Blog Post #4

This week I learned about using technology to facilitate the performance of music in the music classroom and some technical aspects of digital and analog recording and sound reinforcement.

Technology in Music Education

In this week’s chapter, Bauer describes different ways technology can be used to facilitate the performance of music in the school setting.  Using notation software to create ensemble warm-ups and using a recording program to visually display dynamic contrast are two suggestions I found interesting.

During the warm-up and fundamentals portion of a band rehearsal, Bauer suggests allowing each section of the band to play the melodic figures from the performance literature in unison.  The instructor could use a music notation program to transcribe the melody, or other important lines,  for all instruments.  Playing in unison will allow instruments without the melody to better understand the phrasing of the line.  In addition, the understanding of the line can help with balance issues in full band rehearsal.  The students may develop more of a connection to the piece if each are given the opportunity to play and learn the “important” or “main” part of the piece.

I already create warm-ups for my students based on the content required by our curriculum using Finale and Noteflight.  Thus, adding an additional component of unison melodic playing derived from the performance literature would be easy and most likely beneficial.   I can imagine my bass clarinet and trombone players being quite excited to play something other than the long value notes and rhythmic support roles they usually play in class.  I can also imagine my students actually practicing the melodic portion since it might be more fun to play and be recognizable to a listener.

Bauer suggests using a recording program like Audacity to visually show the ensemble the waveform of their music performance.  This visual representation of the sound can help show the students the amount of dynamic contrast the ensemble is actually creating.  My ensembles struggle with dynamic contrast.  Some of my students believe they are performing dynamics well, but in reality their dynamic range is very limited.  Using the visual as a guide, we could strive to show more dynamic contrast in the waveform.

I use technology to enhance our music learning experience.  I use recording, tuning and metronome apps and music playback apps in my classroom on a daily basis.  In addition, I create etudes and warm-ups for my students using notation software.  My middle level students use Noteflight for composition.  These technologies help the students perform, create and respond to music more easily.  We could, of course, do each of these things without new technology, but since we do have access, why not use it?  In my situation, each student has equal access to all the technology we use in class.  I can imagine access to the technology to be the main constraint for other teachers.

Technical Aspects

Audacity

This week’s composition assignment was to make a remix of a song using the open-source Audacity waveform editing software.  The Lynda tutorials and the related example problems allowed me to gain an understanding of this program.  I can imagine using Audacity to edit sound files by cutting portions out, changing the tempo or pitch and adding effects to create more interesting or more appropriate sound files for my students.

This week I learned about the following technical items:

1. Microphones
2.  Audio Input/Output
3.  Mixers
4.  Computers and Audio
5.  Digital Audio Software
6. Editing
7. Audio File Compression

Right now, I am responsible for setting up, purchasing and maintaining all of the audio equipment for our middle level instrumental music program.  So far, I feel like I’ve done an adequate job without any training or expertise.  After this week, I am very excited to get to school and begin working with our mixing board and microphones.  I know our next concert will be so much better, just because I now understand more about the different types of microphones and how to place them.  Also, I now understand how a mixing board works.  Prior to this week, I was overwhelmed with the number of knobs and dials.  Now I realize what everything means, and feel much more comfortable.