Group items tagged

This is an article about the implementation of technology in music instruction to reach the other 80% of students who are not enrolled in traditional music ensembles. It offers so great suggestions as to how to get started. IT provides a number of helpful resources.

TheoryTab is an ideal resource for theory teachers who are teaching students familiar with guitar tab, but not yet ready for practical notation based music theory. The approach of this site is to integrate tablature with the functional approach to harmony, using songs from the popular music cultures of today.

Leaffcutter John is a ground breaking artist who experiments with electronics and music. He is in the line between a pop electronic composer and an avant garde electronic composer. Not formally trained in music (he has a degree in arts), he sought the possibilities of computers to produce multimedia art. I copied one of his successful gadgets which has 16 photocells that interact with a music software (Max/Msp).

Notes on works (not a ton), recordings, some analysis, tie-ins to standards

With minor adjustments this can be a great resource to use for the "Composer of the Month." Mozart is not the composer of the month until January, but using this format can be helpful for use when presenting on other composers. 

Sometimes all people need is a word of encouragement to keep doing well. As teachers, it is difficult to find ways to keep our students engaged and motivated. We can become so absorbed with getting our students to do well that we may forget to actually tell them when they do well. It may seem small, but simply acknowledging when a student does what is asked of them can keep them motivated to keep doing it.

Sometimes all people need is a word of encouragement to keep doing well. As teachers, it is difficult to find ways to keep our students engaged and motivated. We can become so absorbed with getting our students to do well that we may forget to actually tell them when they do well. It may seem small, but simply acknowledging when a student does what is asked of them can keep them motivated to keep doing it.

This is another site that not only has free sheet music but information about making the steel pans, history of the pan, how to play and many other educational features. Once again students can access these resources for free as well.

This site contains helpful teaching tips and strategies for low brass. The tips were authored by Richard Murrow who is the principal tubist with the East Texas Symphony. The purpose of the resource is to provide a step by step process for teaching embouchure and the first tones for low brass beginners. Other tips are offered as well such as posture, how to hold the instrument, and tips about responsible teaching. The site does not contain musical content, but rather provides information that will prepare students to begin studying musical exercises. 

Dr. William I. Bauer's webiste containing many technological resources. You can download handouts from previous presentations as well as find other information related to the Professor.

These resources were complied by Dr. William Bauer of the University of Florida. This page serves as a collection of various resources and handouts from various presentations. Among these resources are an excellent handout regarding practice and practice goals, information for pre-service and in-service teachers about music technology, and research regarding music technology in the classroom. The site does not contain actual musical content, but rather information for use by music teachers. 

The U.S. National Gallery of Art hosts more than 25,000 images of famous and not-so-famous works of art. Nearly all of the images can be downloaded and re-used for free. NGA Images also allows you to register and create online collections of images. The collections are called lightboxes.

Online community for choral conductors. Forums, job postings, directories, and general choral announcements. A great free resouce!

ACDA homepage focuses on choral singing techniques and pedagogy associated with teaching choir. A membership in ACDA and log in is necessary to access parts of this site.

This website is a massive resource for anyone involved with choir. On top of resources galore and peer to peer capabilities, it has a full community and forums to help enhance the prospective uses of this website. This website is at least tied to ACDA, if not run by it.

This is an online magazine for all things surrounding choirs and choral activity. Articles and resources include not only performance notes and pieces, but resources on vocal health and structure. User and site submitted articles give this website a variety of input and source material.

Helpful insight on starting your beginning band students.

Helpful insight on starting your beginning band students.

This is a list of SmartBoard programs applicable to music, organized by a teacher in Plattsburgh, NY. These activities are mostly aimed at K-5th students, but they are all very good resources. Note that clicking a resource takes you to that resources page, not the schools.

The article discusses a new app that was created to improve or teach improvisation concepts using loops on any particular scale.

forScore is a great way to get rid of hard copies and folders of music and see it on your iPad.  Many accompanists have moved to this way of keeping their music.  If you did not know about this check it out.  It is a very useful tool.  I have used it myself on certain occasions.

Tempo is the bestselling and most accurate metronome on the App Store. Featured as "New and Noteworthy" and "Staff Favorite" by Apple on the main iTunes landing page. Same price as upgrading a free alternative. If you're going to demo free apps, why not give Tempo Lite a try?

Instrument Cleaning and Maintenance Regular cleaning and maintenance is essential to keeping your student's instrument in proper working order. It is recommended to have your instrument inspected and serviced by a repair technician during the Christmas holiday and over the Summer break. The inspection may not result in any work being needed. However, just like an automobile it is recommended that a repair technician perform a tune-up as necessary to keep your instrument in proper working order.

This Jazz Transcriptions site not only houses many jazz transcriptions for all instrument, but it provides links to other transcription sites for additional material.  Students can access these transcriptions to practice jazz, sight reading, and for analyzing jazz theory.  I use jazz when practicing sight reading due to the added difficulty of syncopated rhythms and accidentals.

Awesome videos of modern, high quality original musical performances reflecting a variety of popular styles and genres. "My goal with Postmodern Jukebox is to get my audience to think of songs not as rigid, ephemeral objects, but like malleable globs of silly putty. Songs can be twisted, shaped, and altered without losing their identities-just as we grow, age, and expire without losing ours-and it is through this exploration that the gap between "high" and "low" art can be bridged most readily."