose from there, Seeqpod can't help you embed your own music.

Which got me searching for ways to do this. It took half a day to discover (to me) an acceptable solution. I signed up for a half dozen accounts at as many sites claiming to offer this ability but there were always MAJOR flaws. The worst was the need for a particular program to upload your entire music library to an online database. Really? This could take literally take days given the size of some libraries.

What I discovered, so far thankfully, is Twango (now called OVI). Twango lets you do exactly what I wanted:
1-To upload a recording (one at a time or multiple files of you like)
2-To create a stream of each separate recording.
3-To provide embed options for websites and blogs.

For musicians in particular, who want to share their own music but want to limit downloads, I believe this service (which is free) is a gem.

Share and Listen To Music Legally Without Being Social

2008-09-28T18:21:00.006-05:00

While the battle between the RIAA and the People rages on, I have been lately trying to find useful ways to embed and stream music in a manner that will not allow distribution of the same music. Of course, social music sites such as LastFM allow this sort of thing but I find there is a limitation.

I'm not interested in "connecting with others" based on musical tastes. Sometimes, I want to embed and stream music to enhance a blog post. Sometimes (since I teach music), I want to provide an example of some musical style or genre.

This is where Seeqpod comes in. How easy it is to:
1-Search for music you're looking for
2-Copy code to embed
3-Embed the code into your webpage or blog.

The simplicity makes Seeqpod a real pleasure to use. Two thumbs up for not having to be social about it and for not having to "create an account" either.

Example:

The Future And MySpace Music

2008-09-21T07:54:00.004-05:00

MySpace Music is set to launch sometime next week. It will offer free streams of full-length tracks from all the major labels, legitimizing the advertising-supported model that is beginning to challenge iTunes’ pay-per-download approach. It will be more akin to a subscription model like Rhapsody’s, but without the subscription.

The big unanswered question is whether MySpace Music will pay music labels lower prices (or simply accept a share of MySpace Music’s revenues). The music industry desperately needs a new digital business model. There is no question about that. But if the labels are going to allow MySpace Music to pay less per stream or not at all, and they themselves are joint venture partners in MySpace Music, that will open them up to charges of preferential pricing, collusion, and price discrimination.

Read more at TechCrunch.

What's Brewing At MENC?

2008-06-01T12:40:00.002-05:00

MENC has updated their website and claims to have blinged it out with a 'My Music Class' section. I'm heading there today to see what Music Tech resources can be found there.

I'll provide an update when I return.

In the meantime, check out all things music education for yourself by visiting MENC's website.
Music Educator's National Conference.

Free Mp3 Downloads and Music Player in Qtrax

2008-05-28T12:03:00.004-05:00

My Music Tech is always on the lookout for new ways to experience digital music. Qtrax seems to hold some promise.

Qtrax is a "free and legal download service" and offers a slick interface for listening to your music. At the moment it is only available for Windows but it comes with a Firefox plug-in. Go give it a test drive.

Using Twinkle to Introduce Song Form

2008-05-22T08:44:00.004-05:00

One of the best decisions we made for our General Music program was to transform it into a Music Technology Lab. The next best thing was to adopt the loop-based software program Sony Acid as a significant part of the student music experience.

But where to begin? And how do musical concepts get taught/learned?-especially FORM.

Here's how we begin the process:

We create a midi file of twinkle twinkle little star (student's use Finale Print Music to create the melody and export it as a mid file).
Using Sony Acid, import the Twinkle midi file as a track.
Explain that Twinkle will be the Chorus of the Song and it needs to be heard in it's entirety.
What's needed now is an introduction, verses, possibly a bridge and an "outro".
Use the Twinkle melody itself to explain ABBA form.

A-Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.....
B-Up Above the World So High
B-Like a Diamond..
A-Twinkle Twinkle.....

Then provide a few examples of variations on this using popular songs. (I like to use Blake Lewis' song End of The World because the Form is clear: 4 bar intro/add voice/add drums/verse 1/chorus/verse 2/chorus/bridge/chorus/chorus/fade out.

Students are in good shape to begin the process of creating their own loop-based compositions at this point. (Obviously, use of Sony Acid is a pre-requisite to this project.)

Marketing Music To Kids

2008-05-10T09:36:00.006-05:00

Some bands know how to have fun. Kids love to have fun. That's why fun bands eventually make albums for kids. The latest band to do just that is the Barenaked Ladies and the album is called Snacktime. The result is a win-win situation. Young kids learn, older kids appreciate the humor and the Barenaked Ladies have (had) a blast making the album.

It's absolutely brilliant and every Mom, Dad and teacher should own a copy. Here's a video using the music from the song "7,8,9" from that album.

2 Music Lessons Using Finale Notepad

2008-05-10T06:54:00.004-05:00

Here are two lessons I use with middle school music technology students:

Lesson 1- Using the free Finale Notepad, have students input music. Call them "scribes for the digital age". Talk about how scribes used to re-write the works of the Masters prior to the printing press. I usually create PDF versions of simple folks songs/compositions for them to "copy" into Finale Notepad.

Students simultaneously learn about key signature, time signature, note values, clefs, and instrumentation. I do this after an extended examination of MIDI vs. MP3. I have students input 5 different compositions of increasing difficulty (the most difficult compositions have ties, rests and dotted rhythms). As a variation, have students change the instrumentation.

Lesson 2- Create a Finale file which contains the rhythm for the song Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star all written on the note "C". Write out a Bass line as well. Have students drag the remaining notes (of the melodic line) to their proper place on the staff. Listening, analyzing, problem solving are all outcomes of this lesson. There is a tremendous source of pride in students once they get it right.

Finding Cool Wave Files

2008-04-26T13:35:00.003-05:00

One of the projects we do is a "found sound" project. Using the internet, we search for wave files that we can use and incorporate them into original compositions.

Here are some human generated sounds that work quite well. Other sounds can be found in the following categories-human, natural, animal, music and entertainment at amazing sounds.

Vehicles

Car

car1.wav	cardooropen.wav	carscreech2.wav
car2.wav	cardoorshut.wav	carscreech3.wav
caralarm.wav	carhornold2.wav	carstart.wav
carclunker.wav	carhornshort.wav	carstart2.wav
carcrash.wav	carhorntwice.wav	carstartdrive.wav
cardoording.wav	carracestop.wav	oldcarhorn.wav
cardoording2.wav	carscreech.wav	traffichorns.wav
trafficjam.wav	racecar.wav	racecar1a.wav
racecarpass.wav	racecars.wav	racehorn.wav

Plane

planecrash.wav	planeflyover.wav	planelow.wav
planeflyby.wav	planeidle.wav	jet2.wav
jetfly.wav	jetidle.wav	jetpass.wav
jetpass2.wav	jetstart.wav	jetstart2.wav
jetstart3.wav	F15.wav

Train

train.wav	train_crossing.wav
trainannounce.wav	trainarrive.wav
trainhorn.wav	trainpassfast.wav
trainpassslow.wac	trainpullaway.wav
trainsteamwhistle.wav	trainsteamwhistlepass.wav

Boat

boat.wav	boatairhorn.wav	boatairhorn2.wav
boatcreak.wav	boathorn.wav	motorboat.wav
tugboathorn.wav

Other

truckhorn.wav	truckdriveby.wav
motorcycle.wav	bicycle.wav
helicopter.wav	helicopter2.wav
busdoorslide.wav	bushorn.wav

Sirens & Alarms


siren.wav	siren1.wav	siren03.wav
siren04.wav	siren07.wav	siren08.wav
siren_europe.wav	sirenhilo.wav	alarm02.wav
alarm1.wav	policearrive.wav	policepass.wav
policeradio.wav	policesiren2.wav	loudsirenwah_wah.wav

Laser & Beams

beam01.wav	beam03.wav	beam05.wav
beam07.wav	beam09.wav	beam11.wav
beam13.wav	laser2.wav	laserfire.wav
laserfire2.wav	laserfire3.wav	lasersword.wav
lasersword2.wav

