Sometimes Not Knowing Is Okay

I recently presented at the Illinois Music Educators’ Conference in Peoria. It was great to see old friends and colleagues, catch up with a few folks, and see some of the awesome things that are going on in the field. My presentation dealt with a sequence of electronic music courses that my colleague and I have implemented at our school over the past 3-4 years. Though the session was not busting at the seams, I appreciate the enthusiasm of those who were in attendance. It really feels good to receive positive feedback when you “stick your neck out there” a bit, professionally speaking. Music education has always resisted the proliferation of technology a bit in terms of authentic student uses, but the tide seems to be turning. Indeed, I think that we are starting down a path in music teaching where technology and music making (as a student activity) will be inextricably linked.

One of the best questions we fielded at our session simply asked, “How much of this do I need to know in order to get started?” I really liked the tone of this question because it shows great interest while indicating that the technology itself (the skills necessary in creating electronic music) was a bit intimidating. All the research in the world will tell you that technology is best implemented with a high level of comfort on the teacher’s end. This makes sense for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that teachers who are more comfortable are more apt to implementing technology into their curricula. But what of the teacher who has an interest, but not the experience?

To that teacher I would say that, of course, some knowledge of the skills and apps are required. Think of it as similar to your supplemental instrument classes in college. How many of you have been practicing all of those instruments since you graduated? Is your hand in the air? If so, you’re better than I. But you probably remember the big concepts you learned on each instrument. The great thing about the iPad is that there seems to be a nearly ubiquitous language amongst music creation apps…and much of this language is intuitive. If you have an iPad, it would not be difficult for someone to figure out a few basic apps – for me, those were GarageBand, iElectribe, TableTop, and Multitrack DAW. These four apps led to others, of course. Now, my iPad’s music creation folder is quite large, and includes a variety of synths, recording devices, and sequencers. I did this in the course of one summer, and so can you.

Getting to the point of my headline, though, is that there will always exist those questions to which you do not have an answer. You’ve spent all that time learning app functions and a student asks you a question to which you have no answer. I’m here to tell you that it’s okay. Just like I probably could not play a single note in the saxophone’s altissimo register, you should not expect to automatically understand how to audiocopy from multiple app sources into Multitrack DAW. It’s not really that difficult, but like those saxophone fingerings, you might have to go look it up – either via online tutorials or the help menu. The great thing is – these resources are also available to your students! Let them teach you how to operate advanced functions. The role of teacher as facilitator is not used frequently enough, and your students will enjoy the opportunity to take the lead in demonstrating advanced technology.

Take a deep breath, relax, and try it! You’ll be glad you did. I have a bunch of new vinyl staring me in the face, so I need to get to it. Until next time, good night, and good luck!

Would YOU come to this session? (feedback welcome)

Not Just Noise: Modern Electronic Music and the 21^st Century Classroom

 Creativity and musical problem solving are frequently discussed as requisite skills for our students’ futures. We will investigate the opportunities that electronic music affords in building these skills and apply them in a way that will benefit teachers from novice to advanced.

Part 1: Background and Rationale

In this section, we will ask the critical questions: Why is it important to expand the scope of music in schools today? In what ways can a curriculum based around creative sound composition allow students to acquire two of the more elusive 21^st century skills: problem solving and creativity?

Utilizing student examples, we will demonstrate how musical understanding can develop for students whose primary interest resides in creating, manipulating, and organizing sounds in order to think in music. The same standards that we set in band/choir/orchestra can be applied to a collaborative electronic music ensemble whilst including the elements of creativity and problem solving that are often teacher-driven in the traditional ensemble classroom.

Part 2: A Brief Introduction to Music Production Tools

The essential step in implementing electronic music into the music curriculum is a basic understanding of the available tools. Utilizing common digital music production tools such as Ableton Live, Logic/Garageband, Audacity, SoundDrop, iElectribe, and SoundPrism, we will present commonalities amongst applications and a foundational language by which teachers may build their own understanding.

Part 3: IMEC Electronic Music Ensemble

Using basic operations of the software presented, attendees will have an opportunity to play in an ensemble geared toward acclimating them to what a typical lesson might look like. We will rotate as many participants into the ensemble as is possible with the time allotted. For those who are more comfortable observing, each of the four stations will be projected so that the various processes are demonstrated.

