Week 4 - Reading Reflection

From the week four reading assignments the one topic that truly resonated with me was “Practice”- how to motivate students to practice and keep them engaged and productive.

Several years ago I came across a great quote by Virgil Thompson, and it has stuck with me to this day -  Thompson says, “I've never known a musician who regretted being one. Whatever deceptions life may have in store for you, music itself is not going to let you down.” The reason I remember this quote is because it made me aware that all musicians I have met so far, feel the same way regardless of their level of interest and motivation they possessed when they were music students.

Becoming a musician or learning music well, is a long journey that requires a great deal of commitment and motivation. Practice is the bridge between the very beginnings of music learning and the stage of becoming a well-rounded musician. According to Bauer (2014), students who are intrinsically motivated learn music for the sake of music and for those who are extrinsically motivated the “reward for doing something comes from outside the task itself” (p. 87). I believe the use of technology can be rewarding to both motivational kinds of students (intrinsic and extrinsic). Music teachers now are able to reach a much greater number of students than ever before and retain them long enough so that they eventually see for themselves how valuable music can be.

To me, practice has been a priority in both public schools and private teaching. It is very important not only to just press on subject material but also teach students how to practice and what to practice. Usually when I teach I make sure that the material I am teaching is well understood by the students because if it is not students will find any excuse to skip practicing. With the help of technology this process has become easier than ever. In the district where I teach, we use the method Tradition of Excellence. I also use  SmartMusic, and a Yamaha arranger, which I use to accompany students in the classroom with different beat accompaniments.  Finally, I use a DVD that comes with the book and an interactive practice website. In order to help psychomotor learning, from the first day of lessons, I model proper posture and tone and use my laptop and a projector to show students videos on topics such as embouchure, breathing techniques, and how to maintain the clarinet etc..         
This last year I also started to utilize Google Classroom, where I invite students to view tips and find answers to frequently asked questions. Google classroom also has been a great communicating tool between students, parents and myself. Next year I plan to use more SmartMusic and I will keep trying to advocate for it and make it accessible to all students in a town wide level, since students who use it really enjoy playing and often come to class prepared. I truly believe that if our department approves the use of SmartMusic, we will be able to build a very strong instrumental program.  To quote Bauer, “technology-assisted learning in music performance classrooms has the potential to benefit both teachers and their students and to allow more individuals to experience the joy and benefits of active musical participation through performance” (p. 93).

References

Bauer, W. I. (2014). A conceptual framework for technology - Assisted music learning. In Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music (pp. 87-93). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Chromatik and SmartMusic

Chromatik and SmartMusic

Week four was also another exciting TPACK development week with new helping tools for us to explore such as Chromatik and SmartMusic.

Chromatik and SmartMusic are two web-based music software programs that help motivate students to practice and improve without depending on the supervision of parents and teachers. Although both Chromatik and SmartMusic were designed for the same purpose, (motivate and assist learning), in my opinion, SmartMusic is a more school-oriented software than Chromatik.

I have been using SmartMusic for a while now and I find it to be very beneficial for students who are in band or orchestra. Students seem to practice more and perform with a better tone. SmartMusic is not a cost-free software. It is available only with a yearly subscription. Although the subscription could be a drawback for disadvantaged students, I believe that it would still be a worthwhile investment and worth trying to find ways to make it accessible to all students.

SmartMusic comes with accessible sheet music for band and orchestra and interactive accompaniments for most of the popular band and orchestra methods used by many school districts around United States. Bauer (2014) points out that “Researchers have found that students generally prefer to practice with accompaniments. I addition some students believe that practicing with accompaniments allows them to learn music better and to learn it more quickly” (p. 82).

 Available methods and interactive accompaniments are not the only great features SmartMusic has to offer. SmartMusic was developed with the goal to help students play correctly and give helpful feedback, note fingering, and record keeping for practice.  One of the best features that I find very useful for teachers, is the practice-monitoring feature. Teachers monitor practice time of each student and may also use this as an assessment tool. I often use SmartMusic with fourth grade clarinet classes – this allows students to perform solo in front of their peers, and at the same time gives me the chance evaluate students individually. I believe this also helps students get over any stage fright they might have. In general, students have responded to lessons using Smart Music with great excitement. Using SmartMusic has helped me look very good during a couple of observations by a principal and my curriculum coordinator. When I use technology, I always try to find different ways to utilize it to the fullest. According to Bauer (2014), software can be used not only for what they are designed for, they “can be repurposed to help students acquire knowledge about, and skills relevant to, a particular musical topic or skill” (p. 35).