War Related

m16.wav	m16distant.wav	m16singleshot.wav
m50.wav	357magnun.wav	arrow.wav
arrowhit.wav	atomicbomb.wav	bomberstart.wav
cannon.wav	cockgun.wav	cockgun2.wav
cockgun3.wav	colt45.wav	explode.wav
explosio.wav	explosion.wav	explosion2.wav
gun1.wav	gun2.wav	gunbattle.wav
gunfight.wav	gunfight2.wav	gunshot1.wav
gunshot2.wav	gunshots3.wav	implosion.wav
implosion2.wav	loadclip.wav	mgun.wav
missle.wav	oldwestgunbattle.wav	pistolshot.wav
rocketblastoff.wav	rocketcountdown.wav	shotgun.wav
shotgun2.wav	singlegunshot.wav	sword.wav
whip.wav	whip2.wav	whipcrack.wav
sword2.wav	sword3.wav

adjustradio.wav	adjustradiolong.wav	arcade01.wav
arcade03.wav	arcade07.wav	arcade09.wav
arcade11.wav	beep.wav	bell.wav
benddown.wav	bionicfx.wav	buzzer.wav
buzzerheavy.wav	buzzthru.wav	buzzthruloud.wav
censoredbeep.wav	chainrattle.wav	chimes.wav
clock10g.wav	clocktick2.wav	clocktickfast.wav
computerbeep.wav	computerbeetp2.wav	computerbeep3.wav
computerbeep4.wav	computerprocess.wav	computerprocess2.wav
computerspring.wav	crash1.wav	crash2.wav
dissolve.wav	dissolve2.wav	driveupclunker.wav
electricalcurrent.wav	electricalcurrent2.wav	alectricarc.wav
electricdrill.wav	electronic.wav	electronicdoor.wav
futurebeep.wav	futurebeep2.wav	futurebeep3.wav
minimize_fx.wav	modem.wav	monitorflatline.wav
phaser.wav	phaser2.wav	phone1.wav
phone2.wav	photon.wav	pinball.wav
ping.wav	ping2.wav	plask1.wav
plask2.wav	plask3.wav	ploop.wav
roadconstruction.wav	robotarm.wav	sci_fi_fx.wav
sci_fi_fx2.wav	sci_fi_takeoff.wav	scissors.wav
slap.wav	slash.wav	slice.wav
sliderock.wav	slideup.wav	smash.wav
speed.wav	splat.wav	squish.wav
squishwe.wav	ufo.wav	ufo2.wav
ufofly.wav	wobble1.wav	wobble2.wav
zingpop.wav	zap4.wav	zawap.wav
zingzing.wav	zippopdo.wav	spacebeep.wav
spaceship.wav	spaceshipland.wav	whoosh01.wav
whoosh03.wav	whoosh05.wav	whoosh07.wav
whoosh09.wav

Cartoon

cartoon1.wav	cartoon2.wav	cartoon3.wav
cartoon4.wav	cartooncharge.wav	cartoondoor.wav
cartoonhammer.wav	cartoonphone.wav	cartoonrise.wav
cartoonrun.wav	cartoonspinstop.wav	cartoonsplit.wav
cartoonwhistle.wav

Household

big_door_shut.wav	bigdooropen.wav	door.wav
poolballhit.wav	poolbreak.wav	poolshot.wav
rundoorslam.wav	schoolbell.wav	schoolbellstereo.wav
typewriter.wav	typefast.wav	typewriterding.wav
typewritershift.wav	pager.wav	pageturn.wav
windowclose.wav	windowslide.wav	breakwindow.wav
phone1.wav	phone2.wav

Brainstorming an Idea for a Podcast

2008-04-08T07:08:00.001-05:00

This episode talks about how to develop an idea for a podcast of your own.

http://mymusictech.podomatic.com/entry/2008-04-08T05_06_30-07_00

My Music Tech Launches Podcast

2008-03-28T14:47:00.003-05:00

My Music Tech launched it's podcast (March 28, 2008). The podcast will contain episodes about music education technology and will specifically feature podcasts by music students as they learn about various aspects of music, podcasting and digital audio technologies.

This podcast will be of benefit to school music teachers, technology teachers and anyone interested in learning the basics of podcasting and it's application in an educational setting.

Stay tuned for future episodes. You may subscribe to the podcast at i-tunes. Do a search for My Music Tech. Subscriptions to podcasts are free.

The website for direct links to the podcasts is at: http://mymusictech.podomatic.com/

The Future of Music

2008-03-28T07:31:00.000-05:00

Music and Technology have become irrevocably linked. Technology is used to create music, to perform music and to market music.

David Byrne already wrote a compelling summary of the music business pasty and present. More business and marketing folks, such as Seth Godin, have added their thoughts about the future of music.

He did a talk recently on the subject and what he has to say (as always) is fascinating and in my opinion right on. It's true: music is at once a business but it also inhabits a very personal and emotional space for all of us. And we know through educational research that learning takes place best when there are two things occurring at once:

1-Compelling new information
2-Some kind of emotional experience

Here's what Mr. Godin had to say on the subject and here is a book on the Future of Music.

How to Use a Talkbox

2008-03-23T20:13:00.003-05:00

The talkbox when used correctly can be very effective. Shikeze did not have skills on American Idol. He should never have even tried.

Tristan Luke Sullivan is the master. Get schooled in the talkbox by checking out his very tasteful version of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's Close To You....

What Is Natural Talent? Listen to David Archuleta

2008-03-20T13:10:00.006-05:00

David Archuleta has what is called natural talent. His musical sensitivity and phrasing are well beyond his years. Listen to how he tastefully pushes through the end of the first phrase and then listen to how he actually sings slightly behind the beat (rubato). Brilliant and beautiful stuff. It will be a joy to see where his career takes him.

How To Jam On The Internet (Musically, That Is)

2008-03-09T18:44:00.003-05:00

Technology has been good to music in recent years. And visa versa. Some great sites have emerged that allow musicians (or wannabes) to jam online. Here are 10 to get you started.

Ninjam: “NINJAM is a program to allow people to make real music together via the Internet. Every participant can hear every other participant. Each user can also tweak their personal mix to his or her liking. NINJAM is cross-platform, with clients available for Mac OS X and Windows. “
ejamming: Currently free during its public beta! Connect, jam, and record online.
jam2jam:Improvise with others online and creative grooves and music without having to have “music chops”.
Jam Central Station: Have a virtual band “back you”.
Kompoz: “Kompoz is a social workspace for musicians and songwriters. Got an idea for a song? Record a track. Upload it. Then invite others to add drums, bass, vocals or anything else!”
Kalabo: Compose, play, add to, and modify compositions online.
JamGlue: Upload a composition, mix it, share it…
Splice: Meet, Make, Mix, and Mash music online.
JamNow: “Broadcast, podcast or jam live whenever you want, & invite fans or musicians to join in. Or choose to keep your broadcasts private, open only to those you invite. Your sessions are recorded and can be edited, stored in your JamNow tape vault, and downloaded as MP3s. Post your performances as streams on your profile page - build your audience by playing live for people all over the world! Do it yourself!”
ZipJam: Not an online jam/shareable site, but rather one that allows you to find musicians to jam with and work with in your area.

Where to Find Money for Art and Music Education

2008-03-09T14:19:00.003-05:00

I believe Arts/Music will become the central part of the school curriculum by the end of this century. Until then, districts often find it hard to support arts and music programs in schools.

If you're looking for funding for Arts Education but don't know where to look, here's a post listing the Top 10 Funding Sources for Arts Education.

I-pods, Cell Phones and PDA's in The Classroom

2008-02-26T11:31:00.003-05:00

Some schools have declared war on i-pods, cell phones and portable electronic devices. They are seen in these places as a distraction to learning and "education" in general.

Like the war on terrorism, I don't believe this is a winnable war. For three reasons, at least:

1- Teens like music
2- Teens are social to the core (cell phones allow constant and instant communication with one's BFF's)
3- The technologies are here to stay because they are profitable to the companies that make them.

Calculators used to fall into this category. They were a threat and a nuisance....Until!

Until a use was declared within education circles. Someone convinced others within Academia that calculators could, indeed, be used as an enhancement to the educational process. Now, of course, they are ubiquitous.

