Ableton Live 8

ABLETON LIVE 8

While visiting Dewey School of Excellence, I witnessed one of the most effective ways to use technology in the music classroom. AbletonLive 8 is a music recording and looping program that I have used to record my own music, but I did not see it as a valuable tool in the classroom outside of a glorified recording tool. The following video gives a brief overview of the program and several ideas for use in the classroom.

At Dewey, they use the looping function to create covers of pop songs as part of their extracurricular music program. Students begin by recording a beat on drums. That beat is then looped (repeated) to provide the beat for the track. Students can then layer in other instruments such as guitars, keyboards, and vocals to create a full-length track. Many of the tracks they create closely resemble songs that students are familiar with. Students can then alter the lyrics to include facts about their school, attendance goals, or NWEA testing. With that in mind, this project is also a way to get students engaged in things going on in their school. It also creates a sense of pride when students hear their tracks played at the beginning of the school day. This website helps train teachers to use the software and gives several ideas for use in the classroom. 

I think this could also be used between schools to build competition as well as a sense of community between schools. Since the tracks can easily be shared and adjusted, music classrooms around the city (or anywhere for that matter) can collaborate on tracks together. For example, school A might record the beat and keyboard part and then send it to school B who will record the guitar and vocal parts. Classrooms can then Skype with each other (or pre-record videos) discussing their work or provide constructive feedback.

The following is an example of an artist who used looping software to cover a song completely acapella. This same concept can be used in the classroom. Videos like this can also get students excited to work with the software and to create their own musical creations. 

Electroaccoustic Music

Electroacoustic Music

As a music teacher and musical, I am both excited and cautious about how electroacoustic music is affecting the field of music. Electroacoustic sounds are electronic versions of sounds that are acquired from live instruments. Have you ever played an electronic keyboard that sounds realistic? Probably not. To make an electroacoustic piano library, sound engineers start with a real piano and record every note on every articulation and dynamic in several different acoustic environments. These sounds are then combined or looped to create an incredibly realistic sound. Composers can then start with a realistic sounding piano and manipulate the sound to emulate environments like a small room or church. Click HERE to listen to my own original composition using electroacoustic music. In this piece, I used mostly orchestral instruments. The electroacoustic choir I used was created by recording every vowel, consonant, and vocal range.

Popular music is no stranger to electronic sounds. It is very common to hear electroacoustic sounds in most music we hear on the radio. However, electroacoustic music is becoming more and more popular in the film industry. Instead of paying for a hundred instrumentalists to perform an epic orchestral piece, many producers are choosing to hire a single (or group of) composer to sequence sound libraries to sound like a realistic performance of an orchestral work. This means that musicians are losing opportunities to perform. As a musician, I know that performance opportunities (especially paid ones) can be hard to come by. I believe this is one of the biggest negative effects of this new technology. However, it does create jobs in other ways. Musicians are needed to create the "instruments" and sound technicians are needed to refine the recorded sounds. Composers are also being payed more due to their increased time commitment and work needed to complete projects. To read more about the history and applications of electroacoustic music, click HERE.

 

As a teacher, I believe this technology would be very useful in a classroom with older students. Once students are able to compose their own music, they can use electroacoustic sounds to create a realistic performance of their piece. This will allow young musicians to better hear and understand how instruments blend together and how to construct strong and impactful chords and phrases of music.

Virtual Worlds

Virtual Worlds

A virtual world is a computer-based online community environment that is designed and shared by individuals so that they can interact in a custom-built, simulated world. Users interact with each other in this simulated world using text-based, two-dimensional or three-dimensional graphical models called avatars. Virtual worlds can be adapted to the needs of your students and content area, but can have the following uses…

1.     Communications scenarios: Students can communicate with their peers and those in the field they are exploring.

2.     Developing Tools: Students can use and create 3D models

3.     Staging an Exhibition: Students can set up a virtual exhibition of their work to display as a class.

4.     Virtual campuses: Online class meetings and tutoring

5.     Conferences Facilities.  The MAYO clinic in Second Life hosts virtual events on diseases for residents and even includes a bookstore.

6.     Virtual Field trip: Students can see and explore distant or unreachable places. There are also many virtual libraries and museums.

7.     Simulated Experiences: Students can learn through simulations such as a tsunami or hurricane.

8.     Safety-focused Lessons: Students can practice dangerous tasks and procedures before they do in real life (ie. Chemistry).

9.     Virtual World economies: Students can run a virtual economy to learn about economics.

10.  Student Activism.  Virtual Worlds can integrate seminars, workshops, exhibitions and films related to anti-bullying, violence and discrimination ect..

11.  Language Learning.  Text and audio forms of language can be integrated in meaningful ways to support learning a new language.

12.  Cultural Immersion.  Some courses are using virtual worlds to recreate interactive exhibits, such as exploring the heritage of Native peoples.

13.  Collaboration:  Students work together as a class or with others online to learn and create projects.

The uses for virtual worlds are continuing to grow and they can be used in any classroom setting. Selecting the virtual world that is right for your classroom can be difficult and require some exploration and experimentations. Below I have provided links and information to several popular virtual worlds.

1.    1.  Second Life: Second Life, for ages 13 and up, is similar to MMORPGs but without a set objective. Students create an avatar, explore the world, meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, build, create, shop and trade virtual property and services with one another. 

2.    2. Minecraft: Minecraft is a game where you dig (mine) and build (craft) different kinds of 3D blocks within a large world of varying terrains and habitats to explore.

3.     3. OpenSim: Similar to Second Life, students build and explore a virtual world.

4.     4. Unity: Unity is a game engine: a program you can use to create avatar-based environments and intricate scripted objects.