Setting up and using a digital recording studio in the classroom requires some very specialized software. While it is true that you can do it on the cheap with a very basic audio recording program like Audacity to really produce high quality recordings, work with multiple instruments, or simply to teach your students the skills necessary to prepare them for a job in the audio industry after graduation you have to use something a little more advanced. Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) programs are the next step up for many users and there are many of these programs on the market. But there is more to setting up a DAW system in your classroom than simply grabbing the first piece of software that comes to mind. To have the best experience you have to balance the needs of the software with the capabilities of the hardware you intend to run it on.
Read more: Audio Software For The Classroom Or Home Recording Studio
The sound systems used in most music rooms have changed greatly over the years. The cassettes of the 80’s and 90’s gave way to CD players and now are transitioning to solid state and streaming media in the form of MP3 players and computer based audio applications. The next ten years will be even more digital as we continue the trend away from the CD and onto other media like SD cards, hard drives, and online cloud storage services. Making informed and intelligent purchasing decisions now can help make sure that whatever audio system you invest in today will still work well with the technology of tomorrow. Consider these tips and suggestions when planning any new audio technology purchase for your room.
The use of wireless microphones are now more the norm the the exception, but buying the wrong one or not understanding what you are buying can make an expensive purchase into a disasterous one. This article explains the differences between various kinds of wireless microphones, gives recommendations for specific uses, and offers a number of tips to help with frequently encountered wireless microphone problems.
Read more: Wireless Microphone Tips and Buyers Guide For Musicians
Is the use of electronic instruments in a marching band brilliant or blasphemy? It really depends on who you speak to. The honest truth though is that as our schools and society change, so too is what our audience enjoys watching during halftime. While every piece of music heard on the radio uses electronic instruments of some sort the marching band has remained almost exclusively acoustic except for several brave, innovative programs across the country. In each of these cases the inclusion of electronic instruments has not been a hindrance but a blessing. Why? And what can other teachers learn from their experiences?
Read more: Using Electronic Instruments In The Marching Band
The ability of the clarinet section to play together with proper intonation can make or break an ensemble. Teaching the clarinet section to play together as a team is a concept that all band and orchestra director strive toward but few can claim success with. We spoke to Dr. Raphael Sanders, Professor of Clarinet at the Crane School of Music SUNY at Potsdam to get his ideas and insight on how to build a solid clarinet section.
Read more: Fixing Clarinet Sound Problems- Fundamentals, Techniques, and Tips
Sibelius recently released its new 7.5 version and with it comes some very cool updated tools and features. If you teach music you owe it to yourself to take a look at this hands on review because it might seriously change the way you teach your classes. Read on to find out more!
Over the last year a number of intriguing online and iPad based music practice apps have come on the market. I first became aware of Tonara back in 2011 and at the time it was useful but not overly impressive. Fast forward three years and in walks Tonara Wolfie for all of you pianists out there. What exactly is Tonara Wolfie and why is it important? Read on to find out!
Read more: Tonara's Wolfie for Piano Joins The Practice App Lineup
Anyone that has the chance to go to the theater to watch the annual DCI live broadcast of the semi-finals knows that the production quality of the video is just as impressive as the corps performances themselves. At any given time when a corps is on the field there are dozens of broadcast crew members running around, manning the cameras, and literally calling the shots of the show that you see. Yet we never get to see them or appreciate just how much work they do to make the show look and sound almost as good as it would be to be sitting in Lucas Oil Stadium watching it live. Video included below so read on to see it!
A very common problem for many beginning flutists is the issue of being able to get a good, solid tone on the head joint but then losing that tone when playing on the fully assembled flute. The frustration that accompanies this problem often makes the already challenging task of learning the initial fingerings even more difficult as the student often cannot tell whether it is their lip or their fingers that are the cause of the problem. To learn how to fix this tone quality issue we spoke to Emily Osby, music teacher at Stevens Point Area Public School District to learn some straight forward ways to help young flutists have a better chance at success.
July is nearly here and what a better way to keep your kids (and music students) practicing over the summer than to get them to play a little patriotic music for the family at your next gathering! Be forewarned, a lot of the composers who wrote many of the most familiar American patriotic songs did not really have beginners in mind when they wrote them. Most of these pieces are playable by beginners after about one year of training, and whenever possible I rewrote them a bit to make their easy enough for my 6th grade band classes to play. Here is the full listing of United States patriotic songs that we have available here at MusicEdMagic:
How many of you went to college, majored in music, and felt like you didn't have a clue what was going on for the first two years? Theory? Aural Training? What the heck are those things? As a group we tend to send students off to college woefully unprepared for what awaits them. As any music major can attest to there is a huge difference between what most of us were taught in high school and what we were expected to learn about in the first few years of college. Wouldn't it have been nice if someone had REALLY prepared us for what was ahead?
Someone did!
I'm happy to share this one with all of you as it comes from my very own state music association. The Iowa High School Music Association released a cool poster infographic titled Music's Next Step that helps lay out the steps a student should consider if they are seriously considering pursuing a career in music education. Download it, print it, and put it up in your room this fall. Better yet, have all of your music teachers from 5-12 do the same. The more that potential music students see this kind of thing the more likely they will be to make some good, informed decisions about the future education and career plans.
Page 5 of 28