Final Project- Webquest

This is my final project for MUED 320.  I created a Webquest using Questgarden.

GLEE Needs a Set List

Thanksgiving Over, Now Onto the Winter Holidays

Here is the time where it is appropriate for the world to listen to Christmas Music.  Thanksgiving came and left with a bang.  Turkey's were pardoned, eaten, and time was spent with family and friends.  For those who haven't heard them, I highly recommend listening to Straight No Chaser.  They are a mend acapella group with excellent variations of classic christmas music.  If you go to their website, their music player on their homepage is currently set to play their christmas music.  You should definately check them out for your chirstmas music fix, your acapella fix, or just for great music!

P.S. Based on previous rants, you will understand why I particularly love The Chirstmas Can-Can

Advocay

While browsing my PLN this week, I came across this great article about advocacy for music departments. Hopefully, none of us will have to fight for our programs, but we know that we will.  This is a great article to help us build up our already fantastic arguments to keep music in the schools!

SoundBeam

In response to "Assistive Technology" in our Course Materials Online Reading:

I absolutely LOVE the idea of SoundBeam.  Children with special needs respond so well to music and the other arts, and this program introduces them to music and movement.  The fact that SoundBeam was created for modern dance performances in England, but scooped up by the music education world is really awesome to me as well.  That proves, yet again, just how connected all of the arts are, and how one program can be used in so many different arenas.  Special needs students, unfortunately, tend to get brushed off as "weird" or negatively "special" rather than as human beings.  I have heard people use the term "differently abled" to describe them, and I feel this program out lines that idea.  While students with special needs may not be able to create music in the conventional way, this program allows them to use the motor skills and talents they can perform to create music just like so-called "normal people."  This is a great  program, and I am very glad I was introduced to it.

Thanksgiving

As many of you know, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and I get rather upset when it gets overlooked in society.  I couldn't help but notice that there isn't any fun, Thanksgiving music.  Halloween has "The Monster Mash" and other silly songs about ghosts and witches, and of course the winter holidays have their own genre altogether, but nothing for Thanksgiving.  Not only does this upset me, but I also find it a bit odd.  Music is all about self-expression and displaying emotion, and isn't Thanksgiving all about being thankful for what you have and expressing that?  Thanksgiving seems like the perfect holiday for music.  You can even incorporate a turkey gobble here and there.  Personally, my inspiration for music comes from what I am most thankful for in my life, my family and friends.  Thus, Thanksgiving, for me, is all about recognizing them, and thats what my music is usually about as well.  Granted, I'm no composer, but when I perform, my best musical expressions come when I have them in mind.

I think I'm just going to go and find Irving Berlin and ask him to write me some Thanksgiving music.  That may be a tad difficult however... Hmm.. I'll have to think of someone else...

Feedback

In response to "Performing Music in the Technology-Assisted Music Classroom" by William I. Bauer

Dr. Bauer opens this writing with an excellent quote from Charlie Parker, "Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom.  If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn.  They teach you there's a boundary lint to music.  But, man, there's no boundary line to art."  I feel this was an extremely appropriate opening to this writing.  Music helps the timid spread their wings and fly, and Parker illustrates that so well by saying "Music is your own experience."  Technology serves as a great tool to help those timid birds to fly as well.  Dr. Bauer speaks of multiple programs that are great for in the classroom, private lesson or at home practice room.

What I want to focus on, however, is when Dr. Bauer speaks of feedback.  I have found that feedback is one of the most important tools in any kind of learning, but especially music.  The only way to improve a skill is the see where you're at and where you can go.  Programs such as SmartMusic can helps students evaluate themselves at home, but I feel that personal feedback from a ensemble director or private lesson teacher is one of the most important in teaching students how to evaluate themselves and provide themselves with feedback.  Students trust these teachers and their years of training, and thus, will trust their opinions and advice.

I know that personally, I always struggled with evaluating my own performance.  I tend to dislike hearing recordings of myself and therefore avoid recording myself.  I'm aware that this is not too good for my musical development, but I always loved feedback from my choir directors and private teachers.  By hearing their comments and suggestions after listening to me without a recording, I've learned how to better evaluate myself without a recording.

Feedback is the best way to improve.  Comments, suggestions, compliments, all of these help students improve in any skill.