Chromatik on the other hand can be a helpful and motivating tool for students, but seems best suited for students who are studying privately – it does not seem as well suited for band students. However, Chromatik could be a useful tool for general music students learning guitar, ukulele, or even basic keyboard, similar to one of the classes I teach. Chromatik is not totally cost-free. The free version allows student only three plays per day, and limits the ability for students to explore and find something they would really enjoy playing. One of my favorite features of Chromatik is the ability to flip pages automatically. Overall I did not find Chromatik to be very beneficial and not very user-friendly. When clicking on the performance link of the chosen sheet, the video needs to be quickly minimized. I think the performance sheets should be better synchronized to MIDI versions of the songs. That would allow students to play along, but also slow down the tempo to practice difficult passages.

Overall, both software packages can be utilized in the classroom in many different ways. In my opinion, SmartMusic wins hands down because it was designed with the needs of the music student and the music educator in mind. It helps keep band students engaged and productive during in-school rehearsals and at home, where students may skip practice due to lack of motivation, or not having available help when needed.   

References

Bauer, W. I. (2014). A conceptual framework for technology - Assisted music learning. In Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music (pp. 35-82). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Soundation Review

 https://soundation.com/t/db0hm

This week has been very stressful due to a lot of reading and writing but also very rewarding with lots of new tools and ideas that will help my teaching become more effective. This week our class had the opportunity to explore and become familiar with a cost-free web-based recording studio called Soundation. The timing of this project was perfect because recently I attended three concerts and had the honor to see Duran Duran, Chic, Guns N’Roses, Nile Rodgers, Gwen Stefani, Eve and Lenny Kravitz. All of these bands used plenty of synthesizer and sequencers while performing live and I feel that they did somehow influenced my Soundation project. In it you will hear a little funk, 80s, rock and some electronic sounds.

Soundation just like any other popular DAW allows musicians to record digital audio, use available loops and midi. Overall the Soundation sequencer was very easy to navigate and very user friendly. However, the free version of Soundation comes with many limitations. For example, limited available amount of loops, midi, their not so great sound quality and shortcuts. I also experienced some glitches while working with it. The fade in and fade out handling tends to get a bit tricky. Every time I tried to fade out a track or the song it affected the tempo. Also when I would scroll across the screen tracks would skip or freeze during playback. The limitations however do not disqualify it from being a very useful tool to teach composition concepts such as, form, melody, measures, intros, use of loops, midi, digital audio and in general music technology. It is a lot better to have available music technology even if it has some limitations than not have it at all. Besides it is web-based and cost-free.

When I was hired in 2010 I piloted a music production class. Today this class has become very popular in all schools of the district. The schools of the district that I teach have been using Apple computers for many years now. Since all Apple computers come with Garage Band, it was easy for me to advocate for the music production class.  I remember that my main argument was that I wanted to teach music through technology since technology was appealing to students.

However, since music production is only offered to 8^th graders and the 6^th 7^th and 8^th grade conservatory takes place at the same time, there is class number cap and not all students who apply are able to take the class. Our music department has been discussing the possibility of designing a two-year music production curriculum with the goal to offer it also to 7^th or even to 6^th graders but the available number of Apple computers still remains an obstacle.

Recently the district invested in new computers but those are Chrome Books. Here is where Soundation wins hands down against any other studio software that I know so far in a classroom setting. First and the most important part is that it is free. Secondly, it is a web-based DAW that also is compatible with Chrome Books. Until now the general music students have been using Chrome Books only for research and presentations. This coming year Soundation will be a game changer especially in the general music classes that lack instruments, student interest and very often space as well. The layout of the Soundation sequencer is very similar to that of Garage Band in many aspects from the way one can drag loops to fading in and out. Because of the similarities to Garage Band and other DAWs, I plan to use Soundation in my 6^th and 7^th general music to teach introduction to composition and some music production and give a head start to students who will eventually join the actual music production class that the district offers. Soundation has been the most exciting and useful tool that I have explored during these last three weeks and I hope it will be as exciting to my students as well in September.

Week 3 - Reading Reflection

The readings of this week examined the importance of teaching composition through the use of technology to help students tap into their musical creative potentials.

I myself fall into the category of teachers who strongly believe in the importance of music literacy. However, now I am convinced that I should be more open to trying new conventional and non-conventional ways to reach all students and help them explore the realm of music regardless of their level and interest in the subject.

