MOBILE AND HANDHELD DEVICES - IPAD

Music Composition Project on ipads / iphones   

for AP Music Theory

1. Show students various videos of compositions and covers done with ipad or iphone instruments.   

This is a group playing Piano, drums, guitar, bass and vocals on their iphones:

                                                                                                    

      This video shows the use of a drum app, guitar and has vocals

                                                               

2. Have students look at apps and discover their own music apps. Also have students check out the following apps that they can use.

• Impacktor - Drum Synthesizer - Allows you to turn any flat surface into a percussion instrument)
• Chordian -  You can easily play chords with one hand and lead with the other being able to trigger chords with one finger makes playing a breeze.
• Pianist Pro -Piano with photo-realistic graphics and an unbelievable sound    
• IElectrobe - KORG iELECTRIBE virtual analog beatbox!
• Ibone - Pocket trombone
• Easy Beats LGR - Pro Drum Machine. easyBeats is built from the ground up to be the quickest and easiest way to create great sounding 4-bar beats.
• Woodwind instruments - All woodwind instruments
• Brass instruments - All brass instruments

Click HERE for a great website full of similar apps!

3. Make groups of approx. 5 per group. Students should write OR cover a song using just instruments on their iphones and/or ipads and can add vocals if they would like. Have students make a one to two minute composition with their group and perform for the class. Students should use their knowledge of form (ABA) that they have learned previously in  class when creating their compositions. 

     

      

VIDEO REFLECTION #4

Teaching through music 

and the blues:

For complete article and more related videos, visit:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/kids-like-blues-music-video-jon-schwartz

What turned out to be so great about this video were all the different concepts that the teacher taught and how he incorporated music (and other subjects) into his lesson. This will engage so many more students because there was something for every student’s interest.

In the beginning of the lesson, the song lyrics were not so great. The students were just beginning to process and take in the information. The students were then given a spoken lesson on the topic, an art lesson, a math lesson and a technology lesson. They then went back and reviewed the lyrics and added motions to help the students remember the words. In the end, every student was engaged and excited about the lesson. These students will remember this lesson for a long time to come.

When I listen back to the radio to songs of my youth, I am amazed at how well I remember the words. I'm sure you have experienced this too. It is the music that makes the connection with your brain and it then makes it into your long-term memory. That is what is happening with these students. I still remember songs I learned in elementary school at Halloween, Christmas, Music class and even History lessons and songs sung in elementary school plays. Many people remember all 50 states in order because they know this song!

There are literally thousands of songs on youtube to help children to remember information (and adults too)! The amount of information that can be learned, processed and put into long-term memory is unbelievable. I hope parents and teachers use this valuable resource and start incorporating music into their teaching strategies.

VIDEO REFLECTION #3

This is one of my favorite explanations of why music (specifically band music) matters on the Internet. There is no actual video but it is just audio and it is very effective. This is narrated by Jack Stamp, who is the Wind Ensemble director at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. I was lucky enough to have been able to conduct South Jersey Symphonic band while he was the guest conductor for the South Jersey Wind Ensemble in the same concert. 

In this video, he demonstrates how a musician must perform at 100% within their team or ensemble and how this is one of the only teams where you must perform at this level. He demonstrated how a good batting average is 300, which is 30%. If a band performed at 30%, it would not be acceptable. He has the band play a piece of music at 100% and then with 95% of the correct notes. At 95% it sounds horrible. In most classes this would be an A. In band....not so much!

He also demonstrates how musicians usevboth sides of their brain unlike in any other subject. They are reading a foreign language, doing math to figure out the durations of the music; having to master the technical aspects of their instrument (what fingers to put down), their embouchure (the way you form your mouth to make a good sounding tone), and then the musical aspects such as are they playing with dynamics, in the right tempo, expressively and so on. 
He explains how music demands perfection. If each person in the band makes one mistake, it sounds horrible. This is a hard concept to get across to people who have never participated in music. This is the plight of the music teacher these days, and this video is a great teaching tool for both our students and parents. It gives concrete examples of why music is important and shows the skill level required to make something that you can be proud of and that can bring emotional enjoyment to the musician as well as the listener. 

VIDEO REFLECTION #2

This is a great video to show administrators and non-musicians about how music helps your brain to learn other subjects. I think this is important information and can often help to save music programs in schools. The interesting thing is, students who participate in music do not play or sing music to get better in other subjects. Music students love to play or sing music because it brings out emotions and is personally satisfying. What music does for each person is very unique to that individual. I love music because I can go into another world when I am playing. I can focus on just the music and not the 500 million other things going on in my life. I think this is common for musicians.

I love my job because I get to teach the brightest and smartest students in the school. Most years, at least 10-12 of the top 20 in the senior class at Southern Regional are music students. It is clear that music trains the brain in a way nothing else can. I know that these super motivated and intelligent students do not play in band so they can get better SAT scores, but it certainly is an added bonus!

EDMODO BOOK CLUB

The book for discussion is by Larry Rosen - Rewired

For full discussion go to  edmodo.com
Group code : aqntw4

Here are some screen shots of our online discussion:

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P21st century

Emphasizes deep understanding rather than shallow knowledge