The problem as I see it is not that students own and use the aforementioned devices. The problem is that ALL students are not using them. If we knew that ALL students owned them, we could require that they be brought to class and used to enhance the learning process.

Imagine:

"OK, the first one to text me the correct answer, gets to ask the next question!"

"OK, take out your ear-buds and using your PDA, login to the school network, go to the Student Network Folder and find a link called Beethoven 1. Listen to the first 2 minutes of Beethoven's 1st Symphony. When you're done, use PDA to do a Google search about classical vs. romantic music. Using your PDA, write a blog post about why Beethoven's Symphony was ground-breaking. E-mail me the link to the post. If you have any questions, text me or send me an e-mail..I'll respond immediately."

"OK, tonight, I want you to rip one of your parent's Cd's into your music collection. Choose one you like and that you can connect to the subject of this class in some way. Load it onto your i-pod. We'll listen to a few tomorrow and discuss the relevance of the song to the subject of this class"

Etc...

It's not a war. It's an opportunity. At least it can be.

cross posting from Another Brick In The Wall

What Is Sony Acid?

2008-02-26T11:24:00.002-05:00

Sony Acid is a loop-based music composition software program that makes it easy for those with little music training to create original music compositions. Since the "sounds" are already provided as loops (for example, guitar, drums, saxophones, synthesizers), the 'composer' simply needs to arrange the sounds in an order that appeals to them.

It helps to know something about musical (song) form, so that the compositions "make sense" in the end. A good way to do this is to listen to your favorite songs and keep track of what's going on. For example, is there an introduction? How many measures? What instruments are playing? Where does the Chorus start? How many measures is it? Etc...

Here's more about Sony Acid..

If you're serious about making your own music, ACID Music Studio software is the perfect tool for original song creation, multitrack audio and MIDI recording, and studio-quality mixing, and effects processing. Share your songs any way you want — burn your own CDs, upload to the web, prepare audio for podcasts, or export to your MP3 player. With built-in tutorials to guide you, you'll be composing, mixing, and mastering like a pro in no time.

Your Music Studio


Easy Live Recording Record vocals, guitars, keyboards, and other instruments with ACID Music Studio software. It's easy - simply plug your microphone or instrument into your PC sound card and click Record to capture audio and MIDI.	Powerful Mixing 3,000 ACIDized music loops, 1,000 MIDI files, built-in effects, and other tools. You can also import your own songs and MP3 files for beat-matching and mixing.	Share Anywhere Burn your own music CDs, save the songs you create to popular formats for uploading to websites such as ACIDplanet.com, prepare audio for podcasts, or convert songs to MP3 format for playback on your portable music player.

Easy to Use and Learn

Even if you've never written a song or played an instrument, you can use ACID^® Music Studio software to create original music, produce DJ-style remixes, add soundtracks to videos, and burn professional-quality CDs. Fundamentals

Powerful Mixing and Effects Processing

Professional mixing tools give you precise control over volume and panning, effects processing, audio routing, and final output. Customize your songs using professional-quality audio effects including EQ, reverb, delay, chorus, flange, phase, distortion, echo, and more. Use VST and DirectX audio effects, and VST instruments. Add pan and volume envelopes, reverse audio, and change the pitch and tempo of your mix in real time. Mixing and Editing

Record and Edit MIDI

Use ACID Music Studio Software for complete MIDI editing and sequencing. Record and edit MIDI note and controller data on the timeline, and assign to any MIDI instrument. ACID Music Studio software supports VSTi and includes over 1,000 MIDI files and 90 instruments for song creation. MIDI

Learn as You Go with Amazing Tutorials

Our exclusive Show Me How tutorials guide you through the entire creative process. Whenever you need help, just click the Show Me How button and choose your tutorial topic. Helpful text dialogue boxes, pointers, and guides will actually show you what to do and where to click. Show Me How tutorials

Share Your Music Anywhere

Create your own CDs in minutes. Disc-at-once CD layout and burning is fully integrated into the software so you can conveniently create your music and produce professional-sounding CDs all within one application. Powerful encoding functionality lets you save your songs to popular streaming formats for uploading to the web, or export them to portable music devices. CD Burning and Export

GET SONY ACID HERE

Does Your Community Support Music Education?

2008-02-25T12:36:00.001-05:00

Where are the best communities for music education? The ninth annual “Best Communities for Music Education” (BCME) survey, sponsored by the NAMM Foundation (www.nammfoundation.org), is searching for school districts that support music education and include music education offerings as part of a complete education for all students.

The NAMM Foundation is currently accepting online submissions, and will remain open through early March. The survey, which can be completed by visiting the NAMM Foundation online at www.nammfoundation.org, is open to anyone—parents, teachers, school administrators, community members—who wishes to enter information about their school and community.

What Can Smartmusic Do For You?

2008-02-23T10:47:00.004-05:00

I have written about Smartmusic before. I'm not interested doing product endorsements but I do believe that Smartmusic represents the future of Music Education. I also believe it represents the answer to the problem of music education. The company that makes Smartmusic, MakeMusic, Inc. is reporting that Smartmusic subscriptions are on the rise. Nearly 90,000 subscription s so far and growing.

Even before Smartmusic became widely available, I wrote an article called The Case for Technology in Music Education which was subsequently published in the Massachusetts Music News.

How is Smartmusic related to wider School/Education Goals?

Smartmusic is an assessment tool: Smartmusic uses data to drive learning and instruction.

Smartmusic stimulates intrinsic motivation. Students rely on their own feedback and desire to "get better" as they do with a video game. Students own their own learning this way.

Smartmusic encourages healthy competition. Students often make a game or competing against themselves--as athletes do during times of training.

Get Your Limited Edition Slash Gibson Guitar!

2008-02-14T11:55:00.003-05:00

Gibson Guitar, the world's premier musical instrument manufacturer and leader in music technology announces the first ever availability of a series of "Slash" signature Gibson and Epiphone Les Paul Standard electric guitars.

On Tuesday April 1st 2008 three very limited and unique models of the Slash signature Les Paul guitar will be released simultaneously around the world. Each guitar model has been designed and produced in close co-operation with the legendary Velvet Revolver guitarist, Slash. For the first time ever, the Slash models will be available from Gibson Custom, Gibson USA and Epiphone offering consumers a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own a guitar inspired by Slash. On April 1, 2008 at 5pm US EDT select dealers will offer a limited number of these models for sale.

Once they are sold out, they will not be reproduced. Read more here.

Grammy Award Winners List With Download Links!

2008-02-11T12:39:00.000-05:00

My Music Tech is proud to provide this convenient winner's list of the 50th Grammy Awards. Happy Listening.

Album of the Year
Herbie Hancock - River: The Joni Letters

Record of the Year
Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"

Song of the Year
Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"

Best New Artist
Amy Winehouse

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
Justin Timberlake - "What Goes Around ... Comes Around"

Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
Maroon 5 - "Makes Me Wonder"

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)

Best Pop Vocal Album
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black

Best Dance Recording
Justin Timberlake - "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows"

Best Electronic/Dance Album
The Chemical Brothers - We Are The Night

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance
Bruce Springsteen - "Radio Nowhere"

Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
The White Stripes - "Icky Thump"

Best Hard Rock Performance
Foo Fighters - "The Pretender"

Best Metal Performance
Slayer - "Final Six"

Best Rock Song
Bruce Springsteen - "Radio Nowhere"

Best Rock Instrumental Performance
Bruce Springsteen - "Once Upon A Time In The West" (from We All Love Ennio Morricone)

Best Rock Album
Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace

Best Alternative Music Album
The White Stripes - Icky Thump

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
Alicia Keys - "No One"

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
Prince - "Future Baby Mama"

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
Chaka Khan (featuring Mary J. Blige) - "Disrespectful"

Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance
Gerald Levert - "In My Songs"

Best Urban/Alternative Performance
Lupe Fiasco (featuring Jill Scott) - "Daydreamin'"

Best R&B Song
Alicia Keys - "No One"

Best R&B Album
Chaka Khan - Funk This

Best Contemporary R&B Album
Ne-Yo - Because Of You

Best Rap Solo Performance
Kanye West - "Stronger"