Halloween Classics for Kids

When people think of Halloween music, they generally think of the "Monster Mash" or other various silly songs about zombies, but the Oct. 30 edition of Classics for Kids reminds us that scary themes such as trolls, witches and vikings arise in classical music as well.  The Halloween edition opened with a piece by Igor Stravinksy and contiunes on with various marches, dances and "rides" by various artists from various areas of Europe.  Playing recognizable snip-its from pieces such as "Dance of the Dead," "Devil Dance," and Wagner's opera most people will recognize by picturing Bugs Bunny running around in a viking's helmet.  This edition closed with part of the opera "Hanzel and Grettle" to top off the Halloween music with a bit of witch craft.  It's always fun to get a taste of goofy holidays in wonderful, classical music.  This brings Halloween beyond the candy and costumes and adds a more artful element.

Rethink Learning

In response to "How People Learn (and What Technology Might Have to do With It) by Marcy P. Driscoll:

Driscoll opens this piece with a story about a 14 year-old boy who brings a PDA programmed like a TV remote and plays with the TV in his classroom.  When the teacher figures out who keeps turning the TV on and off, she takes him to the principle who then bans PDAs.  Driscoll goes on to make about how technology can help a classroom and explains four ideas to help teachers think about technology in their classrooms: Learning occurs in context; Learning is active; Learning is social; and Learning is reflective.

As Driscoll elaborates on these ideas, I can't help but focus on these four sentences.  These overarching ideas outline all of the best lessons I have experienced as a student throughout my education, especially those involving technology.  The best lessons happen when students work together, actually need to think and reflect about the assignment, aren't just sitting at a desk and understand the broader picture of their project.  Today we can find so many technologies that help with these ideas, such as smart boards, interactive computer games, MIDI instruments and more.

The principle banning the PDA may have seemed like an appropriate response to the child's distracting usage of his PDA.  However, rather than focusing on the fact that the child used this technology as a distraction, the teach and the principle could have taken the child's use of technology and used as inspiration for newer technological classroom ideas.

Technology Teaching Tactics

In response to TI:ME's "Technology Teaching Strategies for Music Education":

Looking over these charts of common music education strategies and how they match up in terms of MENC standards, technology standards and TI:ME areas of technology really helped me view the merit of these strategies in a clear and concise way.  I recognized many lessons my teachers used throughout my own music education and while I already recognized some of the achievements of these lessons, this chart showed me a few more thing the lessons achieved.  The arrangement of the grade-level standards at the right side of the chart really helped me when thinking about strategies I may want to use in my own classroom and understanding which ideas are appropriate for which age levels and which standards the lesson will meet.  Of course, this chart can't do all of the thinking for me, and I can't get all of my ideas from this chart, but it will definitely be a great starting point if I ever get stuck and can't think of a strong, appropriate lesson for my students.

Musical Influence

This past weekend I attended a conference at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, OH.  While this conference didn't directly relate to music, I witnessed yet again the influence of music and remembered why I am pursing a career in music education.  The conference was two nights long and each night all of the participants asked for a song session.  Each time there was a extended silence when one of the guitar players didn't immediately have a new song for us to sing along to, someone in our circle would being singing a song acapella and we'd all sing along.  Students took turns playing the guitar and playing different styles of music.  This experience gave me the wonderful opportunity to witness the wonders of music outside of the classroom and a concert hall.  It reminded me of the simple pleasures of music that inspires us all.

Intelligent Music? Close.. SmartMusic

I love the idea of SmartMusic!  One of my biggest problems practicing  was not being able to practice with the accompaniment.  CD accompaniment didn't always match the tempo my teacher and I decided was best, or if I was still learning the song, it went too fast.  I also love the assessment feature in SmartMusic.  While it is important for students to be able to hear themselves and know if they are properly in tune or not, sometimes we just aren't sure as performers.  The assessment feature helps students who are still developing their ear for music and even those who have a well developed ear by providing a second opinion.  Quite possibly my favorite part about the assessment feature, however, is the ability for students to submit it to their teacher and for the teacher to be able to hear her student's progress.  This really brings back the personal connection that students and teachers sometimes lose in an ensemble setting.  Students can record themselves as many times as they wish until they record a take they feel comfortable sending to their teacher.  This also promotes proper practicing at home.  The down fall of this, however, is students may just practice the one phrase a teacher assigned an not the rest of the music, but at least that will get students practicing that phrase at home.

