MUE 6696 Reflections

In Module 5, we looked at responding to music through the lens of music technology. Though "responding to music" seems like a relatively simple task for music educators to cross off their curricular goals, it is actually a broad, important process that teachers must provide instruction for. In Dr. Bauer's book (2014), he says, "Music educators strive to develop students' abilities to listen to and describe music, analyze and evaluate it, understand its historical and cultural contexts, and appreciate its relationships to other disciplines, including other art forms" (p. 104). He also suggests that "listen[ing] repeatedly" is key to helping students become familiar with music they are responding to (p.122). In order to accomplish all of these goals encompassed in "responding to music," students must first have interactions with actual music. Technology can be an invaluable tool for teachers to provide quality, carefully selected recordin...

This week, we looked at the idea of technology as a tool for musical performance. We also worked with a program called Audacity, a digital audio recorder and editor that can be used to record, mix, and master audio. I found it very interesting that Audacity is an open source software and that it is completely free for use online. In order to become familiar with the program, we were asked to make a remix of the well-known "Mah Na Mah Na" song from the Muppets Show (included below). We were given short pieces of the song and were instructed to reconstruct the song, adding our own creativity and changes as we went to create a remix. I found Audacity relatively easy to use after taking some time to explore and figure out the interface.  Because it is up to the user to select exactly the piece of the audio to work with (whether cutting, copying, pasting, or layering), this might be difficult for students whose motor skills and musical ear haven't been fully developed. I do b...

In Module 3, we took a closer look at the technology centered around composition, especially focusing on DAW's (Digital Audio Workstations). According to Bauer (2014), DAW's are "capable of handling MIDI, digital audio, and loops, allowing the user to record audio, sequence MIDI, edit, mix, add effects, and master" (p. 32). During this unit we worked with a DAW called Soundtrap, a program that looks and functions a lot like Garageband. Soundtrap uses loops, MIDI, and audio recordings to enable users to create compositions quickly and easily. As a new Soundtrap user, I found it relatively easy to create and edit the loops and add MIDI sounds. My composition, "Endless Blue," is included below. I believe that Soundtrap and other DAWs like it could be useful in the classroom when teaching about form, timbre, orchestration, and expression. I do appreciate that students are able to add new loops, MIDI files, or recordings and immediately hear how it sounds i...

In Module 2, we looked at the creative process in music learning, particularly focusing on improvisation. Though music-making and creativity often go hand in hand, the act of being creative is a skill that students need time to develop. Creative thinking, especially, is a concept that teachers must teach their students. Peter Webster (instructor of the course "Creative Thinking in Music") defines creative thinking  as "the engagement of the mind in the active, structured process of thinking in sound for the purpose of producing some product that is new for the creator. Creative thinking is a dynamic process of alternation between convergent and divergent thinking, moving in stages over time, enabled by certain skills (both innate and learned), and by certain conditions, all resulting in a final product" (Webster, 2012, in Bauer, 2014, p. 49). Part of stimulating and supporting creative thinking is the environment in which the creativity is supposed to take place...

In Module 2, we took a close look at technology related to notating and improvising music. As a user of both Finale and Sibelius, I was curious to see how MuseScore and Noteflight compared. I was pleasantly surprised by both programs - they are easy to use, intuitive, and come with helpful resources (like the video tutorials on MuseScore's website) that guide you through the notation process in each program. I especially loved the price of both of these programs: free! Both MuseScore and Noteflight could be used in the classroom for teacher and student use. Because it is so easy to notate melodies (especially with a Midi keyboard), students could easily notate, play back, and share their compositions. Teachers could easily scaffold a composition project by asking students to use only certain pitches or certain rhythms, suggesting key signature and time signature, etc. Here is my version of "A Bicycle Built for Two" by Harry Dacre, notated in Noteflight.