Piccolo Nation

My Tumblr for my MUS 243- Introduction to Music Ed Technology Class

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Reflection

I'm going to take this time to just reflect on what I've posted so far. Music and technology are definitely good friends and will continue the friendship. It is important for music educators to know when it is appropriate to use technology and not to make it over bearing or useless. We need to keep the structure in the classroom but allow for children to explore their creativity. Technology is beneficial in general music classes more so than ensembles, in my opinion. There is so much you can do with technology; you can access recordings, apps, and instrument sounds with the touch of a button. iPads and other touch screen electronics can bring music making to students and others with disabilities who may not be able to play an instrument because of a handicap. Technology can make us more imaginative because we can find examples of people making music with anything. Even a man who molds a carrot into a clarinet. There is a slippery slope to having technology in classrooms because the children might want to bring in their own iPads, iPhones, and other things that start with "i" and you will lose their concentration and focus. Smart Boards can be used for interactive lessons that keep the children moving and carefully thought out lesson plans can make for exciting classes. You've seen some of my favorite music and why it means so much to me. I've bravely shared with you some of my own creations (because I had to it's required for the project) but also so someone out there is inspired to create their own work. It's not that hard I promise. It's just recordings and Audacity, which is a free software! If I have a general music class I will for sure be using these examples, like the music video project was fun and creative. A couple video logs would be fun at the class level. I'm not sure what will happen to this tumblr now. I enjoy posting about music and stuff, but I may not have the time to stick on top of this. We'll see.

I hope you enjoyed reading all this!

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Even More Band Ideas

I told you I have a lot of ideas. These are ones I've been collecting throughout my years as a student and haven't forgotten. Sometimes I get ideas in the middle of the night and wake up excited and then can't fall back asleep. Okay so band programs perform where usually? At the school. Band concerts are community events because the kids performing them will invite their parents and the parents will invite the neighbors and maybe even the neighbors inviting their neighbors. And the parents of children who have gone through the program will go because they miss hearing the music their children brought home to them. Music roots itself in communities but can sometimes be shut off. The high school may be an intimidating place for some community members that maybe don't have any ties to the school but are interested in the fine arts events. I say why not have a band concert or two in a different location. We used to have pops concerts in the local park at my high school and I noticed that more people were willing to come out for those. It is a lovely evening in a park, with the sun setting, and the school band playing a version of hits from the 80s. I like this idea because it's out of the school and into the community. The community members will start looking forward to these outside-the-school concerts and when the band establishes a presence in the town, you will have a little army on your side when the administration wants to cut the fine arts program. You don't have to do these in a park they could be in the local civic centers or a library basement or someone's front lawn or in front of a scenic historic landmark or even a small parade. Why not take it one step further? Free admission but have a donation bin and send the donations off to a charity. Let the kids decide how to use the money and where to fund projects. I got this idea from a band director from New Mexico who says her middleschoolers perform in local churches and their latest concert they sent the donations to an animal shelter. This could even open up the door for more leadership in band. Someone could be in charge of finding a location, the money, the logistics, and touching base with charities. We could put together a slide show and see the difference that the local school band has made.

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More Band Ideas

I have lots of ideas so here is another post. I like the idea of mass bands. Bands that combine the high school, middle school, and the elementary schools. We did this at my high school and I enjoyed it every year. It was especially exciting when I was younger because I was first chair and I got to sit next to the first chair in the top band at the school. She was so amazing at flute and I wanted to be just like her. The sound of a large ensemble is nothing like what young musicians are used to. The waves of sections carrying melodies is really enchanting. My favorite instrument is the French horn and to hear a horn section of 50 strong would blow me away (ba dum chiss) every year. The older students can act like mentors to the younger ones and this would be a good opportunity for the younger kids to find an older one that could give them lessons. I've thought about having band mentors for awhile. That upperclassmen and underclassmen would sign up to have a mentor. It could be the same instrument or a different one but the focus would not be on performing. It would be on helping the student with school work and maybe band music but mostly feeling comfortable being in band. A lot of students may be scared of the upperclassmen and might not feel comfortable staying in the band room after hours or raising their hand to talk. Removing the wall in between grade levels would allow the band to function more like a team. That was always my favorite thing to say to people that made fun of band: "This is my sport. This is my team. When was the last time your sports team has won state?" And as usual that would be met with anger on the other side but I never minded. The first chairs of the sections would be good candidates for mentors. I will arrange my seating position off of talent for sure, but I will also take in to consideration the character of the student. I want nice and helpful people at the heads of the sections and if that means the number 3 player is first chair then so be it. Band isn't always about competing it is about the experience as a whole and making music together.

