FINAL PLN

From the "How To Teach" blog a post was put out as a strategy to teach younger students pieces of music. It said to reverse roles, and have the student try to teach the music to you. Do EXACTLY what they tell you, and make them realize what needs to be done to the music. This is more of a self exploratory exercise that makes the student think critically of the piece, and forces them to make musical decisions. This blog generally has many good tips and guides to how to teach privately and in a classroom setting. I enjoy reading all of the tips and advice that are not necessarily taught in our ed classes, but are more specific, and are "tricks" that can be helpful to teaching.

Soundbeam Reading

I had never heard of soundbeam before, and when I saw the composition that Arty did with it I was amazed at what was able to be done with this technology. Although, I'm sure, there are limitations, the idea and concept that is currently at hand is amazing, and I am extremely impressed at what can be done with students with mentally disabilities. This would be a great way to let students who cannot participate in ensembles physically still be involved with music in their schools.

I did feel, however, that this seems pretty advanced, and could be rather expensive for schools to purchase. My only concern would be teachers who wanted this for their students, but could not get it due to sufficient funding. Other than that hats off to soundbeam! Seems like an excellent technology that would be really helpful to students with disabilities!

Classics for Kids- Leonard Bernsten

The "Classics for Kids" podcast is a great resource for children to learn about music. What exactly it is is a podcast that is basically a story. It is a women telling a story about Leonard Bernsten. While the story is going on, music supporting the story about the composer is being played. There will often be 30-45 second breaks with just music. This is a great way to get any level of musician interested in composers. I enjoyed this story myself, and enjoyed the history about Bernsten and the music!

Do Newborns Show Musical Skill?

An article from Music and Cognition showed research that said that babies may actually not just be crying and cooing at random, and that they are making musical choices. For example, German and French babies could be easily distinguished. German babies would cry from the upward, down, while french babies cry downward up. Also, babies start to imitate their mother's voice and musical traits from day one, not 8-16 months after they are born. The musical aspects of speech that were being considered were rhythm, melody, and stress.

GIMP Software Review

Throughout the week I have been exploring GIMP, and have even used it to enhance a few of my own photos. GIMP is not hard to use after exploring it for a while. Many of the concepts though were confusing in the videos until I actually did them for myself and applied them. What I was told in class was that GIMP is basically a "free version of photoshop." When I heard this I thought, "well ok, its free how great can it really be...?" I was proved wrong after exploring the program. Its a great program that is relatively easy to learn. I would definitely suggest it to any students or colleagues who need to alter their photos for whatever reason!

Technological Immigrants

This article was about how students these days learn differently because of their integral life with technology. Although teachers now did not grow up with technology, and have to try to assimilate themselves with this new culture, my generation will not necessarily have this problem. Since high school, nearly every single person has a phone, and now, many people even have iPhones and phones with internet capabilities. It will not be as hard for my generation to teach with technology, and to have to take more classes out of college because we have been exposed to it in both educational settings and social settings. Although teachers now have to deal with this problem, I do not believe that it is going to present as big of a problem with me or any other students my age when we become teachers.

PLN 11

This week while doing my delicious project I discovered the Tubanews.com website. It is a website dedicated to tuba and euphonium players. I found plenty of information about both repertoire and accessories that is hard to get opinions from otherwise. It also had many articles that I could read and give input about. Overall, it was a great find!

Readings from week 10

The readings this week were about creating your own webpage, and about tips on how and what to put on websites. They said how only certain files can be viewed by everyone on webpages, and how to put files up. Putting up sound files and pictures of my future band would be an excellent way to communicate with the parents exactly what is going on during rehearsals and shows. Webpages is the way of the future, and virtually every organization has one. Creating a webpage will definitely be something that will come back to me in the future.

PLN 10

In the "Music Matters" blog an article was posted about an author who wrote the book "Iedereen is muzikaal: Wat we weten over het luisteren naar muziek," which basically means "Do We All Have Talent for Music?" In the book the author, Henkjin Honing, talks about how people who are good at music aren't special, and that everyone can learn how to play, perform, and enjoy music. I strongly believe that if a student actively tries, and puts effort in, than they will be able to strongly perform and become a good musician.

PLN 9

On the "How to Practice Guide" I found a blog entry about using more common terms for very young student as opposed to the Italian terms, there was even a downloadable list to use! http://www.pianoped.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/adjectives.pdf

I am half and half ok with this subject. I do believe that using easier terms will help students to grasp the concepts quicker and be able to recognize and produce them quicker, but also students will not be learning the standard terms for all of these words. For example words like accelerando are second nature to musicians, but if young students were always taught "go faster," and they were introduced to accelerando in a higher level ensemble they might be left behind from the other students in grasping the concepts. I believe that using both the Italian term AND a word that is easily recognizable would be best for younger students.