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group
Common Featuring Kanye West - "Southside"

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z - "Umbrella"

Best Rap Song
Kanye West Featuring T-Pain - "Good Life"

Best Rap Album
Kanye West - Graduation

Best Traditional Folk Album
Levon Helm - Dirt Farmer

Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album
Steve Earle - Washington Square Serenade

Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
"Love You I Do" From Dreamgirls

Best Contemporary Jazz Album
Herbie Hancock - River: The Joni Letters

Best Contemporary Blues Album
JJ Cale & Eric Clapton - The Road To Escondido

Best Traditional Folk Album
Levon Helm - Dirt Farmer

Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album
Steve Earle - Washington Square Serenade

Best Spoken Word Album
Barack Obama - The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming The American Dream

Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
Love (The Beatles)

Best Score Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
Ratatouille

Best Comedy Album
Flight Of The Conchords - The Distant Future

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
Mark Ronson

Best Short Form Music Video
Johnny Cash - "God's Gonna Cut You Down" (Dir. Tony Kaye)

Best Recording Package
Bright Eyes - Cassadaga

Obama Wins Grammy For Best Spoken Word Album

2008-02-11T07:48:00.000-05:00

Democrat presidential hopeful Barack Obama won the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album, for his audiobook version of his best-selling book The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.

Obama beat former US presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, poet Maya Angelou and actor Alan Alda for the award. Clinton’s Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World and Carter’s Sunday Mornings in Plains: Bringing Peace to a Changing World had been among the nominees.

Obama had earlier won a Grammy in 2005 in the same category for his autobiography Dreams of My Father.

Digital Audio and Digital Music are blurring boundaries between politics and popular culture. In the case of Barack Obama, digital audio may be the very thing that secures him the democratic presidential nomination. Why? His book Audacity of Hope portrays a man who is real to the core, aware of the politic traps of D.C. culture and who, at every turn, examines issues for what they are. But you have to read it to know that. Many people in this country read books by listening to them. If undecided voters listen to Barack Obama's Grammy Award winning books, I believe he will be the next President of the United States because I believe they will support his candidacy.

If this happens, I will cite THIS MOMENT as the catalyst: When Barack Obama swept the primaries and won a Grammy in the same weekend.

Music Learning Software for Elementary Music Teachers

2008-02-10T12:18:00.001-05:00

It really is an exciting time to be a music teacher. The ubiquitous nature of digital music, the expansion of hard drive space and the increased processing speed of computers has paved the path for quality music learning programs that are software-based.

For Elementary Music teachers, Sibelius Groovy Music is an excellent choice for teaching/learning music. And it's great fun. NEW Groovy Music is a series of three exciting software programs for elementary and middle school students. Fun to use, Groovy Music teaches the basics of sound, rhythm, pitch and composition using pictures and animation - progressing to the study of simple notation as well as major and minor scales.

Students love Groovy Music. It guides them with a simple voiceover and lets them create their own music as well as carry out directed activities, so there's plenty of room for creativity. In fact, Groovy Music is so compelling that once students start making music; they just won't want to stop! And best of all, it's incredibly easy for both teachers and students.

Stay tuned for excellent music software products for middle and high school age groups.

Top 10 Web/Tech Tools For Music Educators

2008-02-09T11:30:00.000-05:00

Throughout the school year, I often reflect on the changes I have made with regard to instructional strategies. This year has been biggie for utilizing web tools and software in and out of the classroom. As a consequence, I have been more connected to student’s real learning needs. I have also been able to effectively handle the massive ‘data pile’ of student work and assessments more efficiently.

Here are the top ten web tools/applications that made my list this year:

1- FIREFOX WEB BROWSER AND PLUG-INS

Why: Firefox is so feature-rich it’s impossible to capture why it’s indispensable as a web browser. The fact that CTRL-N loads a new page automatically, the fact that with one glance I can see what’s up with the weather (plug-in), and that I can read RSS feeds in SAGE (add-on) without leaving the browser are three important reasons why I love it.
http://www.mozilla.org/

2- GMAIL and GOOGLE WEB DOCS

Why: G-mail tracks Emails as ‘conversations’ this is extremely helpful. It’s labeling feature is primo which reduces the possibility of losing that important Email. Spam is kept way down, too.

Web Docs is the best thing that could have happened to me. Now, I do much of my spreadsheet and database management online. No need to transport files from computer to computer.
Google Accounts

3- SMARTMUSIC

Why: Makemusic, Inc. has cornered the music education market. It’s Impact grade-keeping system should become standard for all music program assessments before long. With thousands of exercises and music files to practice along with Smartmusic is serious stuff. And, oh yeah, students can Email their assessment data from home!!
http://www.smartmusic.com/

4- CANON LIDE SCANNER

Why: I promised myself that when the digital age was apparent that I would ‘digitize everything’!! This was about 8 years ago when scanners were way slower than they are now and when 8 MB was a tremendous amount of space. This is, of course, no longer the case. Scanning documents (student work, for example) takes seconds instead of minutes now and takes up considerably less space. Also, Finale Notation software (which I also use) allows importing of scanned music.
Canon Scanners

5- PDF CREATOR

Why: It creates a PDF of any file you have. For free. End of story.
Get PDF Creator

6- FOXIT READER

Why: It reads the PDF documents I have created using PDF CREATOR (scanned student work, for example again) and it takes up considerably less space on my hard drive than Adobe Reader. It’s also less intrusive.
Foxit Reader

7- BLOGGER 2

Why: Once Blogger Beta was released, blogging became so much more user-friendly which meant that kids could handle it. I use blogger as an informational resource for parents and students. Links include calendar of events, student assignment blogs and general information about our program. Students keep blogs as alternatives to practice plans. They answer specific music-based questions via their blogs and are free to comment on my blog and their classmate’s blogs. This has given students ownership of their work for which they seem grateful.
Blogger Tour

8- RSS READERS: SAGE READER, BLOGLINES and NETVIBES

Why: XML files rule. RSS has allowed me to scan news, education and music tech headlines quickly and easily, keeping me in the know. I also subscribe to my student’s blogs via RSS Readers such as Sage Reader (available for use with Firefox), Bloglines, Google Reader and Netvibes. As soon as students post a new item to their blogs I receive it in the Reader in real time.

Sage, Bloglines, Netvibes

9- i-TUNES AND MEDIA MONKEY

Why: iTunes- Excellent and quick importing and burning of CD’s.

Media Monkey- Extremely easy editing of ID-3 data and exporting of music lists. Supports flexible organization of any music collection and allows quick file conversion. Lifetime upgrade costs $35. Well worth it.
i-Tunes
Media Monkey

10- DIGITAL RECORDER-OLYMPUS-VN-3100PC

Why: Do you ever have a million ideas in your head after teaching a class or reading something compelling but you don’t really have the time to get it down? This is where a handheld digital recorder comes into play. In my case, I would speak into it after each class. I would record what we did, issues that came up and what the homework assignment was and what the follow up should be next class complete with resources I might want to consider. I’d be able to accomplish this before the next class arrived. Later that day or week, during free time, I could listen back and organize my follow up lessons.

Another excellent use is to record your performing ensembles on the fly. Then plug it into a nearby stereo for instant class-assessment. There's is nothing better at capturing music student's attention than a performance of what they REALLY sound like. My mantra is Digital Recorders Don't Lie.

Get a good one here-

Olympus VN3100PC Digital Voice Recorder

So there you are: The top ten web/tech tools that transformed my teaching this year. Go have a great summer.

-My Music Tech

Online Music Is Here To Stay

2008-02-01T16:54:00.000-05:00

Despite the efforts of the RIAA to derail online music sales, they are soaring. Global sales of music online rose by 40 percent in 2007, confirming the soaring popularity of legal Internet-based music stores, said an industry report published Thursday. Read more here.

Music, Technology and What's Possible: Part 1

2008-01-27T19:02:00.000-05:00

What Is Music Technology?

2008-01-26T14:10:00.000-05:00

What is Music Technology when we are talking about a class with the same name?