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My Band Ideas

I hope one day I will be able to teach at the high school level because I have a lot of ideas for my band. I like the idea of having students vote on a piece for every concert cycle. I will give them three or four to choose from and they will vote on one online with a brief reason why. Which ever one has the majority vote will be performed. I like this idea so that students pick a song they enjoy and what they want to learn. It will keep them captivated and I can pick songs that will teach them something. For example, I could want them to learn how to play in 6/8 effectively so I will pick three 6/8 songs that they can choose from. Like I said in my previous post, I like the idea of student conductors. They could lead the band in warm-ups or through a chorale or even rehearse a piece. I would hold an audition for the piece in the spring semester and it wouldn't be limited to a student that is majoring in music. I don't like it when opportunities are limited to a certain group of people so I'm not going to enforce that. For example, at some schools there is a rule that all freshmen must be in freshman band or the lowest band their first year. I say if a freshman is showing the potential and skills to be a star, then move them up to the higher band or the top one. This happened to me, I was a freshman in the top ensemble and it shaped my outlook on band. I was around passionate and talented people that made me want to practice my flute every day. Through their guidance I grew to love band, and here I am today. Studying music at the place where band started (and never stops). And one more idea. I like the idea of having "Fun Fridays" that band for one day a week or every other week is a fun and different experience. Like they will get to choose where they sit in band. This is helpful as a conductor because it will show the students how to listen to people in their section and hear their parts but also let them hear different instrument's parts that they may not have heard in their other seat. Or maybe watch a video clip on another band performing the same song. This is also helpful because they can hear an example of how the song can sound. A lot of students learn by ear and this would be amazing for them. And in band, I've noticed that when we take the time to listen to the piece in rehearsal we play a lot better.

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Student Leaders in Band

When I have my own high school or middle school or elementary school band. (Some band I'm not picky). I want to make sure that students have the ability to be a part of the leadership in the band. Creating leadership does a lot to a program. It makes students dedicated and it keeps people in line because if they do not listen to the conductor they are most likely to be put in line by one of their peers. High school has more opportunities for involvement because of the age and maturity of the students. I've always liked the idea of having a student conduct a piece for every concert cycle. This could be an audition process in front of me and the assistant or head band director. They would be able to rehearse it with the band and if needed I could give them conducting lessons. This is great experience for young and hopeful music educators. There will also be section leaders that is not necessarily the person sitting in the first chair. These are people who will demonstrate excitement for band. I'd rather my students be enthusiastic than overly talented. Enthusiasm means a willingness to learn and if a band is eager to learn we will become great. Middleschoolers can have section leaders as well. I also like the idea of having middleschoolers conduct. We did that once in my memory and I don't remember who good the pieces turned out to be (my ear wasn't as developed) but I remember that we finished together and the students selected really appreciated their opportunity. Elementary school kids can be a little difficult. Their attention spans are not what their older peers are. I would like to experiment having them lead warm-ups for the band and in their sections. I do not believe in chair placements in elementary school because the emphasis should be on musical achievement and learning and not on competition. Everyone can take turns being a section leader and leading their section.

