Along the lines of ChorusClass which I posted about last week, I recently found out about cyberbass.com, a practice track website for chorus that already has many tracks recorded and uploaded for public use.
Most of the works on this site are traditional, standard, or large choral works, but this is really handy if you are trying to incorporate some of this literature into your choir, as it is often more challenging than some of the usual middle or high school choral repertoire.
Cyberbass has each voice part uploaded individually but also allows the listener to hear their voice part in context with the entire piece so they can choose their best practice technique.
As most of the works on Cyberbass are public domain, it is completely free to use! Overall, this is an excellent tool for choral directors to have in their back pocket.
Check out cyberbass here
Saturday, November 18, 2017
Sunday, November 12, 2017
ChorusClass
ChorusClass is an awesome new app that can be used to make practice tracks for time spent practicing outside of a choral rehearsal. It is often very difficult for students without keyboard skills to rehearse their parts outside of the classroom, and this app is helping to change that!
Teachers can purchase the pro version of ChorusClass ($2.99/month) on the app store, and share their recordings of each individual voice part of each song to their students. Teachers record each part first in individual tracks, keep them in a folder together as a song, and then share the song folder to the students. Students then have the option of playing their part alone, to learn it for security, or can play all the parts together, so they can practice singing their part along to the full texture of the ensemble.
Click here to hear a testimonial from the developers of ChorusClass
Their website very clearly outlines how to use the app. I have included pictures from their site to explain!!
I am very encouraged to see more and more app developers working on apps to use in the music classroom, and more specifically, in the chorus classroom. This is something that I look forward to using in my classroom!
Teachers can purchase the pro version of ChorusClass ($2.99/month) on the app store, and share their recordings of each individual voice part of each song to their students. Teachers record each part first in individual tracks, keep them in a folder together as a song, and then share the song folder to the students. Students then have the option of playing their part alone, to learn it for security, or can play all the parts together, so they can practice singing their part along to the full texture of the ensemble.
Click here to hear a testimonial from the developers of ChorusClass
Their website very clearly outlines how to use the app. I have included pictures from their site to explain!!
I am very encouraged to see more and more app developers working on apps to use in the music classroom, and more specifically, in the chorus classroom. This is something that I look forward to using in my classroom!
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Musician's Kit
Musician's Kit is a really handy app available for download for iOs devices. It's most resounding feature is that it bundles all of the practical resources for a practicing musician into one app. Previously, I have had a piano app for find pitches, a metronome app, and a recording app. With Musician's Kit, I can not only play a pitch, but can listen to a pitch and tune it. This is super helpful for me as an educator, but also for students practicing on their own.
The metronome feature is awesome because you can either set a predetermined metronome marking, or you can physically tap your phone screen at the desired tempo. Then, Musician's Kit will show you a numerical marking of what your tapped tempo is. This is SO handy when you aren't sure of your tempo, but you know how fast you are supposed to go.
Finally, you can record and store your practice sessions right there in the same app as everything else. It's just like one-stop shopping. This is something that would be beneficial for teachers to suggest to their students to download individually, or to download onto a class set of iPads for sure!
The metronome feature is awesome because you can either set a predetermined metronome marking, or you can physically tap your phone screen at the desired tempo. Then, Musician's Kit will show you a numerical marking of what your tapped tempo is. This is SO handy when you aren't sure of your tempo, but you know how fast you are supposed to go.
Finally, you can record and store your practice sessions right there in the same app as everything else. It's just like one-stop shopping. This is something that would be beneficial for teachers to suggest to their students to download individually, or to download onto a class set of iPads for sure!
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Oro Edge
Check out this example of ORO before reading!
ORO EDGE is a new app available for download on the iOs store that can change how students (especially students with special needs) interact with composition and music in the classroom.
EDGE - Educate Discover Grow Explore
According to the ORO EDGE site, "The ORO EDGE Program supercharges music education by taking apart the building blocks of music and putting them in students' hands. Students interact and create music--building confidence and even improving brain function."
Students can actually see the music they are creating "come to life" on their screen. Students have a multitude of instruments to choose from, and then can touch their tablet screen anywhere. Where they touch will light up a color (depending on the instrument), and will play a specific pitch (depending on where they touch.) The pitch is related to contour all over the screen. Students can layer multiple different instruments at once, as the tracks will continue to loop on each other, allowing students the ability to compose and create with ease.
Their site also offers a multitude of lesson plans for educators to use this app right in their classroom! "We keep adding more music concepts, studying Bach to Beyonce', and write and perform our own songs!"
