Groovy Music City

The Importance of Using a Tuner: Finding Your Perfect Pitch

Music is a beautiful language, but like any language, it relies on clear communication. Just like people speaking the same language can do so with different accents to their voice so too can musicians play the same note but with slight changes in the way it sounds. The pitch may be a bit high or a bit low, and over the centuries musicians have come up with ways to analyze these differences so that multiple musicians can better "play in tune." Just as proper grammar and pronunciation are essential for understanding spoken words, playing in tune is paramount for creating harmonious music. This is where the tuner comes in. For the beginner (or even the more advanced musician) it can be a vital tool for developing accuracy of pitch.

Low Cost MusicTechnology Options For The Music Education Classroom

Finding ways to stretch your budget in a music classroom is always important and even more so when trying to purchase high tech electronics, software, and other materials. This article provides an updated list of dozens of different low cost or free alternatives to expensive music education products. It includes such categories as music notation software, drill design software, special needs hardware, and many more.

The Star Spangled Banner- Free Sheet Music For Band Inst.

This document contains sheet music for all common instruments to play The Star Spangled Banner, also known as the sheet music to the National Anthem of the United States of America. You can view the sheet music online or download the individual parts arranged for all common concert band instruments. If you do not see your instrument listed please scroll to the bottom of the page and try one of the the other instruments. Most musicians will be able to find at least one instrumental part that matches their range and preferred key signature. If you are seeking a simple piano version of the song please select from the voice, trumpet, or alto saxophone versions.

Using Plickers as an Assessment Tool in the Music Education Classroom

Music, band, choir, and orchestra classrooms can be huge and assessing the knowledge and retention of individual students in such a large class can be daunting. Plickers are one of several solutions that can be adapted to work in large groups, making the act of assessing a student’s understanding a little easier and a whole lot faster.

Is Marching Band A Sport? Pros, Cons, and a Reality Check

In recent years the question of whether or not marching band is a sport has been brought up time and time again for various reasons and by various groups. On one side you have the YES crowd who says that marching band is competitive, physically demanding, and every bit as much a team event as any traditional sporting event. On the other side of the coin are those who say no, that marching band is NOT a sport and it is a musical pursuit that happens to involve coordinated movements. Both sides are right, but to make a final decision we need to look deeper into the facts. Read on to find out what they are!

Portable Digital Audio Recorder Buying Guide With Reviews

Scroll down to view the comparison chart of over a dozen different portable digital audio recorders.

Buying a portable digital audio recorder is a major decision. The balance between price, features, and quality is a fine line that has many different options to choose from. There are dozens of different models of portable digital audio recorders, some of which have drastically different sets of features yet sell for roughly the same price. This easy to read head to head comparison chart and guide to many of the more popular portable digital audio recorders is intended to help potential buyers more easily see these differences and make an educated buying decision.

Apps and More for the Choral Classroom

The number of apps, software, and gadgets available for use in the music classroom continues to grow each year but finding things that can actually be beneficial to your classes grows more and more difficult as well. We spoke with Dr. Christopher Russell, Director of Choirs at Oltman Middle School in St. Paul Park, Minnesota to get his must-have list of apps.

Goovy Music City is the last in a series of three music education software titles from Sibelius Music. The software provides instruction in twelve different areas for students in the upper elementary grades. Topics covered include note reading, instrument identification,scales,composing, and many more.

Groovy City attempts to do what many elemetary music theory software packages have done before but in a new, more age appropriate manner. The Groovy Music series includes three titles, Groovy Shapes, Groovy Jungle, and Groovy City. The latter is intended for upper elementary age students from 9-11, and is presented in a modern, techno style.

The software has two "modes" of instruction. The first is an exploration mode in which students move systematically through a series of demonstrations and quizzes to help them learn the basics on one of twelve different musical topics. As a reward for completing each of these sections the student earns special sound effects for use in the "create" mode of the program.

In "create" mode, students can drag and drop dozens of different building blocks of music from simple drum and bass patterns to arpeggios and other musical tidbits. Students can even create their own personal music clips by fingering in notes using an attached MIDI keyboard.

Teacher Control Without A Dedicated Lab Controller:
Teachers can have a good deal of control over the software, with the ability to control all Groovy City equipped computers via the network connection. The teacher can set the scope of the days lesson as well as control what key the music is to be written in.

Explore Mode Comes Up Short In Some Areas:
The explore mode covers a great deal of material and for the most part it does it well, but the relative inflexibility and lack of any real artificial intelligence allows students to simply guess at the answers to some questions rather than reviewing material to get the correct answer.

Overall A Very Worthwhile Addition To Any Elementary Computer Lab:
Despite the flaw mentioned previously Groovy City is a very solid, stable, and educational software package that is well worth the purchase price. Used in conjuction with the other Groovy Music titles the series is a very positive and fun addition to any music education curriculum.

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