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Tales From The Podium Chad Criswell's Music Tech Blog 
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- bio:National music technology and brass/woodwind workshop writer for Teaching Music Magazine and webmaster of MusicEdMagic.com.
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Like many of our more well known traditional American folk songs, She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain has it's roots in an African American spiritual. The original song, known as "When The Chariot Comes," is almost unknown in modern song books but the tune has remained the same across the many generations. In the early 1900's the song was adapted with new lyrics as a children's song and those lyrics are the same ones that are most often used today. Read more
Summer Camp Songs and Sheet Music 
Chad Criswell
Okay, I know the physics says that you can make a brass instrument out of pretty much any resonating tube, but the idea of playing on a piece of PVC pipe just bugs me.... Today I stopped into my local music retailer to pay off a bill and sitting behind the counter was a brilliantly colored yellow trombone. Walking around the side to get a better look I realized it wasn't just a fancy paint job, it really was made of PLASTIC! Images of little plastic toy trumpets still wrapped... Read more
Tales From The Podium Chad Criswell
For those of you in the market for putting together a new digital audio workstation (DAW) setup in your home or in a school music lab Avid has changed its lineup of the popular Mbox audio interfaces to include two models that now ship with a free copy of ProTools Express. The Mbox interface provides four channel recording, two XLR inputs with phantom power, two 1/4" inputs, and two balanced 1/4 inch outputs. It connects to your computer using a standard USB interface cable. Read more
Tales From The Podium Chad Criswell
The growth and popularity of SmartMusic as a music education tool shows that the program definitely has it's benefits. Until now though most people would assume that it was primarily being used in school settings or in concert with private lessons. Now it appears that MakeMusic is pushing hard to broaden the appeal of SmartMusic to other musicians as well with the announcement of a newly expanded partnership with Hal Leonard publishing. SmartMusic has always carried the more popular lesson books and solo material but now they are set to... Read more
Tales From The Podium Chad Criswell
I love seeing instrumental pieces like this go viral on YouTube. Take a look at the video below to see violinist Lindsey Sterling playing a dubstep piece called Crystallize she wrote in a frozen wonderland out in Colorado. When I showed it to my daughter she immediately started begging for me to teach her violin which is of course is in the only instrument family that I totally stink at. Oh well, my wife was a violist so I have already told her that she gets the honor of passing... Read more
Tales From The Podium 
Chad Criswell
A few weeks ago I did a post on some Brits at Noise Solutions that are doing some interesting work using the Microsoft Kinect bar together with PC software to allow people to create music using nothing more than body movements. The computer is running software made by a guy by the name of Chris Vik from Melbourne, Australia and he has some of his stuff up for view at his Kinectar web site. This isn't your old Theramin junk, it's actually pretty cool. Click the Read More link to... Read more
Tales From The Podium Chad Criswell
Directors, Here's a fun activity that gives everyone in your performance ensembles a new perspective. Whenever I use a university student teacher or observer, I have them conduct my various ensembles while I grab an instrument and "sit in" the last chair of a section. This gives me a "student view" of both the podium and the rest of the group. It also keeps my playing "chops" up on all the instruments as well as sharpens my sight reading skills. The kids love it (especially if I occasionally make a... Read more
Music Teachers 911 
Larry Marra
On Friday, February 17th during a live webcast the annual Georgia Tech Guthman Musical Instrument Competition will be available for all to watch. Each year this eclectic mix of new…
I want to thank the guys over at the Noise Solution blog for showing me some really cool new DIY tech that makes an excellent substitute for the Soundbeam musical…
Blue Microphones makes some of the most popular USB based podcasting and general recording microphones available on the market. They do a great job of marrying high end components with…
Thanks to a Twitter post from @SmartMusic I have found a neat little online rhythm generator that can easily be used to provide background accompaniments when having students practice scales…
One of the great things about being a writer for Teaching Music is that I get a chance to talk to some great teachers that normally I would never…
It’s been well over a year since I last did a real round up of the current crop of digital audio recorders and there have been a lot of changes.…
I asked a few music teaching friends to write down what the biggest challenges to their music teaching are.Here is a smattering of the results.Andrea WilbornAdministrators who want a good…
Making due with smaller budgets seems to be the new normal these days so finding creative ways to provide cutting edge music education programs is getting harder and harder. With…
If you have an interest in music education or music performance, you`ll want to attend a college that will provide you with experiences and opportunities that will further your eventual…
I would like to invite all music teachers to explore the fantastic opportunities through a great organization called the Music Teachers National Association Foundation Fund. The MTNA FOUNDATION FUND is…
Looks like the Woodwind and Brasswind is holding a big year end clearance sale on a lot of their accessories and intermediate/pro line instruments. Pretty nice deals from what I…
The guys over at Focus On Music have just released a new set of method books called Scale and Rhythm Chunks that are designed to provide a systematic approach to…
MakeMusic announced today that their upcoming release of Finale Notepad 2012 will once again be a free download beginning on February 15th just as it was back in 2008. No…
One of a growing number of guitar apps that provide the user with a way to play a synthesized guitar without going to the trouble of learning HOW to really…
There are dozens of tuner apps on the iPad but few that are as configurable and versatile as Cleartune.
Scorio is an iPad app that works together with the Scorio online music notation site allowing you to create and edit sheet music using the iPad's touch screen interface.Creating sheet…
Musicopolous is an iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad app that is intended to help the user practice music theory skills, mostly related to building scales, intervals, and chords as well…
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The Balance and Blend in Music, Stand Out in Life shirt is now available in the Tone Deaf Store. Go check it out. Super awesome and super comfortable. Got another comic to share? Send your feed to the webmaster using the About link at the top of the page.
Alexa Weber Morales in her grandmother's cloak in front of a church doorAlexa Weber Morales is a singer-songwriter from Oakland, CA whom I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting in person, but with whom I have conversed[…] 
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With just 73 days to go until the opening ceremony of the London Olympic and Paralympic games, the anticipation around the UK, and indeed the world, is building. One of the key ways[…] 
The UnoBook has arrived! If you hate Apple products but see the trend of tablets in education, you can now supply your school with a state of the art Android tablet running v. 4.03 (Ice Cream Sandwich). These devices have[…] 
Over the past two years, I have endeavored to add more opportunities for students to create their own music, both in improvisation and in written composition. It is definitely a slow process, taking a long time to build into my[…] 
As any of you that know me know… I love the usefulness and efficiency of my iPhone…. I even develop ... 
