technology Primer Ryan Gutsch, WMEA State Chair, Technology
The summer is a great time for proj- ects… like maybe doing a remodel. For instance, it’s always nice to lay down a fresh coat of primer to prepare a room for a new paint color. The
room just takes on a new character with a new color on the walls. We, as teachers, also sometimes look for that “remodel” of what we do. I feel the Wisconsin State Mu- sic Conference acts as the fresh paint that we can start to spread in our classrooms. However, just as important as the fresh paint is the primer. You don’t necessarily want that old color to impact your new direction. So let’s take some time to put on some technology primer and review some of the topics that we discussed at our networking session last year.
Software
We discussed many different softwares at the networking session in 2025. The death of Finale was still fresh on our minds as the final updates had poured out. So we talked about converting those Finale files into Music XML files as many of the other soft- wares out there can read and convert those into their own file types. If you haven’t done that, take some time to do so, then
check out the session in 2026 regarding the different music composition softwares available if you have yet to pick a direction.
We had some discussion on general mu- sic softwares like Quaver and MusicPlay Online. We noted some of the differences between what each software offered, and of course pricing. Your method of teach- ing will certainly determine which is best for you. There is also ensemble software like
MyNinjaMusic.com which has finger- ing charts, note flashcards, terminology, rhythms, etc. for a yearly subscription.
Music Technology course and unit options were also discussed. Among the items we mentioned was ArrangeMe which gave the ability to rearrange songs as a project. There are online labs in which you can have students create and play in the musical landscape. I think many of us are already familiar with Chrome Music Lab, but if not, do check it out. There are others out there too like BeepBox and JummBox for melodic loops, and even BeastBox which puts animal sounds over a beat.
Then for some fun and games we have Doc-
tormusik.com which has some neat apps and games for kids to play with and experi- ment, and Three Minute Theory which has a curriculum, videos and appropriate games to go along with those lessons.
On the older side, there are some mediums which can allow your students to actually release their music to the world. Sound- Cloud can allow music to be put out there for people to hear, BandCamp will allow you to release and sell your music without a record label, and DistroKid can help release music onto streaming services for the world to hear. These would be great for the more accomplished musician to record and release their creations.
Hardware
Less was mentioned about hardwares but let’s mention some that were discussed, starting with your common MIDI Key- board. Of course there is a wide array of uses for the keyboards, not only with DAWs but also with different online labs. Another common one was the Novation Launchpad or Launchpad Mini which again can be put to many different uses.
On the less common side were two interest- ing items. One was called Makey Makey. It’s basically a controller that you can control and code to do what you want it to do. There are curriculums on their site and some that include music creation. The other is Sphero Specdrums, which is a set of rings that, by tapping on different colors, will play whatever sound, loop, or custom recording you assign it to do.
As you can see, there is a lot of wonderful stuff out there in music technology. My hope is that this list of stuff is the primer for something new you can explore or dis- cover. Slap that coat of paint on and come visit the technology networking session during the conference, and tell us how things have been going, or bring us new ideas to consider!
Ryan Gutsch is the band director and technology coordinator at the Owen-Withee School District.
Email:
rgutsch@owk12.org
14
September 2026
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