Cutting Students

From a blog about teaching music called "Welcome to Education" I found an elementary and middle school teacher that would cut his students from parts that they were not able to play. Being cut from parts is not an unfamiliar concept to me, this summer, when I marched with the Glassmen, cutting people from parts was one of the quick and easy way to clean certain parts of the show. Although this was a quick fix to clean up some musical aspects of drum corps, I think that it is widely inappropriate to cut students in middle school and especially in elementary school from their band music. When students are learning music for the first time they should NEVER be told not to play and not to try to get something write. This can be devastating for a child. I do not believe in "cutting" students from parts until at LEAST high school.

Smartboards!

One of this week’s readings was about how to buy and use an interactive white board. In high school many of my classrooms, including the music technology class, had interactive whiteboards (smartboards). In the classroom using the smartboard was one of the most fun experiences during class. In fact, one of my teachers even made a point to let every student get up to the smart board and use it for notes once a day. In my AP Music Theory class, the smartboard not only served as a projector, but also an interactive whiteboard. Our end of the year project was to arrange a song and put it into finale 2009. Many of the students did not know how to use finale, and our teacher could show the entire class all at once by using the smart board. Also, when we presented, we could show the class what parts of the song were most difficult to arrange, what were are favorites, ect. We could also watch the score as we were listening to the piece. Overall, the smartboard was one of the best resources our AP Music Theory class had, and can be a great resource for any classroom, even a non-music setting.

Response to Recording Articles

As the article mentions, music technology is an excellent tool to use in the classroom, but only if the teacher has experience or is specifically trained to do so. One aspect of technology, though, is rather easy to apply to a classroom setting in multiple ways!

The author of one of the articles mentions about how he was teaching and could not get his students to understand the concept of legato vs. staccato. He ended up recording himself and students playing legato and staccato, then played it back through a projector using a waveform window, which showed the amplitude and duration of the sound waves. The students understood the concept and could reproduce results. This aspect of teaching applies to both visual and audible learners in the classroom.

Recording students playing can help them to understand how they are playing both visually and audibly. Overall, it is a technique that directors do not use enough that would greatly improve the level of musicianship in their ensembles. Once I start teaching I will definitely start recording students to have them listen and evaluate themselves, and could even use it for tape tests!

PLN 7, Google Wave

Google has been creating multiple apps that have all been not only innovative, but useful in the classroom. For example, in our music tech class we have been using google reader to blog for assignments.

This time though, google has really outdone themself. They have combined email, im, twitter, facebook, and skype. Not only that, but it is all drag and drop easy, live updated, and being constantly redesigned to be improved.

Google wave is not only applicable to social needs, but its also very applicable in the classroom. It can function as a wiki, can be used to playback things that have happened in the past, collaboratively work with other students on projects, and publish sites by embedding them.

Overall, google wave will be able to be used for all kinds of applications once it is released!

PLN Week 6

From the "So You Want to Teach" blog, I found an article that I was very interested in. It was an article about a teacher who was saying that she was very stressed and was going to quit teaching. She often read the "So You Want to Teach" blog and decided to start her own blog to vent and get all of her emotions out instead of keeping them bottled up. After blogging, she realized that she did not want to quit, and decided to submit a blog to "So You Want to Teach" to share her experience. In her blog she states that you should never give up, even when you feel completely useless, to surround yourself with positive people, avoid negativity like the plague, try to learn sometime new with everyone you come into contact with, and to enjoy the journey. With these tips, your professional and social life will both be boosted, and you will have a much better outlook on life in general.

Sequencing

Many say that sequencing and MIDI files could never replace real music with real musicians. When MIDI was first created, this was true. Now that we have new technology, though, many wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a sequenced recording and a real performance. If you record yourself playing live, you will be able to make a convincing sequenced sound bit. A good use in the classroom for a sequencer could be to put in a piece you are working on, and to have the sequencer put out the single parts along with accompaniment to practice along. For choir, here, we use this concept for practice files.

PLN- Things to do in your first year of teaching

In the "So You Want to Teach?" blog there was an article about what to do during your first year of teaching. Some of the great ideas it suggests are to stay at the school through the entire year, remember that you have days set aside as "sick days," avoid the temptation to gossip, avoid the temptation to live excessively (such as overeating, smoking, living for the weekend), talk to friends, do less (but do what you do exceptionally well), try to slow down, become friends with your administrator, keep complaints out of your vocabulary, and set aside at least one day a week to completely leave work by 4:00.

With these suggestions, first year teachers will be much healthier both physically and mentally.

Response to MIDI articles

According to one of the articles we read, MIDI is one of the the two most important breakthroughs in music technology of the twentieth century. Thanks to MIDI recordings we can create recordings of songs online. Even though they are synthetic and can sound very dry and toneless, they can be good for students who need help with rhythms, or the pitches.

I also never knew how MIDI files worked, and that how good of a recording/file you produce depends on what you enter it in on. Basically it is software that can recreate notes by inputting them into the computer through a MIDI keyboard.