There are many ways to answer the question but for the purpose of refining the focus of this blog and for the benefit of those who are left wondering, here's a concise definition.

Music Technology by itself can mean digital musical instruments such as digital keyboards and sequencers. In Education though, music technology refers to technological applications (computers, software, digital sound machines, keyboards, etc..) being used to learn about and to create music. The term Music Education Technology might be more accurate but Music Technology works just as well.

Most elementary classroom music programs in the U.S. are still called General Music. This is where basic fundamentals of music are taught and learned. Increasingly, music technology labs are being adopted in secondary music classrooms (Grades6-12). These classrooms usually contain MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) labs where computers are connected to digital keyboards. Software is usually loaded onto the computers that allow for the learning of music via the direct manipulation of keys on the digital keyboards or via the computer mouse.

Some Music Notation programs will actually display notes on the computer screen that a music student plays on the digital keyboard. In this context the keyboard is called a MIDI instrument since it is connected to a computer. Other programs are focused on music literacy and offer game-like lessons that allow students to learn about musical elements such as music notation, scales, key signatures, clefs, time signatures and timbre.

With the increased use of technology in Education and in student's lives, it is well worth a school district's time and expense to gradually adopt music technology programs. The ubiquitous nature of the i-pod is reason enough to go this route. Performing programs such as Band and Chorus should always be a part of every school in the country but music technology programs should also exist to serve the musical interests of non-performing students. In terms of enrollment, these students usually outnumber the performers 3:1.

To learn more, try giving a Music Education Technology Magazine a read. There are many articles and examples to sample.

Introduction to Podcasting for Students

2008-01-17T08:03:00.000-05:00

What is a podcast?

A podcast is a collection of digital media files which is distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and personal computers. The term, like "radio", can refer either to the content itself or to the method by which it is syndicated; the latter is also termed podcasting. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster.

Podcasts are basically like radio shows from the "old days" only they are found on the internet.

Where can podcasts be found?
These websites and software programs offer many podcasts for your listening interests.

PodcastAlley.com: A podcast lover's dream. Includes the very useful Top Ten Podcasts of the Month (as voted by listeners).
Podcast.net: Podcasts here are categorized by tags; thousands of podcasts in a plethora of subjects are available for free download.
NPR Podcast Directory: Not a ton of podcasts here, but it's NPR, come on! Quality podcasts in a subject directory format.
PodcastBunker: Their motto is "quality, not quantity" and boy, they're not kidding. One of the best places to find podcasts on the web.

In addition, you can find quality podcast directories at PublicRadioFan, Weblogs.com, and of course, the always excellent Apple iTunes podcast directory.

Are there free programs that can help me produce a podcast?
Yes! Audacity is a free audio editing program which you can use to record yourself speaking or performing. You can add effects to the audio files you create. To really jazz up your audio creations, you can use Sony Acid
.

How To Make a CD of Your Band Cheaply

2008-01-01T13:44:00.000-05:00

A few years ago I started to make CD’s of our school bands available for parents and anyone else who was interested in our performances. Having these recordings has served as an excellent assessment tool for students as we listen and critique our performances. It’s also convenient to have this ‘data’ on hand for school administrators and for curriculum purposes. As for students and parents, they have a wonderful audio snapshot to use now and in future years.

If we’re in agreement that making CD recordings of our bands is a good idea, the question, then, is: How do I make a CD with little equipment and next to no resources?

Before getting started you will need:

Audacity (a free audio editing program)
A Laptop
A microphone
I-Tunes Software (free from Apple)

STEP ONE: MAKE THE RECORDING

Recordings can be made using a CD-Recorder which will burn directly to a CD, or recordings can be made directly to a computer hard drive using the free audio software program AUDACITY. As for a microphone, the small condenser mics (like the ones that come with Smartmusic) work surprisingly well as long as the input levels are adjusted correctly.

In my case, a parent records our concerts directly to a CD and I edit it later. If you make the recording directly to a hard drive, a computer laptop is recommended so you can transport the ‘recording equipment’ (laptop and microphone) to the recording site.

USING AUDACITY AS A RECORDING PROGRAM

Download Audacity. Open it. Plug in the microphone. Check the levels (ask the band to play at various volume levels.). Push record and you’re in business. You have the option at this point of making various tracks by recording each selection separately or all together in one fat track that you will cut and paste later into the appropriate tracks (named after each composition). I’m not going to provide a full tutorial of Audacity here as it’s pretty intuitive to use. Play around and you’ll get the feel quickly.

CD Recorder Recording

If you used a CD recorder and now have a CD of your recordings, use i-Tunes to Import the files but be sure to edit the preferences in i-Tunes to allow importing of WAV files. Then use Audacity to open these files (or the file) and proceed with editing as outlined below.

STEP TWO: EDITING

In terms of audio editing, I find two things crucial:

1. Always ‘normalize’ your recordings. Basically this means that the maximum amplitude will become a fixed amount and has the effect of making the recording sound more robust. For a detailed definition of other effects in Audacity try this link.

2. Clip out unnecessary space and noise. It is easy to cut and paste in Audacity. You will want to remove ‘dead time’ (ie..waiting for the director to come on stage), initial applause and dead space at the end of a track. If you want to preserve some applause at the end of a song, select the applause audio and use the fade out editing feature. This sounds more professional than applause being abruptly cut at the end of a track.

STEP THREE: MIXDOWN

When you made the recording, you made a WAVE file. The data you are playing with in Audacity is .wav data and takes up an enormous amount of space on a hard drive. I recommend mixing down (exporting) your tracks to MP3’s at this point. You will need to download the LAME encoder before doing this and point Audacity to it’s location on your hard drive to enable exporting of Mp3’s. Thankfully, you only need to do this once! The titles should match the titles of the compositions played. Save these files in the same folder! And call that folder something like ‘BAND CONCERT MAY 2007’. We’ll use i-Tunes to make any changes to titles later (we call this information ID tags).

STEP FOUR: ORGANIZE FILES AND MAKE THE CD

Others may argue with me but I think that i-Tunes is a pretty elegant and efficient way to organize your music collection. This is essential if you will be building a recorded repertoire of music over many semesters and years. So, download i-Tunes. Add the folder you made above to the i-Tunes library. If you want to rename songs (wicked cool march) or artist name (my high school band) do so by right clicking the tune, go to get info and type in the information you want. Now, you’re almost ready to make the CD!!

Now create a playlist with the same title as the folder (BAND CONCERT MAY 2007, for example). Drag all of the songs into the playlist from the library (they will remain in the library). Open the playlist. Insert a blank CD into your CD-R/RW drive and select burn CD (upper right hand corner). Burn, baby, burn.

You have cheaply and effectively created a CD recording of your band (or chorus, etc..).

Let me know about your efforts or if you need assistance.

'Music' Among Most Viewed At You Tube

2007-12-29T12:55:00.000-05:00

At first it seems like no surprise that music (videos) would be among the most viewed at You Tube. But as a representation of a particular mo(ve)ment in history, music being 'viewed' is significant. It means several things, all of which disrupt the "usual way" of doing (the music) business. The most significant point is this:

Distribution of the music is free!

As Radiohead has proven and as David Byrne has pointed out in an excellent article in Wired, the new way of doing music is here to stay. And as Seth Godin has said, the new way of doing any business is here to stay.

My Music Tech is happy to chronicle these exciting times. Happy New Year. Here are the Top 10 You Tube Videos of all time.

Teaching Music Over the Internet

2007-12-19T13:24:00.001-05:00

Here's a guy who is using technology to teach music very effectively..

Blake Lewis Releases Solid Album

2007-12-13T09:02:00.000-05:00

While it might be a bit overproduced, Blake Lewis' debut album delivers. It was disappointing to realize that most of the songs are originals as he had great success on Idol doing creative Garageband-inspired covers. But! And this is a big but....he pulled it off!

His sweet tenor voice blends with the techno-elements on most songs leaving me yearning to hear a song with more Blake, less stuff.

The sweetest song on the album (called Audio Daydreams) and the one that sounds the most "Blake-like" is called How Many Words. Check it out.

