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.
Sunday, October 29, 2017
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!
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