I only teach composition to my music production students. The general music students have completely missed out on composition. To me, the idea of teaching composition in a general music class has always been a bit daunting because the classes usually consist of students that do not have any musical background. The general music classes that I teach have become more music appreciation oriented due to the fact that I did not know about the technology we have been exploring in this course. During these couple of last weeks, the readings and projects that we have been working on have brought to life a new horizon with new opportunities and possibilities for me to explore and have given me new exciting teaching ideas which are having a great impact in my lesson planning for the next school year. One of them is composition. I believe that music should be about creating and improvising and not merely interpreting the works of other people. “Some people believe composition is one of the highest forms of musical expression. Beyond the opportunities for creative thinking and expression, engagement in composition can also result in a deeper understanding of music”(Bauer, 2014, p. 68).

According to Bauer composition should make up a great part of the music curriculum. It can be taught as a single unit in any music class, general and instrumental or as a dedicated course. With today’s available accessible technology teaching composition seems to be easier than ever because “students can also hear their compositions performed immediately and are not limited to only composing at a specified difficulty level for musicians who happen to be available”(Bauer, 2014, p. 63).

My general music students have been using computers on a regular basis but mainly for preparing presentations and have been missing out on notation and composition. Although I teach some basic keyboard I still feel that is not enough. With the web-based technology platforms such as Soundation and Noteflight that I plan to use next year, students will be able to enter different scores, compose and also will learn how to read rhythm and notes correctly.

Even though these technology tools are great at reaching all students to some extent, they will only be helping tools to teaching music. My main objective will always be the musical expansion of my students. I will always guide and remind students that in order for them to reach their musical growth regardless of their age and musical abilities, they need to remember that they are the “most important compositional tool and that the technology doesn’t substitute for their musicianship” (Bauer, 2014, p.66)

References

Bauer, W. I. (2014). A conceptual framework for technology - Assisted music learning. In Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music (pp. 63-66-68). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Week 2 - Creating Music

 

Music Technology – Creating Music

Few people believe that creativity is a gift. People who are creative are so because they were simply born with an embedded creative gene. In Chapter 3 of the book Music Learning Today, the author William Bauer challenges that belief and provides the reader with the necessary tactics that may help students learn how to be creative. I agree with Bauer that some people might be genetically inclined to be creative, and that at the same time other influences may also contribute in developing creative capabilities. Creativity is a nurturing and a “process that takes time and persistence” (2014, p. 50).

This chapter resonates with me very strongly because I take the music teaching business very seriously as a music educator. I believe that music is an important puzzle piece of education and an art form that requires a great level of engagement and creativity regardless of the musical style. I have been teaching for twelve years now both private lessons and public schools and the experience has been and continues to be very rewarding. I have had the great opportunity to teach both the so-called talented and non–talented students and realized that anyone can learn creativity. It just depends on the level of the interest that the student has in the subject matter. After all what good would a teaching profession serve if teachers could teach only those who would thrive anyway regardless of who their teacher is. Therefore my main objective when I teach is to first motivate students.

Although it is not realistic to motivate all students at the same level, with the technology of our times reaching everyone in some way or another has become easier than ever. In my music production classes there are students who have zero musical experience but love to listen to music and have some sort of desire to explore music just like Katie and other students mentioned in the book. According to Bauer “these are students who aren’t enrolled in school bands, orchestras and choruses yet who have strong musical interests and untapped creative potential”(p. 46.). To most of those students technology is just like a box of crayons full of colors and sounds that allows them to tap into their composition and arranging creativity. If this technology did not exist these students would not have had a chance to at least even try musical creativity.

I have been advocating for music technology since the day I was hired, I use technology in all the classes I teach. The technology tools I use vary from projectors and sound systems to Garage Band and Smart Music. However, Bauer and the lecture of this week gave me some great suggestions that will definitely refresh my teaching approach with new ideas and new tools such as early improvisation, Noteflight and Musescore . I feel that now I am better equipped to engage all students at some level with sophisticated hands on tools that will give them a chance to explore and discover the possibilities of music technology and hopefully discover their creative potential.