Songs by Jordin Sparks & Blake Lewis from American Idol! Download it Now on iTunes.

Who Owns Your Music?

2007-12-10T14:16:00.000-05:00

An interesting discussion ensued a few weeks ago when Sony declared that ripping a CD (that you own!) is illegal. It really is amazing to watch the defense of the old paradigm of music distribution.

I do not condone illegal file sharing but restricting the ability to change the format of the media that you OWN is going too far. Here's the fascinating discussion:

Billy Joel Releases New Song on i-Tunes

2007-12-06T15:24:00.000-05:00

Billy Joel has written a new song based on letters has has received from soldiers stationed in Iraq. It has been released on i-tunes.

Net proceeds from "Christmas in Fallujah" will be donated to Homes for Our Troops , a nonprofit organization that builds homes specially adapted for service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with severe disabilities.

It is a powerful song with and is reminiscent of Billy Joel's 1982 song, "Goodnight Saigon".
Here is where you can listen to Christmas in Fallujah: iTunes U. Click. Sync. Learn. Download on iTunes.

The Ultimate Music Student

2007-12-05T12:44:00.000-05:00

BeeMp3: A Great Way To Find Music On The Web

2007-12-03T15:03:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you don't want to lug your music collection with you. Sometimes you just want to listen to music while your searching or otherwise connected to the internet.

BeeMp3 proves to be a hassle free service which allows you to do just that.

On their website they say:

BeeMP3 is a music search engine for locating an mp3-audio files over the Internet.
We don't host any files - our crawler searches through the Net and indexes all the brand new and popular songs for Your comfortable and fast search.
Today we have 800 000 mp3 files in our search database and approximately 10 000 files are added daily.

I tested the service by searching for Alison Krauss. BeeMp3 delivered 71 files (individual songs) in less that 2 seconds. I listened to two and they were flawless.

So there you are! Enjoy BeeMp3. I think it's a great service

How To Share Music Online (Legally)

2007-11-24T13:40:00.000-05:00

Have the recording industry's evil minions scared you off of swapping tunes online? Tremble in fear no more. There are plenty of ways to legally share music across the Internet, far from the clutches of the RIAA's attorneys.

Music-sharing sites also provide a great way to connect with people who share your excellent musical taste, as well as to get recommendations for new music that you'll like just as much. You might even make a few friends along the way.

Here's how...

Free Music Technology Curriculum Guide

2007-11-21T20:40:00.000-05:00

Teaching Music with Reason was an educational product centered around a special version of Reason Adapted and a 21 lesson curriculum aimed at high-school / college music technology classes. Each lesson came with a prepared lesson script, example material, student booklets and more.

This product was made for Reason 2.5 and has been falling behind lately as we have upgraded the Reason software. Instead of just throwing the product away, we have made the lesson material (which is still perfectly usable with Reason) available as a free download under a Creative Commons license. This means we are releasing this material to the education community and encouraging updating and further developing of this material.

Read more and download the product here!

Credit: Electro-Music Forum

Music In Schools: The New Vision Part 1

2007-11-14T12:27:00.000-05:00

Mr. Holland got canned as have so many real teachers after him.
It's becoming a classic American story..School District is short on funds.
Local Real Estate taxes can't support financial needs.
District cuts programs and teaching staff. The first to go=music and art staff.

I don't agree with these decisions..far from it.
But I am critical of music programs, in particular that haven't ventured beyond "Band", "Chorus" and "General Music".

Especially troubling is the term "General Music". With millions of students listening to music everyday using technology, if General Music doesn't look, smell and feel like music in the 'real world', students interest will wane (or will never have been present).

If you're still "pickin' up paw paws in the paw paw patch", get on the band wagon and learn what
Sony Acid or Garageband is all about. Then convince you school district to invest in the necessary technology to support learning music with those programs.

My bet is music class won't be so hard to cut anymore because
1-An investment was made
2-Technology is involved
3-It looks, smells and feels like the real world.

Is 'Free' the New Music Download Pricing Model?

2007-10-15T18:36:00.001-05:00

i-Tunes is getting a little run for it's money by several artists who are choosing to control distribution of their musical creations. In one of the boldest moves yet, Radiohead (and several others) are letting consumers decide what to pay. Of course, some will pay nothing but there's evidence that people are paying quite a bit more.

To test the validity of the claim, I just downloaded Radiohead's new album for free.
You could too here.

Add the album to your 'basket'
Then when you go to check out add "0.00" for the price.
Bingo. It's yours.

And here's a NY Times article about it.

I like this kind of "free market"

Cheers!

Free Rock Midi Files

2007-09-26T13:08:00.000-05:00

Looking for Rock Midi Files? Here's a list from the Rock Midi Database.
38 Special

AC/DC
Aaron Neville

Aerosmith
Aha
Air Supply
Al Green
Alan Parsons
Alanis Morrisette
Alice Cooper
Alice In Chains
Alive
All 4 One
Allman Brothers
Ambrosia
America
Andrew Gold
Andy Kim
The Animals
Animotion
Anita Baker
Anita Ward
Annie Lennox
Archies
Arlo Guthrie
Asia
Atlanta Rhythm Section
Atlantic Starr

B52s
BW Stevenson
The Babys
Bachman Turner Overdrive
Bad Company
Bad English
Badfinger
Bananarama
The Band
Barry Mann
Bay City Rollers
Beach Boys
The Beatles
Beau Brummels
Beck
Berlin
Big Country
Bill Haley and The Comets
Billy Idol
Billy Paul
Billy Preston
Billy Swan
Black Sabbath
Blondie
Blue Oyster Cult
Blues Image
Bob Dylan
Bob Marley
Bob Seger
Bob Welch
Bobby Boris Pickett
Bobby Brown
Bobby Darin
Bobby Fuller Four
Bon Jovi
Booker T and the MGs
Boomtown Rats
Boston
The Boxtops
Bread
Brewer and Shipley
Brian Hyland
Brownsville Station
Bruce Springsteen
Bryan Adams
The Buckinghams
Buddy Holly
Buffalo Springfield
Bush
The Byrds

Carl Douglas
The Cars
Cat Stevens
Cheap Trick
Cheryl Ladd
Cheryl Lynn
Chris Rea
Chubby Checker
Chuck Berry
Cliff Richard
Coal Chamber
The Coasters
Commander Cody
Corey Hart
Counting Crows
Cream
Creed
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Crosby Stills Nash & Young
The Cult
Curtis Lee
The Cyrkle

Dan Hill
Danny and The Juniors
The Dave Clark Five
Dave Edmunds
Dave Mason
Dave Mathews
David Bowie
David Gates
David Lee Roth
Deep Purple
Def Leppard
Deftones
Devo
Dire Straits
Divinyls
Dobie Gray
Don Henley
Donovan
Doobie Brothers
The Doors
Dr. Hook
Dr. John
The Drifters
Duran Duran

ELO
The Eagles
The Easybeats
Eddie Cochran
Eddie Floyd
Eddie Money
Edgar Winter
Edison Lighthouse
Elvin Bishop
Elvis Presley
Emerson Lake and Palmer
Equals
Eric Carmen
Eric Clapton
Europe
The Eurythmics
Exile
Extreme

Fabulous Thunderbirds
Faith No More
Fats Domino
Filter
Fine Young Cannibals
Firefall
First Class
The Fixx
The Flamingos
Fleetwood Mac
Focus
Fontella Bass
Foo Fighters
Foreigner
The Fortunes
Foundations
The Four Seasons
The Four Tops
Frank Zappa
Frankie Avalon
Freddie and The Dreamers
Freddie Mercury
Freddy Cannon
Free
Friend and Lover

GQ
Gallery
The Gap Band
Garbage
Gary Glitter
Gary Lewis and the Playboys
Gene Chandler
Gene Vincent
Genesis
George Harrison
Gerry and the Pacemakers
Gerry Rafferty
Gin Blossoms
Glen Medeiros
Glenn Frey
Go West
Godsmack
Golden Earring
Gordon Lightfoot
Grand Funk Railroad
The Grass Roots
The Grateful Dead
Great White
Greg Kihn
Guess Who
Guns n Roses

