technology
In my seventh grade general music course, students learn about the musical elements of form, timbre, texture and dynamics through Apple’s popular GarageBand music sequencing software. Because so many of the loops in the program are de- rived from current popular music styles, it should be no surprise that students are fully engaged during the unit.
It is especially enjoyable to talk to students about how many recent popular musicians have used GarageBand to write new com- positions. There are many examples of this in popular music. In the past, I have asked students to look up the “Vintage Funk Kit 03” and set the tempo to 90 BPM. Many will quickly realize that this is the main drum groove used in Rihanna’s song “Um- brella.” As a result, students are able to connect what they are doing in class with what they already know, allowing them to better see the full picture in why they are learning any given concept.
The technology that music teachers use in order to better connect with all students doesn’t have to be specifically music- based. Seventh grade students of mine also have a unit on American Popular Music that covers the 1960s through the present day. At the end of the unit, students choose an artist/band from the time period cov- ered and create a “press kit” – a collection of materials that musicians use to promote themselves on a regular basis. Essentially, this becomes sort of a research project for students; amongst other things, they must write a short biography, find contact information and search for videos of the musician online. I will allow students to present this material using a method of their choice. Most students choose to use a presentation tool like Google Slides or Mi- crosoft PowerPoint. However, many other methods could conceivably be utilized. Students could create a press kit through traditional word processing software or even in their own website or blog.
Conclusion
When I was first assigned a general music class many years ago, I thought it would be extremely difficult to reach this type of student. However, I have found this is not the case. My general music classes are very much enjoyable to teach in their own right. I credit much of that to con- necting my classroom material to what my students already know and enjoy. It is through this process that my students have truly been able to realize the importance of music in their lives.
Mike Fedyszyn teaches band and general music courses at Sabish Middle School in Fond du Lac.
Email:
mike.fedyszyn@fedmusic.com
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