An ORO lesson plan:
1. introduces a general concept
2. shows real applications of the concept in both music and art
3. "question, explore, discuss"
4. play with the concept in ORO
Each unit has 4 lessons that build on one another, and can be covered over multiple class periods.
Here is a link to some sample lesson plans - Check them out!!
I have only recently discovered ORO, and I am excited about it. This is a whole new way of using technology, and of composing for all students.
ORO EDGE is a new app available for download on the iOs store that can change how students (especially students with special needs) interact with composition and music in the classroom.
EDGE - Educate Discover Grow Explore
According to the ORO EDGE site, "The ORO EDGE Program supercharges music education by taking apart the building blocks of music and putting them in students' hands. Students interact and create music--building confidence and even improving brain function."
Students can actually see the music they are creating "come to life" on their screen. Students have a multitude of instruments to choose from, and then can touch their tablet screen anywhere. Where they touch will light up a color (depending on the instrument), and will play a specific pitch (depending on where they touch.) The pitch is related to contour all over the screen. Students can layer multiple different instruments at once, as the tracks will continue to loop on each other, allowing students the ability to compose and create with ease.
Their site also offers a multitude of lesson plans for educators to use this app right in their classroom! "We keep adding more music concepts, studying Bach to Beyonce', and write and perform our own songs!"
An ORO lesson plan:
1. introduces a general concept
2. shows real applications of the concept in both music and art
3. "question, explore, discuss"
4. play with the concept in ORO
Each unit has 4 lessons that build on one another, and can be covered over multiple class periods.
Here is a link to some sample lesson plans - Check them out!!
I have only recently discovered ORO, and I am excited about it. This is a whole new way of using technology, and of composing for all students.
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Smart Music
SmartMusic is one of the coolest resources out there for music educators - but this is a loaded statement. I have very mixed feelings about SmartMusic, see its great potential, and wish that I have had the opportunity to use it in my classroom. Let me explain:
SmartMusic software can be downloaded onto a computer or tablet (Mac or Windows friendly,) and it enables students to practice their scales, exercises, and repertoire and get feedback in real time. This as a concept is amazing. Students can practice a piece they are doing in band (and sometimes choir,) and hear the context of the entire ensemble around them, see their part on the screen, and get scored as they play. Notes that are played correctly (both in pitch and rhythm) are colored green, and notes that are incorrect are colored red. Once the piece or excerpt is finished, students get a calculated score. This score can then be shared with a teacher.
The biggest drawbacks to SmartMusic, which otherwise seems like an amazing program, are that you are limited to the repertoire accessible through the system itself, and also that it is mostly geared toward instrumental learning. This basically means that if you want to teach a piece (band or choral) that isn't already being used by SmartMusic, you can't upload it into SmartMusic. Therefore if you want to use this as an assessment tool, you can only use what SmartMusic has pre-selected. This is the same with the method books you can teach out of. Additionally, if you are a chorus teacher (as I am,) there is far less choral repertoire used by SmartMusic, so this limits your choices further.
This said, SmartMusic has expanded their repertoire considerably with more recent updates, so this can potentially become less of an issue as the program develops.
SmartMusic offers a free subscription, but this significantly limits what you have access to. On their site, they lay out the subscription benefits. I have uploaded them here:
SmartMusic software can be downloaded onto a computer or tablet (Mac or Windows friendly,) and it enables students to practice their scales, exercises, and repertoire and get feedback in real time. This as a concept is amazing. Students can practice a piece they are doing in band (and sometimes choir,) and hear the context of the entire ensemble around them, see their part on the screen, and get scored as they play. Notes that are played correctly (both in pitch and rhythm) are colored green, and notes that are incorrect are colored red. Once the piece or excerpt is finished, students get a calculated score. This score can then be shared with a teacher.
The biggest drawbacks to SmartMusic, which otherwise seems like an amazing program, are that you are limited to the repertoire accessible through the system itself, and also that it is mostly geared toward instrumental learning. This basically means that if you want to teach a piece (band or choral) that isn't already being used by SmartMusic, you can't upload it into SmartMusic. Therefore if you want to use this as an assessment tool, you can only use what SmartMusic has pre-selected. This is the same with the method books you can teach out of. Additionally, if you are a chorus teacher (as I am,) there is far less choral repertoire used by SmartMusic, so this limits your choices further.
This said, SmartMusic has expanded their repertoire considerably with more recent updates, so this can potentially become less of an issue as the program develops.
