Music Tech Week 6

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I recently bought an iPad Air to use primarily with my public and private music students.  This is almost a Power Point presentation describing everything teachers can do with iPads.  It also gives a list of some apps you might want to purchase, and I did buy a couple of them myself.

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This is a blog post that caught my attention because of the title.  I feel like now more than ever, music is my life, not just my job.  On my first day of Thanksgiving break, I was arranging "Silent Night" for my orchestra students using MuseScore!  This blog mentions the use of an app called Notion, which I downloaded and can't wait to start experimenting with.

Music Tech Week 5

Interactive Music Websites

This is a list of websites to use for teaching and for learning.  This link contains ten sites that are helpful for teachers to get ideas with lesson plans, and for students to play interactive music games.

Next page PDF

This is a great music reading app that can be used for teachers, musicians, and students.  This website also discusses two other PDF music reading apps.

Music Tech week 4

This is a neat article about how a high school is collaborating with professional percussionists in order to allow students to experience drumming.  They will learn about different cultures as well as be able to chat with the professionals.

drumming in high school

How cool is this???  I found the link on NAfME and it is an article about a colleague of mine at a school district about 20 minutes away from my home!  He is using iPads and iPhones to load music apps for his students to practice skills like note naming and reading.  Check out all of the awesomeness that is going on at Quaker Valley!

iPods and iPads to enhance instruction

Music Tech Week 3

We all know that music affects different areas of the brain than other subjects.  This article explains how even if adults who have not played an instrument in decades, their brains still function faster in regards to sound.  Music exercises that focus on rhythmic skill are most helpful in keeping the brain active.  Since the brain is so complex, every "millisecond" counts ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24802433

This article gives many resources for teaching about jazz.  Although, of course, April is jazz appreciation month, this could be taught at any time of the year.  Lesson plans are also included in some of the links.  

Jazz education

A Bicycle Built for Two
I found this notation program to be a little bit more difficult to use that Muse Score.  I have been using Muse Score for many years, so perhaps it is just what I am used to.  However, I think that Noteflight would be useful in music education.  The interface is more attractive than that of Muse Score, so that is a positive.  I think the sharing options would work well for students to collaborate with one another on a composition project, and for the teachers to see students' work easily.  I also really like the strip view option.  It would be useful to use with beginner students so that the screen is not jumbled with many staves.  

Music Tech Week 2

Although this isn't necessarily about music education, it was really amazing for me to read how people got an idea in their head and ran with it.  This article is about a girl who's parents constantly encouraged learned through the apprenticeship method.  Her father has a line of iPhone speakers that are made completely of wood and work from acoustics.  Link here.  I think we as music educations can gain a lot from this approach.

http://ilearntechnology.com/?p=5166


This is kind of a "feel good" article about children getting together to sing the same song at exactly the same time to raise awareness for the importance of music education.  It makes me wonder if I could organize something like this in my district?

Link here