Haddaway
Hall and Oates
Happenings
Heart
Heatwave
Helmet
Hermans Hermits
Hole
The Hollies
Honey Cone
The Honeydrippers
Hooters
Hot Butter
Howard Jones
Huey Lewis
Human League

INXS
Ian Dury
Incubus
Information Society
Iron Butterfly
Iron Maiden
Isaac Hayes
Isley Brothers

J Geils
JD Souther
Jackie DeShannon
Jackie Wilson
Jackson Browne
Jaco Pastorius
JaggerZ
Jan and Dean
Janes Addiction
Jane Child
Janis Ian
Janis Joplin
Jay and the Americans
Jean Knight
Jefferson Airplane
Jennifer Rush
Jefferson Starship
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jethro Tull
Jigsaw
Jimi Hendrix
Jimmy Buffett
Jimmy Ruffin
Joan Jett
Joe Cocker
Joe Jackson
Joe Walsh
John Fogerty
John Fred
John Lennon
John Mellencamp
John Paul Young
John Waite
Johnny Horton
Johnny Rivers
Journey
Julian Lennon
Junior Walker

KD Lang
Kansas
Kate Bush
Katrina and the Waves
Kid Rock
King Harvest
The Kingsmen
The Kinks
Kiss
The Knack
Korn

THE MUSIC TECHNOLOGY LAB: FREE SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

2007-03-20T07:51:00.000-05:00

Many school districts have been able to establish Music Technology Labs in recent years. Whether they are “one computer labs” or fully outfitted classrooms with 20+ midi stations, one lingering issue remains- will needed software, hardware and upgrades be supported in the future to maintain the viability of Music Technology Labs in school settings?

The answer depends in large part on the financial health of the school district. In many districts, money is tight. A combination of forces-NCLB mandates, an older faculty (making higher salaries than younger faculty) and rising insurance costs-are taxing the ability of districts to support the necessary resources for all school programs.

When times are tight, we need to seek low cost or even free alternatives. It is difficult but not impossible to secure hardware (computers, etc..) for free. Banks, other financial institutions and local businesses are the best place to seek equipment but I want to deal here with the core of the music technology program-the software that drives teaching and learning.

I have found that an entire curriculum can be built around just two free software programs and one internet-based website. These are:

Finale Notepad (free download from MakeMusic.com)
Audacity (Audio Editor available at audacity.com)
Ricci Adams Music Theory Site

As a Music Technology teacher, you can start with Ricci Adams site to learn basic music theory (staff, notes, treble and bass clef) and basic rhythms. Next, use Notepad to teach music notation. Students will need to apply the prior skills they learned here. I recommend having students “copy” a printed piece (I use basic folk songs) directly into Notepad (as the scribes did in pre-Gutenberg times). The next application (if available), would be to teach basic keyboard skills by having students play the copied piece on a midi keyboard.

Following this, students could experiment with arranging by making new instrument choices for the same composition. Finally, students could create their own compositions from scratch. Along the way, you could create learning activities for students (ie…create a “quiz” where students have to supply note names by using the lyric tool in Notepad).

Nothing provides a more powerful motivator for students than a real-world purpose and an opportunity to create independently. Audacity provides potential for great fun and creativity for students. It could be used to record multi-track class performances (I do this with 3^rd year instrumental students) but it could also be used to create podcasts that demonstrate what students are learning in class. For example, students could have done a series of podcasts outlining the discussion in this blog post (this may come to pass-stay tuned).

The idea of having their own voices on the internet is very exciting to students. The idea that people ‘out there’ might listen to the podcasts and provide comments or feedback is, in many ways, a quality assurance guide. Let’s not forget, though, that what they are podcasting is what they are learning. That’s a win-win situation. And, like Finale Notepad, it’s free. (See previous post about where you might consider starting podcasting).

When times are tight, we don’t need to throw in the towel and jeopardize our music technology programs. Look locally for equipment for your lab and absolutely use the many free and powerful software programs out there to teach a rich curriculum. I have only outlined those that work for me. Share your solutions as well.

A PODCASTING SOLUTION FOUND IN PODOMATIC

2007-03-19T12:20:00.000-05:00

For a year or so, I have struggled to find an appropriate podcasting forum.
As a public school teacher, potential podcasting topics are necessarily limited as would any audience for these topics (ie..general music concepts, beginning audio software tools, music notation applications). I have also shared my ambivalence about podcasting in an earlier post.

Another thorny issue is data storage. Audio files carry more data than basic text and image files, so they are megabyte hogs. So, finding a place to host podcasts is tricky.

Do you simply register a blog and link to each episode of your podcast? If so, where do you store the episodes? If you’re a teacher, you may not be granted permission to store large files on a school server. One solution would be to register a domain and pay for basic web hosting but I have found a solution that answers all of the questions above in PODOMATIC.

As a member of the Technology Institute for Music Educators (TI:ME), I receive periodic newsletters on topics related to music, technology and education. The most recent newsletter recommended PODOMATIC for those of us seeking podcasting solutions.

Now that I have taken it for a test ride, I can recommend PODOMATIC with two thumbs up. Once registered, you can begin podcasting immediately. You also create a blog-like space where your episodes are stored. You can jazz up this space with images and colors of your own choosing and it is easy to add RSS site feeds to your site, so the Universe can subscribe to your podcast at the click of a button (iTunes is supported)! In addition, tagging is supported so that your podcast will eventually get picked up by search engines.

MakeMusic can Make Music Better

2007-03-10T17:26:00.000-05:00

MakeMusic, Inc., the makers of Finale have done a good job of producing music notation software solutions specially targeted to the Music Education Market. In recent years, Smartmusic has, literally, transformed how instrumental and choral music is taught in many schools throughout the country (this deserves a separate post soon).

My beef with MakeMusic is this:

1-WHY must loyal customers shell out loads of money EVERY YEAR to upgrade to the new version of Finale? Granted, making the upgrade from Finale 2003 to 2005 was absolutely necessary because, at long last, the company figured out how to cross the MIDI/MP3 divide.

Some companies have figured out how to build customer loyalty by giving them lifetime membership and free upgrades. FL Studio (aka Fruity Loops) comes to mind. Their looping software is one of the best around and it is priced low. That, to me, is the way to do it.

2-The backwards incompatible nature of Finale is simply wrong. Here's a snag I have run into..I created some basic instrumental parts on Finale Notepad 2007 (free) at school and brought the parts home to tweak over the weekend. Since, Finale 2005 is the latest version I have installed on my home computer, I couldn't finish the work!! What!! Mind you, and it bears repeating, Finale 2005 was expensive and Finale Notepad is FREE. Not exactly an incentive to upgrade.

Carping aside, I much prefer Finale to Sibelius and other Notation products. I've been using it since 1994 and will continue to. Finale and Smartmusic combined make up a large part of our resource base for our school music program.

I just wish MakeMusic will address this issue in the future.

DRM, Steve Jobs and The Future of Music

2007-02-19T15:06:00.000-05:00

As has been discussed on this site, music copyright protection is extremely important to the RIAA and especially the four big music companies, Universal, Sony BMG, Warner and EMI.

DRM has met with much derision and scorn by music enthusiasts who want their legally obtained music to be free of restrictions. Sony's major faux pas.

Steve Jobs writes intelligibly about the current state of affairs on his blog. He offers three future potentials:

"The first alternative is to continue on the current course, with each manufacturer competing freely with their own “top to bottom” proprietary systems for selling, playing and protecting music. It is a very competitive market, with major global companies making large investments to develop new music players and online music stores.

The second alternative is for Apple to license its FairPlay DRM technology to current and future competitors with the goal of achieving interoperability between different company’s players and music stores. On the surface, this seems like a good idea since it might offer customers increased choice now and in the future.

The third alternative is to abolish DRMs entirely. Imagine a world where every online store sells DRM-free music encoded in open licensable formats. In such a world, any player can play music purchased from any store, and any store can sell music which is playable on all players. This is clearly the best alternative for consumers, and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat. If the big four music companies would license Apple their music without the requirement that it be protected with a DRM, we would switch to selling only DRM-free music on our iTunes store. Every iPod ever made will play this DRM-free music."