SmartMusic also allows parents to get a little more involved.  While not all students will be showing their parents their practice files, it allows students to show their parents a recording of them with the accompaniment.  This is especially great for younger musicians who still love involving their parents in everything they do.  SmartMusic also allows teachers to show parents their child's improvement at parent-teacher conferences with actual recordings of their child.  Parent's can hear the improvement and don't have to fully rely on the teacher's opinion.

I really could go on and on about SmartMusic, and I've only seen the tutorial videos and scanned the website.  I think this is a wonderful piece of software.  Additionally, it's not too expensive.  It does cost money each year, but it is a reasonable price for all the music available at the click of a button.

Del.icio.us

While I was a tad confused at first, I've realized just how easy Delicious is to use.  I didn't fully understand the idea of tags when I first got started, but as I searched and saved a few websites, I discovered the merits behind tags.  I really love this idea because it makes it really easy to find the exact type of sites you're looking for.  Delicious is a great site for professional and personal matters.

Record the Radio

While searching for software to review on TuCows, I came across this program that allows you to set and record online radio streams called Radiosity.  Many of us have friends with radio shows at their schools.  I don't know about you guys, but I usually don't have time to actually listen to my friend's shows when their actually on the air.  For instance, I'll either be in class, or for those 3 am shows, I'm asleep.  I haven't tried this program yet, but it seems really awesome.

You can find it here along with a little review from TuCows: Radiosity Download

A One Computer Classroom

In response to "One Computer Can Deliver Whole-Class Instruction" by Kirk Kassner"

I never really stopped to think if a classroom could get by using only one computer, but after reading this article, I see that one computer can do it all.  I particularly liked the idea of dividing the class into small groups and using stations with the computer at one of the stations.  That way students still have the social aspect so many of them love about music classes, while learning with technology.  Most people associate a computer as a one-to-one ratio, but in small groups, everyone gets a chance to work the mouse/keyboard while learning together.  The small groups also open the opportunity for hands-on learning in association with technology catering to multiple learning styles.

While reading about the game idea Kassner presents, I couldn't help but think he was talking about a class of younger students.  While high schoolers love playing games, I have trouble picturing them sitting in lines in front of a single computer screen.  The idea is still a wonderful idea.  I did feel that a lot of the article geared towards a more general music-type class for elementary schools students, but many of the suggestions can be adapted to older students in more specialized classes.  

All-in-all, Kassner provided me with a new view on the use of technology in the classroom and the idea that its about quality not quantity.  

GLEE and Music Education

This past week's episode of Glee entitled, "Grilled Cheesus" brought up a great point about spirituality and allowing spiritual and religious songs to be sung in choirs in public schools.  This conversation has been going on for a long time in the world of music education.

While I understand the arguments against allowing such music in schools, I, personally, find it more beneficial to allow the music to be taught.  Music can be a history class, after all, and music such as Handel's "The Messiah" is a perfect example.  While, yes, the song is about praising God and Jesus, and yes, it has strong Christian ties, it provides the students with wonderful learning opportunities.  The harmonic structure challenges students to concentrate on their own part and not relying on those around them, while at the same time being aware of what is happening in the other parts.  Not all of the students in the choir may be christian, but teaching "The Hallelujah Chorus" is not about converting students, its about challenging them.  I am Jewish, yet "The Hallelujah Chorus" was always my favorite song to sing in my high school's winter concert.  While I don't believe in the text of the song, I learned how to pretend I did for the sake of the song.  Each student also had the choice to not sing the song if they didn't feel comfortable singing it, and that is very important.  A music teacher must never force a student to sing or play a song they find insulting to their religion or beliefs.  However, to completely eliminate this music from the curriculum denies the students the historical aspect of music.  At one point, all music was written for the church.  The history in that music is just as important as modern, non-religious music.  It is one thing to present a song to your musical group for the purpose of teaching challenging skills and musical elements.  It is a completely story to teach religion in a music setting.  Music teachers intend on developing their student's musical abilities, not to convert them, and this traditional music definitely presents wonderful challenges for students of all ages and skill levels.

