Blog Reflection 6

The subject of class on Friday was teaching students how to make their own compositions. Professor Riley showed us some examples of compositions made by students he was worked with in the past. I think that you'll find you will be impressed by what your students can come up with. Hearing the compositions of the young students of Professor Riley, I was shocked by their abilities. It can be a challenge, but for a student who thrives in creativity, it can be an expression of their true genius.

Just this past weekend I learned a technique for teaching students how to write a song of their own. I went to a presentation at the OMEA conference that was devoted to better catching the attention of "tween-agers". In this presentation Trishah Snowden engaged us the way she would her middle school classroom. She then showed us examples of different projects that her students do throughout the year. The project that she presented that was relevant to Friday's class was a rap composition. She would have the students start by taking a short amount of time to determine the subject they would rap about, write some rhyming words that were related to the topic, then write some short sentences (not necessarily rhyming) to get some ideas. The next step was to create eight bars of rhythm for two verses and a chorus. Finally, she had the group put lyrics to the rhythms they created to finish their song. She downloaded a generic back beat from iTunes and the students would perform their raps for the class. It was a really neat idea. The only thing is that it didn't include writing a melody, but this activity could be used for a younger group before introducing a more difficult concept.

Teaching kids how to compose their own music can bring out the best in some that may not have strengths in other areas. Conversely, there are also going to be students who find it to be challenging and uninteresting. The greatest benefit of this task, I feel, is that all aspects of music are encompassed in it. There is also an element of teamwork that gives each student responsibilities to the group, and not just to themselves. Teaching composition to students may be a bit challenging for a first-year teacher, but with more experience, it can be a great way for students to exercise their musical knowledge. 

Soft Kitty

It's a bit off, but you get the point. :)

Blog Reflection 5

In class on Friday we learned about microphones and recording. Professor Riley introduced us to a few different kinds of microphones. Some of these microphones were dynamic microphones. These microphones are good for recording individuals because of their cardioid pick-up pattern. This means that the microphone can only pick up sounds from its front and some on its sides. The second type of microphones we learned about were condenser microphones. These can be used to record entire ensembles because their pick-up pattern is omnidirectional, the voices are picked up on all sides.

The majority of what we learned in class today I had already learned from a friend that I have in the music tech program who is kind enough to share his vast knowledge of the field with me. I did, however, learn a little bit more about which microphones are used in specific situations.

I feel that this is one of the most useful things we have learned in this class thus far. There are far too many people who are unaware of how to handle audio equipment, and I do not want to be one of them. I feel that as an educator, the more you know about a wide variety of topics, the more valuable you become. If you know how to set up all of your recording equipment yourself, there is no need to hire extra hands to do the job for you.

Interactive Music Apps

The first interactive music game that I found I really like was Whack-A-Note. This game focuses on note-name recognition. Different notes, on staves, pop up on a 3x3 grid. The student is supposed to "whack" the note that the game asks for. Whenever a note is "whacked", that note is sounded. Not only are the students recognizing the note by where it is on the staff, but they are also able to hear it. When the student hits a wrong note, that note is sounded harmonically with the correct note so that the student knows it is wrong. This means that this game isn't just helpful visually, but also aurally.

The next interactive app that I quickly became a huge fan of was Incredibox. I hadn't heard of this site before class on Friday. There are a few reasons that I believe it is a great site. First of all, the loops are all made to fit together, no matter the order. This means that the student can be as creative as they want without ever being wrong. Another reason why this app is great is because it creates a strong feeling of beat and tempo. The only problem that I would say this app has is its limited options for instruments, voices, etc. Once you have played around with the app for a while you run out of options, and it gets a little boring.

Another app that I love is called Ball Droppings. This app is a bit difficult to explain without just trying it. Basically, there are balls that are dropping at a constant rate out of a hole. The user draws lines in the space below where the balls are dropping, and when the balls hit these lines, they sound they make changes pitch. The rate at which the balls drop can be sped up or slowed down. I have seen multiple versions of this for different devices, and for some of them, you are able to record what you have created. I think this app is a great way for kids to hear differences in pitches. The one problem that I do find with this app is that there is no correlation between where the lines are drawn and the pitch. The only consistency seems to be that each line drawn is a different pitch.

I also found a great app that teaches kids facts about composers. This app is called Composer Time Machine on a website called Classics for Kids. This app allows students to pick a specific time period. The student can then choose a composer. When a composer is chosen a list of facts about that composer appears, along with a list of historical events that happened during the period of time that person was composing. There are also selections of music to play from each composer. I think this is a great way to give kids a larger understanding of musical history. It also helps them to associate the different styles of music with their correct time periods.

The final web app that I found useful was a game called Flying Instruments. The game is a bit like Tetris. Different instruments fall and the student is to stack them together based on their family, specific instrument, or by their sound. The student moves instruments that don't match out of the way by clicking the left or right arrows. This game is a great way to familiarize students with the different timbres of instruments. It begins on an easy level by recognizing whether it is string, brass, woodwind, or percussion. The final game is more difficult because the student has to match the instruments up solely by their sound, there is no visual image.

Blog Reflection 4

This Friday in class we talked about different interactive websites related to music. We started off talking about some different music notation software. Noteflight is a service that is available online that functions much like Sibelius. The difference between the two is that Noteflight stores your compositions on the internet "cloud" instead of on your computer's hard drive. With noteflight you must create an account so that when you login, you are able to access your previous compositions.

 Another website we talked about was Aviary. This website functions much like Garageband. Again, with Aviary your work is saved on the "cloud" and you must login to your account in order to access it. During the latter part of class we briefly discussed interactive music websites that might be more suitable for younger students. We took a look at Mrs. Riley's website to view the list of websites that she recommends to her students.

 Interactive websites are a great way to make learning fun. When kids are playing games related to music or creating their own music on a website, it helps them to learn in a way that they won't see as work. Most of the these websites are designed in a way that might interest students that don't seem interested in the classroom. Interactive music websites are yet another way to engage students that aren't involved in music on a higher level.

Debussy Presentations

Claude Debussy on Prezi

Blog Reflection 3

In some respects, I agree with what Sarah had to say in her blog about Twitter. I had the same reservations as she did before obtaining a Twitter. I also found that we felt the same about the potential benefits of the site. I find myself indulging in my Twitter account more and more with each passing day. It's a great way to network with groups of people that share your particular interests.

I do have an answer for Sarah's question of "why?" for all of these social networking sites. In our class there seemed to be many complaints about kids using the internet for education. The general consensus was that kids are using the internet too much; we didn't have all of these avenues of communication when we were kids. My response to these statements is this: Our grandparents didn't all have televisions when they grew up, but that doesn't keep us from watching it today. Technology advances, and society advances with it. There was an argument that (in layman's terms) bad things can happen to kids on the internet. This is true, but bad things can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. There are precautions that can be taken.

Technology has provided us with new and enticing ways to communicate with students. We shouldn't be fighting these advancements, we should embrace them and use them to their full potential. I feel that using social media to involve students can have a great impact on how they view their education. I hope that my colleagues take a second look at how internet communication can make them more appealing to their students and, therefore, putting them a step ahead in their careers.