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Technology in Krannert

The Krannert Center for the Performing Arts on the UIUC campus is filled with technological advancements. It is such an acoustically sound place for recording that the CSO used to record there. The seats have fibers of copper in them to better resonate with sound. There is no experience like letting the last note fly back into the hall and then waiting for it to travel back to you. You feel like you can fill up the hall with sound and everyone inside of it is (hopefully) enjoying it. Bands are invited down here yearly for the Superstate Concert Band Festival. After an application with a submitted sound recording, the bands are selected and asked to compete on the Great Hall stage. We would always record our application to Supertstate on the Great Hall stage itself. Our auditorium would not cut it so my high school would fun a trip every year just to record. One year we didn't get a good recording and we ended up getting our best one at midnight. Luckily we got in put that was so stressful. We went to Superstate every year and each time I enjoyed it. I remember my first time walking out there are I was blown away by the sheer size of the place. The microphones were dangling above the band, almost like the suspended candles at Hogwarts. At least there wasn't a moving camera in your face like at Bands of American Concert Band Festival. I couldn't tell you how freaky it was to be looking at the conductor, then looking at your music, and then looking up again to see a camera three feet from your head. It was on a kooky contraption that I'm sure was put together with the greatest of care but I could not help imagining it falling on someone. Technology like that can be distracting for performers. Also cell phones. Those are abundant in Krannert even after the kindly people tell you to turn them off. It is amazing how technology has become such an integral part of our daily lives that we can't live without them even to listen to a music concert.

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Technology in a Band/Orchestra/Choir Setting

The articles I have read are very interesting but they seem to be more focused on the general music classes. General music and ensembles are two different classrooms. Ensemble time is very precious especially for the competing bands gearing up for the various concert festivals. Ensembles I believe can benefit from technology but it should be used sparingly. Technology can give an exciting break from music. It is boring to work the same pieces day in and day out for a lot of students so having a video clip to watch or listening to a music example really wakes them up. I do not see, however, the use of iPads for every student as feasible. They are costly and there is not a lot you can do that relates to the performance aspect of ensembles. When I went to Midwest Band Clinic in Chicago this year, I was interested when a speaker said that you can use an iPad to cast the score on the projector. This is a great idea because until I was a senior in high school who would go on to pursue music education I never felt comfortable asking or even looking at a score. This is a great idea to show everyone the score so they can see where their parts fit in and who has the melody and who should be heard. A lot of times with modern music the composers write the same dynamics for every section. This cannot be the case of we'd be blown away (literally) by a fff. Showing the band the score and asking which part has the melody and should be the loudest could shift the responsibility for interpreting the music from conductor to students. I like when the students are involved in the musical process more than just putting an instrument to their face. Seeing the score will help their listening skills to because they will be able to recognize the different parts as the song goes on. Other than uses like that I don't see many other uses for technology in an ensemble. I will keep my eyes and ears open for more uses.

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This is a really cool software for students in music theory and aural skills classes. It allows for high school students to have continued practice outside of the classroom. This is necessary because if you don't stay on top of the intervals and chords your ear will forget them. It will help the learning curve in the classroom because if you can spend less time drilling chords and pitches, you can move on to other (fun!) things. There are multiples settings that include homework and multiple inputs for answers; the kids can sing, clap, play an instrument, or type the answer. With a wide range of responses, the kids will get practice in many different areas. It also comes with a tutor software that has classical help and jazz help. For students that are interested in jazz but maybe don't have an ensemble at their school, this would be a good alternative.

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This sounds like the coolest thing that has ever happened to general music. This Wii game has it all; you can conduct an orchestra, have virtual jam sessions, join a hand bell choir, and do ear training. I love the idea of using the conducting feature for juniors and seniors who are thinking about majoring in music education. It is a fun way to expose students to conducting without the fear of waving your arms around in front of your peers. The jam session is a wonderful feature too because it will give students practice and make them more comfortable to perform and improvise. I have a Wii at home and I will most definitely look more into this because I will need to conduct over the summer so I don't look silly in my next conducting class.

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This article advocates the use of "Quaver's Marvelous World of Music" in classrooms. It is a 15 minute show that teaches children theory and composers and a lot more. It also comes with teacher guides on lessons and worksheets for the children. The show is mostly run by children and they say it keeps a quick pace. I'm wary of using video in classrooms. Children usually think that when the video goes on their mind can go off. And studies have shown that you use a lot less of you brain when you watch TV. Some video-based lesson on a Friday would be a reward for a tough week or a test the day before, but I would not use it all the time. The article exclaims that the video would be good for children in elementary school through high school. I'm skeptical of the high school and even the upper middle school age. High schoolers can be judgmental and you only need one kid who tells the class that this is silly before the entire class is talking and making fun of the video and losing interest. I'm not trying to discredit this video set; these are just my opinions.

