When it comes to interactive online practice solutions you don’t have a whole lot of choices for your students, especially when something like SmartMusic plays the part of the 300 pound gorilla in the room. But a few online sites are trying their best to make online practice sessions an attractive option for young beginning musicians, and some of them might just fit your particular educational situation. Here’s a rundown of some of the most recent and promising online music practice applications available.
Read more: 3 New and Cool Online Music Practice and Accompaniment Tools
A recent and interesting entry to the field of music notation software programs is ScoreCloud. Available for both Mac and Windows ScoreCloud presents itself as more than just a point and click notation tool, in fact their biggest selling point appears to be the ease of which you can sing or play notes into the program using either the ScoreCloud desktop app or the free ScoreCloud Express iOS app. In both cases ScoreCloud promises to record audio of you performing a line of music and transcribe that music into notes on the staff without needing to know the tempo or time signature of the music you are playing. Is it too good to be true? Read on to find out.
Up until now, like most musicians, I have had a bias toward using traditional XLR microphones when making recordings of myself or of my ensembles. After taking the Blue Microphones Spark for a test drive this week though I am now rethinking that assumption, especially when doing direct to PC recording sessions. The Spark has just as much clarity of sound as it does of design, and if you are in the market for a new solo mic for use with vocals, an instrument, or for podcasting it definitely warrants a closer look. Read on to find out why.
By the time our students reach the upper grades most schools see dwindling interest and enrollment in music education classes. Even in schools with strong music programs it is not uncommon to see 20% or less of the student body enrolled in music classes of any kind. As has been discussed in previous technology articles here in Teaching Music, many teachers are trying to counteract that trend by offering classes that appeal to our student’s intrinsic need to create and perform through the use of technological tools. Software programs such as Sequel, GarageBand, Pro Tools, MixCraft, Abelton Live, and many others are being used in a wide variety of these new classroom offerings, breaking down the psychological and educational barriers that had once closed this majority of students out of secondary school music programs entirely.
Read more: Music Education, Technology, and The New NAfME Standards
When compared to the complexities of the mechanics of other instruments, maintenance and repair of the slide trombone is often overlooked. Having a slide that glides quickly and smoothly is of paramount importance to the enjoyment and development of young trombonists. Being able to make minor repairs and to show how to keep a slide properly lubricated and maintained is an essential part of being a good teacher of the instrument.
Read more: The Slick Slide Guide- Trombone Slide Lubrication
When I first saw Rhythm Calculator many months ago I was impressed with the idea and was intrigued to see how it might be used with students who struggle with reading complex rhythms. Today the company is releasing an update to the app that adds several useful features that make it even more valuable as a teaching aid and as a tool for almost any musician. Read on to find out more!
Read more: Rhythm Calculator App Update Adds Value and Features
EarBeater is a new, very extensive ear training app for the iPad that goes far beyond the capabilities of most apps in the category, especially in terms of depth of instruction and evaluation. What makes it so useful? Read on to find out!
If you're a drummer or if you teach drummers at the middle or high school levels you might want to take a closer look at a cool app for the iPad called Drum Guru. What does it do? It's a collection of videos and written out drum set patterns that you can use to learn and practice new techniques. The app itself is a freebie and it comes with seven sample lessons. Additional lesson packs are available for $3.99 each through in-app purchases.
I've written about Neuratron's great new NotateMe app for Android and iOS in past articles here at MusicEdMagic. For those that aren't aware it's a new handwriting recognition app that translates your own hand drawn music notes into clean, professional looking music notation that can then be printed or downloaded as a MusicXML file for use in other music notation programs. My only real problem with the app was that it was so expensive. Well, I received word from Neuratron that a new version called NotateMe Now has already been released on the Android store and is awaiting approval from Apple over the next few days. The NotateMe Now app only lets you write on a single stave, but from a music education perspective this is going to be perfect for use in class especially since it comes at the low low price of FREE!
Read more: Neuratron Releases Free Version of NotateMe Music Notation App
If you truly want to enjoy your job as a teacher you have to have a strong network of people around you that look out for each others interests. In a school setting we think of this as being other teachers, our administrators, and in some cases extending out to our students and parental organizations. There is another group of people out there that are also working hard to make sure you succeed. They may not be directly tied to your school or your ensembles, but their success is directly tied to your success. Those people are the music retailers and shop owners in our communities that provide us with the music, supplies, instruments, and specialized services that are a vital part of making music in both public and private school and they can help you in many ways you may not have been aware of.
Teaching our students about copyright law and fair use is not something we probably enjoy spending time on but it is, nonetheless something we need to do. Here are a few useful resources for teaching music students about the concept of copyright and how it applies to the use of musical compositions both in the classroom and at home.
Read more: Exceptional Resources For Teaching About Copyright In The Classroom
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