SmartMusic offers a free subscription, but this significantly limits what you have access to. On their site, they lay out the subscription benefits. I have uploaded them here:
All in all, SmartMusic as a concept is something that I think could really benefit music educators. Perhaps if there as a choral-specific version of SmartMusic, or if more choral music was included, it might be better, but for basic technique, and for instrumental teachers, SmartMusic has a lot to offer.
Friday, October 13, 2017
Staffwars!
This week I'm going to write about a really cool game I've just learned about. It's called Staffwars, and it is put out by Themusicinteractive.com. Staffwars is available for download on the iOS store, but it is also available to be played on both PC and Mac computers! This is truly a game that every music teacher needs to have in their back pocket!
When you begin the game, you choose the clef that you would like to play in. The aim of the game is to correctly identify the notes in the clef as they come on the screen from right to left. The player has three lives before the game is over. Every few correct notes or so, the player levels up, and the notes start coming faster and faster.
This is an excellent way to test note reading abilities in treble, bass, and even alto clef in a fun and challenging way! A really cool and new feature of Staffwars is that previously, the player could only click a button of the correct pitch. Now, the developers of the game have made it so that you can physically play an instrument to indicate the correct pitch. This incorporates a whole new level into pitch identification and note reading.
Here is a video of the older version of staff wars - the player here is pressing a button on the computer to indicate the correct pitch.
Here is a video of someone playing the game while using an actual instrument!
Honestly, this game is such a simple concept, but if you get enough kids to buy into it, it could drastically improve a choral, band, orchestral, or any overall music program!
When you begin the game, you choose the clef that you would like to play in. The aim of the game is to correctly identify the notes in the clef as they come on the screen from right to left. The player has three lives before the game is over. Every few correct notes or so, the player levels up, and the notes start coming faster and faster.
This is an excellent way to test note reading abilities in treble, bass, and even alto clef in a fun and challenging way! A really cool and new feature of Staffwars is that previously, the player could only click a button of the correct pitch. Now, the developers of the game have made it so that you can physically play an instrument to indicate the correct pitch. This incorporates a whole new level into pitch identification and note reading.
Here is a video of the older version of staff wars - the player here is pressing a button on the computer to indicate the correct pitch.
Here is a video of someone playing the game while using an actual instrument!
Honestly, this game is such a simple concept, but if you get enough kids to buy into it, it could drastically improve a choral, band, orchestral, or any overall music program!
Friday, October 6, 2017
Kahoot
Kahoot Tutorial
Check out the link above to watch an easy to follow tutorial on how to use Kahoot in your teaching!
This is not only a resource that is useful to music educators, but to any educator looking for an easy, fast, and fun assessment! It requires some planning ahead of time, (but what good assessment doesn't?) and can be played in game mode, as a fun competition between students, or simply used as a review.
Teachers can register with their school for FREE (yes, FREE), and create multiple quizzes on their account. These quizzes all have a "game pin" which students use to log in to that specific game or quiz on their own device.
When you have finished creating your quiz, you can give students the game pin, they login and create a nickname. When all students have logged in, you can start the quiz. If the quiz is in game mode, the object is to get the most correct answers in the shortest amount of time. If the quiz is not in game mode, it simply tracks the number of correct answers. This allows teachers to choose the sort of environment they'd like to set up, and can choose to create a competition, with incentive and reward for good results. Of course, this can also be done with good results on a regular quiz!
All scores get reported back to the teacher's account, so you can track how each student is doing.
In music, this would be very helpful for a music theory class, as you can insert graphics. This would be helpful in quickly identifying key signatures, rhythm reading, solfege reading, history, and much more.
Let me know how you would use Kahoot in your classroom setting!
Check out the link above to watch an easy to follow tutorial on how to use Kahoot in your teaching!
This is not only a resource that is useful to music educators, but to any educator looking for an easy, fast, and fun assessment! It requires some planning ahead of time, (but what good assessment doesn't?) and can be played in game mode, as a fun competition between students, or simply used as a review.
Teachers can register with their school for FREE (yes, FREE), and create multiple quizzes on their account. These quizzes all have a "game pin" which students use to log in to that specific game or quiz on their own device.
When you have finished creating your quiz, you can give students the game pin, they login and create a nickname. When all students have logged in, you can start the quiz. If the quiz is in game mode, the object is to get the most correct answers in the shortest amount of time. If the quiz is not in game mode, it simply tracks the number of correct answers. This allows teachers to choose the sort of environment they'd like to set up, and can choose to create a competition, with incentive and reward for good results. Of course, this can also be done with good results on a regular quiz!