The Emotion

While reading Love Affairs of Famous Romantic Composers, I thought about what music generally means.  To many people, music provides and escape from reality, a way to get away from homework, or a fight, or just a means to chill-out and relax.  However, music goes much deeper than that.  The music that truly moves the soul is the music composed and performed with true emotion.  Not only emotion in the composer or performer, but the emotion of the audience.  The emotion of the notes, dynamics and tempo.  While this article doesn't go into depth of these love affairs, the fact is that they're there.  The article mentions a few pieces composed for a wife or a child.  The strongest emotions produce the strongest responses.  The emotion is why we love music.  While practicing may be a pain, just remember how you can move an audience from one fantastic piece, and that indescribable feeling that comes from that connection with the audience.

Picture That

In response to "Picture This" by Scott Watson:

Scott Watson brings up an awesome point about the effects of students seeing their sound.  The first example he used was when he was trying to teach his students legato vs staccato.  He recorded the students performing each in a waveform editor and allowed his students to literally see the difference.  The space between the waves was too large for a true legato sound, and his students could now clearly see that space.

Humans are very visual learner, and by allowing musicians to see their sound, they can develop better listening skills.  For example, if a choir is having trouble eliminating a glottal attack at the beginning a phrase, a waveform image of the onset will show a spike at the beginning of the wave.  The height of the wave will allow students to view how harsh their onset is and by how much they need to reduce it.  That visual of the wave will heighten student's hearing as well because students will begin to really listen for that spike.

This idea also caters to the idea that different students have different learning styles.  While some students may be more aural learners and can easily hear a glottal attack, other students truly are more visual learners.  By allowing students to see their sound, those visual learners will be able to further their understanding which the aural learners may have already developed.

Music educators constantly push that their subject is academic.  By expanding the different medias and mediums music educators use to teach their student, other educators will begin to see our subject as more academic.  Many people don't understand how music can be a visual learning experience beyond music theory.  The use of a waveform media to show students their sound can expand the visual element of the subject.

Personally, I really like the idea of using a waveform program to show students their sound.  It can assist with creating better crescendos and decrescendos, other dynamics, and other ornamentations of music.

A Conversation Needs Words. ...Or Does It?

In response to Classics for Kids: Musical Conversation

This weeks Classics for Kids spoke about instances when music reflects dialogue.  The broadcast opened up with an example of musical gossip, with twittering instruments to reflect the twittering of gossiping women.  One of my favorite aspects about music is this ability to reflect life as we understand it in a more fun and beautiful way.  One of my favorite examples from this week's broadcast was Eric Kotes' musical version of Goldie Locks and the Three Bears.  The statements of "who's been sitting in my chair" not only reflected the emotion of the question with different pitches, but the notes reflected the number of syllables in the question.  Music is just as capable of having a conversation with pitches and rhythms as a person is with words and voice inflections.

One, Two, Three, One, Two, Three...

In Response to Classics for Kids: Johann Strauss, Jr.-The Waltz

This weeks Classics for Kids taught it's listeners fun facts about the waltz including how it moved from just a dancing genre to performances such as concerts, ballet, opera and musical theater.  I've always found it fascinating how music fits into multiple areas even within itself.  No one set of music is right for one setting.  Each genre and tempo and time signature finds it's way into various areas of performance and musical usage.

Along the lines coexistance, Classics for Kids also taught it's listeners that Johann Strauss, Jr. was the king of writing waltzes, however, he himself could not dance the waltz.  I found this fact rather odd because I've always found that the different areas of art, such as music and dancing, work together, just how the different aspects of and within music work together.  I, personally, find it easier sometimes to dance when I'm learning a new song, or even just slightly move around my practice space to give my body and idea of how the song should go.  Inversely, when learning a dance, I find I learn it quicker and more accurately when I hum or sing along to the song.  I suppose I almost feel bad for Stauss, Jr. that he couldn't waltz.  He may still have been the king of the waltz, but he couldn't share in the joys of dancing and allowing your body to work with the music.

A Little State, A Mighty Project

In response to "The Vermont MIDI Project" by Steven Estrella

The Vermont MIDI Project, in my opinion, shows just how committed teachers are to their students.  THe project began with Sandi MacLoad and her fellow teachers realizing that composition was a weakness in their curriculum and in their teacher.  This realization led to research, development, and training to create a fantastic web-based composition project.  Some teachers may have merely brought in a professional composer to teach their students about composition and left it at that, but these teachers took it upon themselves to better their own composition skills and technology skills in order to provide their students with a solid foundation in composing.

