A Diva Gets Scared

               Reading about the technical aspects and terms of multimedia this week was surprising for me. I was amazed at how many of the terms I had heard before and actually knew something about! For example, I’ve worked with mp3’s to make my own mixes to listen to in the car and I knew about bit sound file sizes. This was encouraging to me as we enter Week 3 of this technology course.

                A few months ago, my husband and I took a weekend trip to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. One of my favorite sections of the museum was the area about the development of the modern recording studio. The lecture this week briefly touched on that, mentioning that artists used to only have one chance at recording their song the way they wanted it to sound. With the invention of tapes, and now computer technology, artists can record and re-record as many times as they want to get it just right. Also, the soundboard enables the artist to adjust aspects of the song manually even after the recording is finished (for example, Auto Tune). This allows for greater efficiency in the recording studio (even though it can sometimes result in a “less true” sound – I’m looking at you, Kanye West).

                The video on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus was inspiring – the song that group of kids came up with after only 6 hours (not to mention including a music video) was surprisingly very good! I think that in a time when music classes are being cut due to budget concerns, that projects and programs like this are vital to sustaining a music culture in our schools. I also think it’s important for inner city students, who have even less resources, can get this glimpse into the music production system, from the music to editing to collaborating with others. As the student in the video said, it is oftentimes that music is the only thing that keeps some of these kids in school. That same student also stated that the lessons they learn in music can be applied to every other subject in school, and also in areas of their lives; they learn qualities like determination, motivation, creativity, and problem solving.

                This video was also encouraging to me as I look ahead at the projects for this course. The thought of having to write my own song, including lyrics and instrumentation, is truly terrifying to me. I have never thought of myself as a creative person, so to have this project looming before me is enough to induce panic attacks! However, I like to think that if these students can do it in 6 hours, then perhaps I can come up with something in 3-4 weeks. Stay tuned to see if I keep all of my hair by the time this project is due! 

A Diva Uses Noteflight

         Today was my first time using the music program Noteflight. The basic edition is free to anyone, although there are upgraded versions available for purchase. However, the basic edition includes a lot of what is necessary to compose or transcribe a score, including key and time signatures, lyrics, accents, and the use of different instruments. There wasn't anything I was lacking in order to transcribe the score below.
          Using Noteflight was pretty easy - you can either do it in manual mode, where you enter every note with the mouse, or you can hook up your MIDI keyboard and enter notes in that way. The panels are laid out in a simple manner; if there is any confusion or questions, the help manual is very extensive. The only issue I had with the program was with the lyrics - I could not get the hypens to stay in the correct space if a lyric was held over multiple notes. I did what the manual instructions said to do and still could not get it. However, since that's the only issue I had, I truly was pleased with the program overall,
           I can absolutely see using this in a classroom setting. A teacher could use it to help teach rhythmic values and notes, as well as key signatures, guitar tablature, accents, slurs, and ties. This program could also be incredibly useful in a composition or theory class. Students could create their own musical works, or take songs they know and rearrange them into different settings or styles. I think a program like this or Musescore should absolutely be considered as necessary in the music classroom.

A Diva Learns a Few Lessons

               The scariest part of music, to me anyways, has always been theory and composition; it’s like music’s version of math, and I was never very good at math. Whenever I’ve taken a theory or technology class in college that requires an original work, it causes me immediate panic. Watching the week 2 video, I’m beginning to understand why that is; I had no exposure to composing, and very little experience with theory, prior to my undergrad degree. Although my high school offered a music theory class, it was very basic (learning how to read music, etc.) and I already could do that due to my years in band, orchestra and chorus. However, there were no music technology classes offered and no advanced music courses offered. I think if I had more exposure to it when I was younger, it would have been less terrifying as a young adult in college.

                Watching the Bay Shore example, all I could think was “Man, those kids are lucky!” In a time where music programs are continually being reduced or dropped completely due to budge shortages, these students have a full music program, including music technology. It also seemed to me that the teachers at the Bay Shore school see the importance of working together: the elementary music teachers understand that they are teaching the building blocks that the middle school teachers will build on, and then eventually the high school teachers. I wish more schools would look at that type of teamwork. When I was student teaching at the high school level, the kids coming into the 9^th grade classes were all at different levels because they had different elementary school teachers who all taught differently. When the music teachers are all on the same page, it really enhances the overall learning potential for their students.

                The other aspect that I thought was neat about Bay Shore was the way that the students could overlap their learning into other subjects. The one girl that spoke in the video was using her original composition from music technology in a video she produced for her multimedia class. I think this is an amazing way to incorporate the national standard that wants us to involve other subjects.

                Going into the rest of week 2, I am looking forward to learning about different notation programs and continuing to grow our PLN’s. I have very limited experience with notation programs (mostly with Finale and it was almost 10 years ago now) so I am looking forward to seeing how far they have come in the last 10 years. 

A Diva Discovers the Power of Technology

What does it mean to be a diva in the classroom? Throughout my undergrad years as a student, I was a soprano; sopranos are stereotyped for their lofty attitudes and “better-than-thou” facial expressions (aka “a diva”). However, I knew this “attitude” was due to the fact that, in order to be a true high soprano, you had to be confidant, or at least fake your confidence, both in yourself and in your abilities. Portraying confidence as a teacher, whether or not we actually feel confidant, is extremely important if we want to be successful. Teaching children of any age can be intimidating and scary, but it can also be wonderful and a privilege. We need to own the skills we’ve developed in the classroom and become “divas!”

            Moving onto Week 1 of my Master’s technology class: This week, we are discussing why technology is important in the music classroom, ways to integrate technology into our classrooms, and ways that teachers can professional benefit from the use of technology. The point that stood out to me the most from the lecture video is that technology is a way to relate to our students.  The fact is that we live in a time where technology is everywhere: smart phones, tablets, laptops, the little watches that record your heart rate and can even show you your text messages. Teachers need to use this to their advantage.

            When I was a long-term substitute music teacher, I had a middle school chorus that I had to choose music for their spring concert. I had already picked out the “challenging” music and wanted the students to pick out a “fun” song. The students gave me some suggestions, most of which I had never heard of. However, thanks to YouTube, they were able to show me the songs and we were able to look up if any choral versions had ever been done before. It was a much faster process, and we were able to narrow the choices down to one song (“Stuck Like Glue” by Sugarland) within a matter of minutes.

            Another part of the video that really stood out to me was the section on “digital natives.” I would put myself in the category of a Digital Immigrant: I didn’t grow up with much technology but I have now learned the ways of the computer world and don’t know what I would do without my smart phone! My current boss, however, (I’m currently a receptionist at a veterinarian’s office), is 100% an Analog Holdout. We have absolutely no Internet in our office, which does make things more complicated in today’s tech-savvy world. I’m constantly telling the doctor how much easier our jobs would be if we could email lab work results, or send x-rays to other doctors for review, et cetera. He does not trust the internet, however, and has no intention of giving in at the current moment.

            I was quite hesitant when this class began; I had no interest in starting a blog or jumping on the Twitter bandwagon. However, after reading about Personal Learning Network’s (PLN’s), and all that you can do once you’ve set one up, I can see how useful they will be. It’s like having 1,000 libraries available to you all at the same time! You can connect with teachers and teaching professionals all over the world and see what strategies are working for them (or maybe aren’t working).

            I am interested to see where this class is going to lead and how my technology skills are going to develop. Follow along with my (hopeful) progress! 

A Diva Creates a Blog

Soooo, I had to create a blog for my Master's degree class in technology. Here it goes! I do not know where this will lead but I am going to give it a shot! Stay tuned!