Like mentioned earlier, MIDI files could be helpful to students who need help with rhythms or pitches. MIDI files, also take up less room on a computer, allowing you to store more files. MIDI keyboards can also be used to play along with students during band, orchestra, or choir class. In my high school our band director would play along with us when we would have trouble with rhythms or would be out of tune. He could also make recordings of his MIDI "accompaniments" and could run them, to keep a consistent tempo in the group.

MIDI is all in all a very useful tool in not only music education, but music in general too.

Reaction to "Why Does a Melody Stick in your Head?"

On my google reader account today was an article about why a melody sticks in your head, and about the psychology and cognitive science behind it. To this date, we can only still hypothesize about why this happens. They compare it to studying deja vu. Though they haven't found an answer yet, they have found certain aspects of songs, such as being simple in terms of harmonic structure but having a striking moment, that are in common with most songs that get stuck in people's heads. Maybe we'll never know for sure about this phenomenon!

Response to the Vermont MIDI project

The Vermont MIDI project is an online source where students in grades 1-12 can and are encouraged to post compositions of their own. Creating and composing a piece is one of MENC's national standards, and should be applied to every classroom. Most music teachers have little experience with composing themselves, and have trouble teaching to their students because of it. What the Vermont MIDI project does is allow students to post their compositions online, and have peers/mentors edit and look through their piece and make suggestions. There are also moderators to make sure that the feedback given to the students is always constructive, and does not put the students down.

In the end, everyone benefits from using the VMP, the students become better listeners, musicians, and performers, and the teachers become better composers, critical listeners, and become better at teaching composing. The VMP is a good resource and I wish I would have known about it back when I was in high school, it could have given me a chance to get interested into composing!

PLN Week 2

This week while searching through google reader I found a subscription for a blog called "so you want to teach." It is a blog for any kind of teacher, about how to prepare to teach, what you should expect when you get into the field, and helpful hints about teaching. I found this very helpful because being hearing new ideas from as many sources as possible is going to prepare us all the best for teaching.

Notation Software and its uses in the Classroom

Music notation software is a very useful tool that music teachers can use for their own personal use in addition to in their classrooms. Teachers can assign projects for their students with the use of music notation programs. For example, teachers can assign their students to an arranging project. This would consist of students copying music note for note, and transposing it for other instruments, or even making an original arrangement. Some other projects could be composing projects, where a student could compose their own one line piece, or even a duet or small ensemble. The advantages of using a notation software as opposed to writing freehand is that it is much more legible, easier to transpose, and you can hear immediate results when editing.

In addition to projects for students, music notation programs have many uses in the

classroom. For example, if parts are too hard for students the teacher can use the software to

edit the part and make it easier. They can also hear the parts instantly to check themselves.

Also, they can make the parts harder if the students are not challenged enough.

In addition to rewriting parts teachers can compose their own music, and make warm-ups

and technique books for their students. Warm ups for the entire ensemble can be easily

transposed from instrument to instrument using certain features of the notation programs.

All in all music notation software has multiple student, teacher, and administrative uses

that can enhance any music program/class.

TPACK Reading

The TPACK article, written by Dr. Bauer, was about how technology can be assimilated into the classroom and information on current teachers and technology. I believe that using multimedia and music notating software in the classroom is extremely helpful. Our generation and the one below us is very technology savvy. We carry around laptops, cell phones, have multiple email addresses, and have iPods that we use nearly every minute of the day. In the classroom technology can be used for notating music, for giving multimedia examples of excerpts, and even for accompaniment.

At my high school, my band director used technology in the classroom very often. In concert band and wind ensemble after our music theory unit we had a unit on music technology. Our teacher had us compose a 16-32 bar piece for a small ensemble. We had a music technology lab with about 20 computers, each with Finale 2009 installed, a midi keyboard, and music theory training programs. In addition to the music technology classes that were offered at our school our band director used Finale 2009 to archive and arrange music for marching band. For example, he arranged our alma mater, and our whole pregame show through finale and handed it out to us each year.

When I read the article and found out that less than 10% of music teachers use technology in their classroom. This surprised me. In high school I was spoiled with a good technological program. I believe that using a keyboard in class, giving recordings to students, and having students arrange pieces using a notating software, are all ways to involve technology in the classroom.

Noteflight!

Noteflight is an online notating software that is free. When I first started using it I found it easy to work through and did not even need to use the tutorials. The program was much easier to use than Finale was when I started using it. It was much easier to add instruments and to edit score information, as opposed to other programs where you have to set those aspects in stone when you start writing a piece. Also, I like how Noteflight stores your scores on the internet, so you can easily access scores at computers outside of your home. Overall Noteflight is a successful easy program to use!

http://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/67990824d7d4010837775e54d8b92c4854021ed5

PLN Entry

For one of my PLN resources I added OMEA Website's news feed. OMEA is an excellent resource for undergraduate and graduate music education majors as well as music educators throughout Ohio. The OMEA website has recently listed future events such as the 2009 professional conference and advertises that the adjudicators for marching band have been announced for the 2009 season. Overall, OMEA is a solid resource for information that will be useful to music educators when doing adjuticated events and professional conferences.