Read Job's post 'Thoughts On Music" here

Funding Sources for (Music) Technology

2006-12-23T09:19:00.000-05:00

Funding Sources for Education and Technology can be hard to come by for individual teachers. Organizations seem to fair much better when it come to securing funding for initiatives involving educational technology. The increased possibilities to use technology in music education has led to a need to identify funding sources to outfit music labs which typically require a computer, midi keyboard and software (for notation, sequencing, recording/mixing, and music skill building).

The latest issue of Music Education Technology identifies seven potential sources of funding. (These have not been reviewed so please comment back if any seem to be particularly good).

THE FOUNDATION CENTER

TARGET (yes, Target)

Video-Sound, Music, and the Environment

2006-12-09T13:46:00.000-05:00

What do different cultures mean by music? This program explores the definition of music from the sine wave to poetic metaphor, and the impact of the cultural environment on musics as different as Bosnian ganga and becarac singing; Tuvan throat singing; Irish, West African, Trinidadian, and Japanese musics; and Western chamber music, jazz, and rock.

Music Technology Insires Students

2006-12-02T17:57:00.000-05:00

Ryann Hoffman knew what she wanted, and she knew how to get it.

"I wanted something that would give me the feeling I got when I was running," says Ryann, a track star in her junior year at Bay Shore High School in Long Island. "I started with a flowing melody, which gave the impression of running on a trail. Then I added bass chords to give it more depth. Once I got that in, it flowed and it was nice, but there was something missing. So I added percussion. . . . It gave the impression of a heartbeat. The final product was exactly what I felt when I was running."

How To Hack An Ipod

2006-12-02T17:55:00.000-05:00

Hack Attack: The self-sustaining iPod

by Adam Pash

Anyone with an iPod knows that being locked into your iTunes library can be a very annoying thing. And though there are a lot of solutions for working through this, I've never been entirely happy with the results.

What's more, if you're not a big fan of iTunes in the first place (or you're just not a fan of firing up that memory hog just to sync your iPod), it can be that much more annoying when iTunes puts its stranglehold on your iPod.

Unfortunately you can't really get that far with your iPod if you don't use iTunes, right?

Wrong! Read more at Lifehacker.

Who Will Define Copyright For The Digital Age?

2006-12-02T17:51:00.000-05:00

The fact that the RIAA has made even some headway in the war against online digital copyright infingement keeps this issue in the forefront of discussion and debate.

Read more here.

Professional Development in Music Education

2006-11-26T19:00:00.000-05:00

At the Massachusetts Music Educator’s 2003 All-State Conference, Dr. Richard Colwell, among the most distinguished music education scholars of our time and editor of both Handbooks on Research on Music Teaching and Learning (1992, 2000) spoke about the perceived problem of professional development in music education. His claims are that professional development “as it is defined by the Massachusetts Department of Education does not 1-recognize the complexity of the problem, 2-it does not recognize the important issues facing teachers in all disciplines and 3-it does not specify minimum experiences that lead toward professional improvement….” In defining the problem he made three points:

The first is that the definition of professional development is too broad giving it responsibility for too many critical issues. My second point is that subject matter competence must be a primary consideration, and the third point is that a different administrative structure is needed to monitor and approve all professional development.

These points are supported in the research of Renji (1996a, 1996b) and Sparks, (1994) among others He concluded his remarks by suggesting solutions to the second and third problem:

I’m arguing that mandatory professional development in one’s subject matter, like secondary band, be approved by an organization of subject matter specialists in the field like MICCA or a group in this audience….School districts are very different throughout the state. The performance standards appropriate for each should be established by MICCA {or other Music Agency} and local school personnel in conjunction with and outside music consultant. (Colwell, 2003)

As a member of the audience listening to Dr. Colwell’s remarks, I wondered what the consensus among those that were gathered was. Were they in agreement? Are there glaring problems with regard to music education professional development throughout the state?

Music Technology

Some Valuable Music and Education Sites

2006-11-26T18:42:00.000-05:00

Music Technology

(Music) Education Must Embrace Change

2006-11-12T17:21:00.000-05:00

Like Will Richardson, I am frustrated these days about the seeming lack of interest among many in the education profession to evolve and to adopt the many rich resources available to transform the profession (and the learning of our children)!

Educational Research bears this out. Findings often reveal that change in Education moves at a snail's pace if at all. This is SO unfortunate as we are living in the most amazing of times for meaningful and authentic education to take place in our schools via the use of technology as tools for learning. If only......

teachers would stop thinking about e-mail and web tools as 'optional'
teachers would continue to be learners
technological tools would be explored, adopted and used to transform teaching and learning
administrators and school districts would stop categorizing the entire internet as "dangerous"

I originally explored the problem of the process of schooling in my Master's thesis in 1999. I saw a disconnect between school and the 'real' world. I was interested in learning if this was the case for students. Indeed, it was. As cliche as it may seem, student's enjoyed recess, lunch and gym the best. Why?? These are the only places where students feel at least somewhat in control of their environment and outcomes at school.

The problem is only getting worse IF schools and teachers do not begin to adopt the technologies that students are learning about and using everyday at home. Two years ago, I wrote an article entitled The Case for Technology in Music Education which was published in Massachusetts Music News. The paragraphs below contain modified excerpts from the paper. It is interesting to note that not a single Web2.0 application had emerged from beta before the writing of this article. Another article will explore Web2.0 applications for (music learning).

....Music specialists need to understand that what they do (read, write and perform music) is accessible to anyone, anywhere today. Schools are not the only places where students can be exposed to music in a performing or especially, a creative context. It used to be that school was the place where students could get musical training (outside the church) particularly in band or chorus. However, there is more to music and music literacy, than playing in a band or singing in a
chorus-especially since the majority of students in schools are not part of these organizations.

Technological innovations in music have allowed for the same kind of opportunities for general music students. The tools a teacher uses at school to teach can be purchased and used by a student at home,now (audio editors, music learning software, sequencers, Mp3 players, etc.). This notion of decentralization levels the playing field for students and teachers and expands the possibilities, definition and role of music programs-enriching them and students for the better. Nowadays, our non-band and non-chorus students can also become musically literate. Given the tools mentioned above and students rampant love of music (their own music, of course), they just might educate themselves despite us. The great divide between home and school is transcended when these forms of teaching and learning are embraced and the number of students touched by the process has the potential to grow
exponentially.

Technology, taken as a whole and projected onto the educational scene has the potential to irrevocably change the role of all teachers and learners. Music teachers must heed this suggestion, in particular, because of music's close historical relationship to technology and its overweight dependence on nostalgic, band-and-chorus-based music making in American schools.

These statements are not as nihilistic as they seem. Music teachers should continually assess how technology for teaching can be made more effective. It is still and always will be the student's task to learn but the teacher's job will be to lead students to where learning can take place including those places that exist outside the classroom (ie: the internet, blogs, wikis, etc..). No teacher can be as dynamic and ever-present as a software program or the world wide web. Nor can every teacher effectively tailor every lesson to the needs of every music student but technology makes it much simpler to do just that!

By embracing music technology students can learn in their way in their own time while exploring interests close to their hearts and by becoming musically literate in the process. In so doing, the music classroom begins to appear much more like the real world.

Music Ace Provides the Outline for a Music (Technology) Curriculum

2006-10-30T15:00:00.000-05:00

Are you looking for a curriculum that you can use for a Music Technology class? Look no further than Music Ace by Harmonic Vision. This excellent software series provides lessons and games in music theory starting with the basics (staff and clef names) and proceeds sequentially to key signatures and rhythm.

Music Ace 1 and Music Ace 2 used to be separate programs but they can now be purchased together in one program called Music Ace Maestro. You can:

create, manage, and customize the instructional lesson sequence
import assessment data from earlier Music Ace or Music Ace 2 installation
centralize management of student and group instructions options
export assessment data in industry-standard format
archive student and group assessment data

If you have a MIDI Lab or are thinking of one, Music Ace can easily provide you with a basic curriculum as indicated above at a reasonable price.