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

Why use loop-based composition software in a music class?
Here are 10 reasons:

1. Students don't need prior knowledge of music fundamentals (though this knowledge certainly helps)
2. It is empowering when students are working on "real" music in their own way.
3. It is empowering because students can work on projects for "real world" purposes. (ie..creating music for school functions, websites; podcasting)
4. 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"
5. Music class becomes inextricably linked with technology which means two budgets feed the program.
6. All Music Standards can be taught in some way using loop-based composition
7. Students love it.
8. The software is fairly inexpensive given the possibilities
9. Independent work allows for one-on-one interaction between teacher and student. Perfect for differentiating learning.
10. 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 Acid to teach Song Form

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The Future of Music Is In The Middle

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.

Google Gives Apple A Run For It's Money

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.

Download Music At Jamendo

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

Some More Great Trombone Playing (and a Little Craziness)

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!

How to Grab Flash Videos From a Website

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?

Matisyahu: Rock, Reggae and Religion

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.

You Tube, Toddlers and The Future of Music

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.

Share and Listen To Music Legally Without Being Social

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:

Free Mp3 Downloads and Music Player in Qtrax

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.

Marketing Music To Kids

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.

Grammy Award Winners List With Download Links!

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