Smart Music (3.30.12)

During today's class, Dr. Ryan gave us a demonstration of Smart Music, which is a software program that I remember using a lot in high school. I know that my Dad, who is a middle school and high school band director, uses this program often in his classroom. I know that even our elementary band director from home has been using it.

I love that there are so many literature books available via this program, from band method books, to "56 Songs You Like to Sing," to the "Building Beautiful Voices" warmup series that I plan on using Also, I love that after the student plays, Smart Music gives a percentage of accurate pitches if this is something that I would like to use as a grade.

I do feel like the program is still mostly focused on the instrumental side of things, but it has definitely expanded more into the vocal world since I used it last. I used to use it when practicing my trumpet, and I know that my little brother does the same. My parents have used that to have him show me what he's bee working on and how he's sounding by sending a recording of him to my email; the recording includes the Smart Music accompaniment, and he gets really excited to be able to play for me.

I thought that it was also excellent that it could be connected to Finale and Sibelius, so if there are exercises that I would like to do when I'm teaching that are not available to purchase, I can make whatever I need and save it as a Midi file.

I definitely plan on making use of this software if I end up teaching middle school, upper elementray school, and may be even high school.

The Khan Method

In watching the remainder of the video that we began in class on the Khan Method of teaching, and I thought that the idea of reversing the normal classroom procedure to be fascinating (that is, lectures go home, and homework is done in class). While I see the obvious benefits of this, such as students being prepared for class the next day and being able to watch the lecture at their own pace (because of being able to fast forward and rewind), I also see a couple of potential flaws. Now, I have not tried to teach using this method, so I know that I "shouldn't knock it until I try it," as they say. I worry, though, that there is not a great way to hold students accountable for watching the video lectures because they have no concrete assignment to turn in. Also, in a music classroom, I think that the lectures and rehearsals with the teacher are irreplacable. However, I think implementing this style of teaching into a classroom can be beneficial if used in conjunction with a more traditional teaching style. For example, in a choir classroom, I'd love to give students reordings of what we are learning, or perhaps (in more of a general music setting), I could record the lectures in class and post them on an online resource, such as a blog, so that they can be accessed should the students need any extra help. There is definitely something to be said for this new way of looking at education, and if I feel like the students would actually make use of it, then I would definitely be willing to do that extra work to help them understand.

Technology Google Docs Spreadsheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?pli=1&key=0AjKnij-Q3P8bdEpBNHNvRldhWjI3ZFhUdGp6Qjhzb2c#gid=0

Copyright

I was unable to be in this class as well due to my attendance at the ACDA conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but in looking through the PowerPoint, here are the main discussion points:

• Intellectual Property:
• Copyrights
• Patents
• Trademarks
• Trade Secrets
• Copyright lasts for 70 years after the composers death
• Copyrights grants the author rights to reproduce the work, create derivative works, sell and publish the work.
• Public Domain: material available for unrestricted use
• Fair Use allows limited use of the material
• A Creative Commons License means the author allows certain additional rights to the consumer

Microphones/Audio Recording

I wasn't able to be in class when we discussed this because I was attending the OMEA conference, but in reviewing the video, I learned some more differences between the microphones that I discussed in the first audio recording blog. When I recorded that, I used a Shure SM58 microphone , which is a pretty standard vocal microphone because, unlike the SM57, there is a screen to block the sound of the air flow created by the voice. These are both examples of condenser microphones.

Also, feedback is one of the most commonly encountered issues when using microphones, and there are four ways to avoid that: Point the microphone away from the speaker, aim the microphone toward the sound being produced, hold the microphone in the correct position, and keep the volume at a reasonable level.