All scores get reported back to the teacher's account, so you can track how each student is doing.
In music, this would be very helpful for a music theory class, as you can insert graphics. This would be helpful in quickly identifying key signatures, rhythm reading, solfege reading, history, and much more.
Let me know how you would use Kahoot in your classroom setting!
Friday, September 29, 2017
TI:ME
Get Certified in TI:ME
For music educators who maybe aren't so sure of how to go about incorporating technology into the classroom, or want to learn more about different ways to go about it, there is TI:ME.
Technology for Music Education, or, TI:ME, is a program developed to teach music educators how to efficiently and effectively utilize technology in the classroom. Created at Villanova University in 1995, TI:ME has since offered in person and online courses that specialize in different areas, such as music notation, recording, composition, and more.
TI:ME's formal mission is:
1. To codify music technology into a cohesive set of standards
2. To develop a certification process to recognize the achievement of in-service music teachers in music technology
3. To develop an organization, national in scope and focused on the subject of teacher training in music technology
There are two levels of certification one must complete in order to become TI:ME certified, however, there are also alternative options for those who possess some technology training or proficiency. Students can complete their training online or in person at a school or conference, work with peers or other instructors. Overall there is a lot of flexibility.
Course fees for each level are $150.
This is an excellent resource for educators looking for a collaborative and supportive way to learn a new skill to better advance their classroom!
For music educators who maybe aren't so sure of how to go about incorporating technology into the classroom, or want to learn more about different ways to go about it, there is TI:ME.
Technology for Music Education, or, TI:ME, is a program developed to teach music educators how to efficiently and effectively utilize technology in the classroom. Created at Villanova University in 1995, TI:ME has since offered in person and online courses that specialize in different areas, such as music notation, recording, composition, and more.
TI:ME's formal mission is:
1. To codify music technology into a cohesive set of standards
2. To develop a certification process to recognize the achievement of in-service music teachers in music technology
3. To develop an organization, national in scope and focused on the subject of teacher training in music technology
There are two levels of certification one must complete in order to become TI:ME certified, however, there are also alternative options for those who possess some technology training or proficiency. Students can complete their training online or in person at a school or conference, work with peers or other instructors. Overall there is a lot of flexibility.
Course fees for each level are $150.
This is an excellent resource for educators looking for a collaborative and supportive way to learn a new skill to better advance their classroom!
Friday, September 22, 2017
Noteflight & Noteflight Learn
Click here to learn how to use Noteflight
Click here to learn about Noteflight Learn!
As a musician in general, I use Noteflight ALL THE TIME. It is an easy to use, FREE, music notation software that is available for use online with an email subscription. When I was entering college, it was suggested that incoming freshmen studying music purchase programs like Finale or Sibelius, both of which are music notation software that cost quite a bit ($350 for Finale, or $599 for Sibelius). While they are both excellent options for notation software, Noteflight is FREE and can just about do it all.
You can use your computer keyboard to enter notes on the staff, and create works that include multiple instruments, multiple voices, dynamics, articulation, text, chord symbols, phrasing, etc. As a user, I have never been let down.
As an educator, I have used Noteflight with my students many times to teach basic music theory, and to offer as a template for composition projects. Manuscript writing can often be tricky for beginners, and this offers students a way to document their compositions, and hear them played back in real time. This gives students a sense of tonality in their composition, as well as how rhythms fit together.
Noteflight itself allows users to save 12 scores in its free version. Noteflight premium can be purchased for $49/year, and allows for an unlimited amount of scores. I haven't found the 12 score limitation to be too limiting, as you can delete old scores that you no longer need, or use the same template.
All of my excitement about Noteflight aside, I have recently found a reason to be even more excited about it.
Noteflight Learn is now available for purchase for $69/year. This is very little when factoring into a school budget.
Noteflight Learn offers all of the same features as Noteflight premium, but it allows for collaboration between student and teacher. Instead of creating templates on my own or having students do it in separate accounts, download their scores as PDFs and send to me, it can all be done through Noteflight Learn. It offers teachers the option to give assignments, create templates, check work, and give feedback to students all while they are composing.
This is something that I believe to be an important investment for secondary level music programs. Music literacy is the foundation of being a music-maker, and that begins with understanding how music theory functions. I think that utilizing Noteflight learn in the classroom is a very helpful way to help boost literacy and make life-long music makers!
Click here to learn about Noteflight Learn!