                                                                References

Bauer, W. I. (2014). A conceptual framework for technology - Assisted music learning. In Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music (pp. 46-50). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

 

 

Week 2 - Noteflight

One of this week's assignments was to explore cost free notation software for composition units and note learning in general.  Overall both programs are great and free. Since I have been using Sibelius for many years now, and due to the fact that I have become very familiar with its palette I found Musescore to be more similar to it and more user friendly than Noteflight. However, I think Noteflight is a more practical classroom tool because it is an interactive web-based program. It is easy accessible and if used in a classroom setting it gives students the ability to share projects by embedding them on different web media sites. Since Noteflight is a free internet-based tool it comes with some limitations but these limitations are limitations only to professional musicians therefore the limitations do not make an unsuitable classroom tool. One of the limitations that I encountered while using it was the instrument availability. The project we worked on as a class this week had a voice part but voice was not an option. After thinking for a while I ended up using flute instead. I modified the score by changing the word flute to voice but when played back it still sounds like a flute. Generally,  I found Noteflight to be a great tool and I am looking forward to use it for composition and film scoring in music production and general music classes.

Music Technology Discussion – Week 1

Music Technology Discussion – Week 1

Technology has become a necessity and it is very hard to imagine a full day without it. Very often it is taken for granted and people forget how valuable it can be. The fact that we are all studying online while in our pajamas, is made possible by this great available technology that did not exist 20 years ago.

One of the things that I came across for the first time while reading Chapters 1 and 2 and watching the video, was the labeling of those who use technology as "Digital Natives" and "Digital Immigrants." In my opinion all generations are natives of some sort of technology and the technology of today is nothing but a projection of the older generations’ visions. Despite the fact that the so-called "Digital Natives" are born in an environment surrounded by technology and adapt to it naturally, it doesn’t mean that they are using it in a resourceful manner. Technology comes with great capabilities but also at the same time with great responsibilities due to the invisible dangers and the lack of human interaction just to mention a few. It is like riding a bike. It is one thing to balance and another to know and carefully respect the traffic safety rules. 

According to the book and the video we watched, I belong to the "Digital Immigrant" category. My first experience with music technology was in high school in 1991 in Albania the country I was born. Albania was a communist isolated state, and people did not have access to technology as in the Western countries. However, a family friend who had the privilege to travel abroad at the time, managed to bring in a portable Roland - 61 key arranger. I first heard it at a wedding and I was amazed at how one man could sound like a whole band. Although, drummers and bass players were not very happy about this technology, this was the beginning of a new era with new possibilities. I was studying in an art school to become a professional musician at the time but this technology experience helped me to fully gravitate towards the realm of music.

When I became a music teacher, technology, although limited at the time became a norm in my class. With one single computer, and a projector I taught introduction to music production which today has become a course offered in all schools of the district I teach.  It even solved the problem of classroom space and music stands in some of the schools I teach. For instance, in some schools where I teach 4^th grade clarinets, there are not enough music stands, so I project the music and this also saves me time from setting up and breaking down folding stands. Last year I started using Google Classroom which helped students access materials from home and submit their projects and even interact with each other. This also helped me keep record of projects. The more technology I used the more engaging the classes became.

Although it is true that "Digital Natives" learn naturally, I think that in most cases "Digital Immigrants" utilize technology more thoughtfully maybe because they appreciate it because they know how it is without it.  However, some "Digital Immigrants" as mentioned in the book including teachers tend to resent technology just as they would resent any new ideas and beliefs. I am in full agreement with the author that using technology only helps the teachers to deliver better the knowledge that they are passing down to younger generation. In order for teachers to connect with students, they need to learn more about world of their students and beyond because although the "Digital Natives" use technology effortlessly, it is the job of a teacher to inspire and make them understand how the capabilities of technologies can have a great impact on what interests them whether that is music, science, medical etc....

Music educators must be open to new ideas and ways of doing things while demonstrating a willingness to invest the time and effort necessary to utilize novel pedagogical and technological approaches if they are to initially develop and continually evolve and refine their TPACK (Bauer, 2014, p. 17). 

                                                      Conclusion
Technology should not be used only for administrative work. It should be utilized by all educators and it should always be a part of the planned lessons regardless of how much technology is available. Even one iPhone will make class more engaging than no technology at all. Although I fall into the "Digital Immigrant" category, I have been teaching with an open mindset and embracing technology into my classroom since the day I was hired. I also feel responsible to continue to professionally develop in this instant accessible world and always welcoming new technologies and ideas to help my teaching be always relevant and effective with music as the end goal.

                                                         References

Bauer, W. I. (2014). A conceptual framework for technology - Assisted music learning. In Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music (pp. 16-17). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.