The Vermont MIDI Project is more than just a composition project.  It is a tool to help children develop not only their musical talents and abilities, but to build confidence, pride and creativity.  A teacher who provides the tools to help build these importance characteristics truly cares for her students.  These are characteristics that go beyond the classroom and help students in multiple other areas of their lives.  These are characteristics that go beyond the classroom and help students with the rest of their lives.

Music on YouTube

Response to "YouTube Symphony Orchestra Seeks Inspiring Orchestra Teachers" by MENC

YouTube serves many purposes.  For some, it's the "I'm bored; lets look at stupid videos" stop, for others its "my friend told me to watch some video" stop, and for some it's the "there's a new music video I want to watch" stop.  YouTube has expanded to become so many things for so many people.  The article stated that last year, the YouTube Symphony Orchestra got 25,000,000 hits making it the largest internet classical music project.

It's amazing how music incorporates itself into everyday life places and activities.  Personally, I really only watch music related videos on YouTube, but I remember when I first started hearing about YouTube and all my friends were watching stupid videos.  "Charlie the Unicorn" was a popular one, along with a video called, "Shoes," that I never did get around to watching.  However, when I first started hearing about YouTube, I don't remember hearing about music videos, or montages of songs.  That's an idea I learned about later.  Then, when I found out about YTSO, I was downright amazed.  Who would have thought to have an internet based orchestra where musicians audition by submitting videos on the internet?  I sure wouldn't have, and quite frankly, as cool as the idea is, I'm not too sure how much I like it.  Maybe it'll grow on me in time, however.  I mean, colleges do allow students to send in video auditions for music schools, so why not for an orchestra?  Nevertheless, the idea does amaze me, and I love how music on YouTube has developed from popular music of the day to a real life symphony orchestra.

A Bicycle Built for Two

After having some fun with Noteflight, I finished typing up "A Bicycle Built for Two" by Harry Dacre. :)

http://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/cd5d6cad3204ef47614c8a7cf0cf55de5a93c0df

Week 1-Technology With Music

Response to: A Conceptual Framework for Technology- Assisted Music Learning by Dr. Willian I. Bauer

Technology enriches the lives of musicians and music lovers everywhere.  With the incredible recording technology, the internet, and programs such as Garage Band, people have access to music from all over the world almost instantaneously.  Not only do we already have incredible technology, but everyday people strive to create even better programs and computers to make performing tasks easier and quicker.

While many schools have multiple computer labs for various purposes, technology for music education still gets neglected.  Administrators feel that the music programs are too expensive and that the money could be put to better use in chemistry labs or towards math programs.  While some schools do take a part of the budget to purchase music programs such as Sibelius, they only receive it  for a few computers, making it difficult for a full music class to work on a project all at once.

Music educators need to show their administrators the benefits of these programs.  Through notation programs, students not only develop their knowledge of note names and the staff of various clefs, but they further develop their ears by being able to hear the music they're creating.  They get to hear how different parts work together and make changes instantly to see if they like a different sound better.  These programs also help with understand different instruments and how these instruments work together to create a wonderful piece of music.

While part of me fears that technology maybe taking away from the personal connect of musician to instrument and human instructor to student by providing all of the instruments and instructions electronically, I do not doubt the merit of these programs.  These programs are not a replacement for live performances or rehearsals or educations, they are merely tools to enrich performances, rehearsals and lessons.  Recording a performances and rehearsals helps students see and hear what when well and what still needs improvement.  A computer cannot tell us if we like the phrasing of a piece of music or what dynamic to use, but it can help us by either allowing us to hear ourselves or by allowing us to click a button to change the dynamic or phrase to hear what we like better.

In Peter Pan, one needs a happy thought to be able to fly, but that's not all, one also needs pixie dust.  Technology can play the role of the happy thought , but without inspiration, drive, passion, and emotion, without the magical pixie dust, music cannot thrive.  Technology is a wonderful resource that must be utilized, but it cannot replace the magic of music that comes from the heart of the musician or music lover.