technology Three C’s of Music Technology:
Capture, Create and Collaborate Michael Hayden, WMEA State Chair, Technology
Now more than ever, music tech- nology has the trans- formative power to strengthen our mu- sic classrooms and deepen student edu- cational experienc- es. With the various district initiatives it
can at times be overwhelming to keep up with the latest tech trends and keep the focus on music learning outcomes. By using technology to capture, create and collaborate, educators can deepen student understanding in all facets of music and provide a venue to showcase musical cre- ativity. Let’s take a closer look…
Capture
Capture has a similar meaning in and outside of music technology. That is, to save an idea. With music technology, this translates directly to recording and can be done with a portable field recorder, smart phone, tablet, and yes, one of the many recording programs on the market. Students and teachers can use various pieces of technology to aid in musical lis- tening, evaluation and analysis, document performance assessments, or produce a full-fledged album.
What to use:
• Any smartphone or tablet with a voice recorder
• Field recorder
• Multitrack recording programs ranging from Pro Tools by Avid to Studio One by PreSonus
Create
Students create music everyday. So how can technology help? By using a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) that comes with built-in instruments and musical clips (also called loops). Programs such as Ableton Live and Sound Trap are
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excellent pieces of software that offer templates and additional sound packs in a wide range of musical styles. Students want to make the music they listen to and often times, this extends to music outside of classical and jazz traditions – and that’s okay. Using pre-generated sounds or ones made from scratch, your student’s favorite DAW is a great tool for music creation and creativity.
Beyond music production software there are also numerous high quality music notation programs available to students, some of which are even free! Programs generating excitement in my classrooms are Noteflight and
Flat.IO. Both can be used by teachers and students for free (premium accounts available) and have built in collaboration and sharing features. As a bonus,
Flat.IO is fully integrated with Google Classroom making it easy to sync with your existing classes.
What to use:
• For notation, check out Noteflight or
Flat.IO
• For music production, look at Ableton Live (Mac or PC), Sound Trap (web), or Soundation(web)
Collaborate
Music technology, more specially cloud based music tech, not only gives students access to a wide range of resources for learning and to be creative but also can be an incredible collaboration tool. Students can work with a partner or in a small group to create music using programs like Able- ton Live or work together to record a piece of chamber music, (better yet a piece they have collectively composed) but they can also use various web-based applications to collaborate and share musical ideas with their peers and others around the world.
The cloud-based programs
Flat.IO and Soundtrap, mentioned above, each have a
“By using technology to capture, create and collaborate, educators can deepen student understanding in all facets of music and provide a venue to showcase musical creativity.”
collaboration feature in which students can share their work with others in their class and publish as full or partial compositions, giving access to peers in their class and around the globe.
Additionally, websites such as Blend. IO allow users to sync with DropBox to upload and download full project files for programs like Ableton, Pro Tools, Logic, and GarageBand. This is an excellent tool for students interested in refining their digital remixing abilities. Similarly, SoundCloud is another excellent place for students to find new music and publish their completed music compositions.
Classroom Extension
Using one of the programs listed above, have small groups of students create their own version of song or melody being played in class. Length of the composition will be determined by your age level.
Capture: Have students record their song or new melody into a portable recorder and then share them with the class. If students compose with more specific parameters, such as an eight-measure, one-octave melody in the key of D, you could then use your favorite DAW to
September 2016
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