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This article is about reaching out to students with physical and/or mental disabilities. It is so true that often kids with disabilities are kept separate from their peers. They have a different set of classes and teachers and are sometimes excluded from music classes and sports as well. She advocates teaching music on multisensory levels. She has photography, video, music, and light software that she uses to stimulate learning. She found great success in using iPads with children because they can feel the music they are creating. This article has brought me to a state of happy tears because music cannot be restricted to the nondisabled children. I thought of my brother living with Downs syndrome and autism, who finds nothing more enjoyable than a Mozart piano concerto. He can be fussy and upset, and once you put in that Mozart CD he smiles and laughs and the happiness you see on this face will make you believe that music can touch every human being.

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This is a fascinating (and long) article about technology and teaching. Scott Watson has come up with 8 Principles of Creativity that must be met for students to have a chance to explore their imagination. One of them was to "offer examples to imitate and inspire". I liked the idea of this one because it is difficult to be innately musical, in my opinion. Everything we have learned to do is from someone who has showed us this way, or we heard a recording of something do it that way. As musicians we are a library of ideas and interpretations and I believe that for students to be creative that they need to listen and experience many different types of music.

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http://mej.sagepub.com/content/99/1/54.full.pdf+html

This article explains to music educators what dyslexia really is and how to help students with this disability learn to the best of their abilities. It explains that dyslexia is an "umbrella term" that catches a lot of other disabilities underneath it. Dyslexia is more than switching letters while reading; children can switch syllables and have short-term memory loss and other complications that can have an effect on their ability to learn in a traditional classroom setting. By making minor adjustments to your class, like sitting the DD student in the front next to a strong singer in your choir will help them learn. They can listen to the strong singer next to them and since they are away from the distracting children in the back, they will have a better opportunity to learn.

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This article describes the positive experience of a Smart Board in a general music setting. The teacher was able to please the administration for using one (because most of her colleagues have one in their class) and she was able to keep the student's interest with her interactive lesson plans. She talks about how she doesn't have to worry about external hard drives and wiring and cables with the Smart Board because she can just imbed music and photos and lessons into their programs. In a general music class, this seems like a great idea because it makes kids participate and it can offer more detailed and interesting lectures.

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This article explains the importance of technology in general music classrooms. I agree that it is very important because you need the stereo and laptop cables to be able to play music and you need electronic keyboards to help with teaching chords, improvisation, and composition. There are many benefits to having technology in a class but I strongly believe you cannot be too relaxed about technology. If you give students free reign they will be creative but it could also cause chaos. Structure helps define a classroom and sets standards and expectations, but also creates a learning environment. I'm wary of letting the students have unlimited access to technology like with phones and laptops. I see in lectures all the time people texting and surfing the web on their computers. They aren't learning what they are supposed to be learning and they aren't engaged. As long as the teacher supplies the electronics I am okay with it. I won't tolerate cell phones and lap tops in my class.

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Jazz has grown exponentially in the past century. Jazz bands in schools started at just 5,000 in 1960 and in 1980 there were 500,000. Jazz was not available to all students, but it is becoming more popular now. Many more states have All-State Jazz festivals today that give students the chance to collaborate at the state level. It is interesting that jazz is based on listening and interpretation. Listening to a role model play a set or listening to the other sections and reflecting their mood. Listening influences interpretation and with the rise of technology, there are more opportunities to find recordings of people playing jazz. You can purchase CDs that have ostinati and you can improvise over them based on listening to what sounds the best. Jazz musicians can record parts and then put them together and mix live and prerecorded sound to get the style they are looking for.

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Handheld technology can be used in all levels of general music. It can be helpful to students because it can facilitate movement, speech, and pattern. Children can use the device to interact with instrument sounds and play them back. It can also be extremely inspirational to people with disabilities. For those who cannot play a physical instrument and experience the sound through one, they can operate a handheld device and interact with sound production that way. It is a medium that can be used for people who cannot participate in ensembles. It can also be used to record students performing songs and together could make a music video. They could all take out their phones and records clips of what they see and can be put back together to make a visual presentation. There are many uses for handheld technology in a general music class.