As a musician in general, I use Noteflight ALL THE TIME. It is an easy to use, FREE, music notation software that is available for use online with an email subscription. When I was entering college, it was suggested that incoming freshmen studying music purchase programs like Finale or Sibelius, both of which are music notation software that cost quite a bit ($350 for Finale, or $599 for Sibelius). While they are both excellent options for notation software, Noteflight is FREE and can just about do it all.
You can use your computer keyboard to enter notes on the staff, and create works that include multiple instruments, multiple voices, dynamics, articulation, text, chord symbols, phrasing, etc. As a user, I have never been let down.
As an educator, I have used Noteflight with my students many times to teach basic music theory, and to offer as a template for composition projects. Manuscript writing can often be tricky for beginners, and this offers students a way to document their compositions, and hear them played back in real time. This gives students a sense of tonality in their composition, as well as how rhythms fit together.
Noteflight itself allows users to save 12 scores in its free version. Noteflight premium can be purchased for $49/year, and allows for an unlimited amount of scores. I haven't found the 12 score limitation to be too limiting, as you can delete old scores that you no longer need, or use the same template.
All of my excitement about Noteflight aside, I have recently found a reason to be even more excited about it.
Noteflight Learn is now available for purchase for $69/year. This is very little when factoring into a school budget.
Noteflight Learn offers all of the same features as Noteflight premium, but it allows for collaboration between student and teacher. Instead of creating templates on my own or having students do it in separate accounts, download their scores as PDFs and send to me, it can all be done through Noteflight Learn. It offers teachers the option to give assignments, create templates, check work, and give feedback to students all while they are composing.
This is something that I believe to be an important investment for secondary level music programs. Music literacy is the foundation of being a music-maker, and that begins with understanding how music theory functions. I think that utilizing Noteflight learn in the classroom is a very helpful way to help boost literacy and make life-long music makers!
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Garage Band
Let's talk for a second about Garage Band. Everybody has heard of it. Nobody really knows how to use it. But it could be good for music class, right?
R I G H T.
I'm going to outline just a few of my favorite ways to use Garage Band with my students that make my life just a little bit easier.
1. Practice Tracks
As a choral teacher, you only get so much time with your students every day. Then add in that some of them aren't here, and half of them are at band instead, it can be a real pain to try to teach the notes and rhythms to everyone at once. You can do your best but...
Practice tracks are a way that I have found to make that struggle just a little less.
There are two ways to do this when using Garage Band. You can either record yourself playing each part on a regular piano, or you can invest in a MIDI Keyboard. The MIDI keyboard can get pricy, but you can also get a good one for $150-200. This will plug directly into your computer, and pickup directly into garage band. It is seriously like magic.
Once you have decided on your instrument, you set up the number of tracks that you need. I always go by the number of voice parts that I have. One track for Soprano, one for Alto, so on and so forth. If the voice part splits, I will make a separate track. (Ex: S1, S2, A, T, B).
I like to set a metronome when I record the tracks, which can be done right in Garage Band. Once the metronome is going, I record each voice part one at a time in their own respective track. By the end, you have the entire choral piece.
You can then export these as an iTunes file, and adjust the volume on them so that your target voice part is the loudest, but they can hear the others for context. I usually will then post my finished tracks to a class website or Google Classroom. It has helped my choir immensely!!
2. Composition
Garage Band has many "loops" and tracks already downloaded that you can play with. This gives students freedom to try their skills at composing. Most devices that offer GarageBand have a built in mic, so after laying down some loops, students can record pre-written lyrics, poetry, or even record themselves playing other instruments on top of their loops.
Alternatively, I have done projects where we have imported a pre-recorded track into GarageBand, and then recorded right on top of that track.
As basic as Garage Band seems, the possibilities are endless. These 2 examples are simply scratching the surface of what garage band can offer in a music classroom!
(original post 9/17/17)
Genius Scan
Check out Genius Scan here!!
Here's how it works:
1. take a picture of the physical document you'd like to scan (there is an option to add multiple pages)
2. drag the border of your photo so that only what you'd like to scan is within the orange margins
3. Email to yourself as a PDF
4. Print or save your doc!
Genius Scan also offers a plus version for purchase ($7.99) on the app store that offers more features AirPrint, Export to GoogleDrive, Dropbox, and much more.
The biggest downside I can find to Genius Scan is that you need to have an Apple device to use it. However, it makes scanning music, worksheets, and forms so much simpler when you don't have a physical scanner on hand!
(original post 9/7/17)
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