Using Twinkle to Introduce Song Form

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.)

Top 10 Web/Tech Tools For Music Educators

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

THE MUSIC TECHNOLOGY LAB: FREE SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

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.