Blue Calx Recording

Some have asked, so here it is: the full Blue Calx performance as recorded by the LFA Orchestra and Laptop Orchestra

Leading Notes Article

My colleague and I wrote an article about getting aspects of electronic music into a curriculum. We are very grateful to Leading Notes for the opportunity to publish this work into ‘the community’. As always, your feedback is much appreciated!

http://leadingnotes.org/2012/02/06/electronicmusic/

Bill Evans gets it…

I had never seen this video before and only recently stumbled upon it. A wonderful lesson and bit of educational advice from Bill Evans.

Creative Process and Self-Teaching

Advice for Student Teachers

I suppose this isn’t specific to music educators, but I just thought I would give some advice to those of you who are getting ready to begin your professional journey. There are many things that you can do in your student teaching experience to help and/or harm your development as a future educator. Having been through a great student teaching experience myself, as well as observing student teachers in the professional and academic setting, I feel pretty well-qualified to make these comments. This is by no means an exhaustive list. Yes, you need to write out your plans. Yes, you need to practice in a mirror. Yes, you need to keep some sort of candid journal that you will actually use once you finish. Given all of these, here are a few things that might help you take the biggest step of your life…from pre-service teacher to music educator.

In no particular order:

1. Start early – you will have an official begin and end date according to your college’s calendar, which you should completely ignore. If possible, contact your coop and get in there 2 weeks ahead of time, and stay until school is not in session. Is this convenient? No. Does it say a lot about your professionalism and work ethic? More than you know.

2. Start early – try to beat your coop to work every day. Not only is it a fun game, but you’ll earn some serious teacher-cred. Bring coffee for him/her if you need points.

3. No job is too small – every mundane job should automatically become the greatest thing you’ve ever done. The best way to get bigger, more important jobs is to master the small ones. Get familiar with the copier.

4. Ask for, and take, critique – most practicing teachers are happy to offer constructive guidance. However, they will also stop giving such comments if you do not persist in requesting them.

5. Try something new – when you get the opportunity, try a lesson plan that does not follow the normal rehearsal routine. Do a guided listening activity, a group composition, or something that meets those dreaded National Standards 9 and 10. Be as creative as possible. You’ll notice that if you are committed to these kinds of class activities, your students will be as well. The rewards are infinite.

Last, but not least: listen to sage advice (from myself and others…mainly from others). Take heed of what has been learned by veteran teachers, then realize that you will invariably forget most of these wise words and be doomed to repeat the same history you spent so much time trying to avoid. It’s OK. We’ve all been there. If you keep ALL of your students as the primary focus, you will not fail. Many people throw around statistics about how few music education graduates are still teaching after 5 or 10 years. This is a natural phenomenon. Have a good sense of humor about all of it, and you’ll come to realize that teaching music is a great career…that some people are meant to do and some are not. Whether or not you choose to continue down the path will primarily depend on your experiences (good and bad) and how they shape you as a professional, but more importantly, as an individual.

Now get out there and rock the boat!

The One Rehearsal Composition Challenge

I am challenging all interested ensemble directors to take one day on their calendar to try something a bit different. Amazing, musical results will follow…I guarantee it or your money back!

1) Take one rehearsal and break your group into sections (the smaller, the better). Have each section come up with a short (10-20 second) pattern. Explain that they may use their instruments in a typical fashion, or they may ‘gently’ use them to create other types of sounds.

2) Once they decide on their short sound pattern, ask them to incorporate music ideas (dynamic contrast, varied articulation, etc). Then give each group a single, blank staff and ask them to graphically notate their pattern. Because many will have used sounds instead of notes, a system for notating may need to be invented.

3) Have groups perform their short ideas, then ask if there are complementary passages. If so, can they be played in ‘harmony’ with another section? If you have time, try combining these patterns to create a piece that was written for your group by your group.

4) If you decide to continue to a 2nd day and beyond, you may have a few students collect and arrange the notated passages in order to create a formalized arrangement. Have one student organize a score and allow him/her to conduct it. The teacher records the rehearsal and posts to YouTube.

Covers MENC National Standards for Music Education:

2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
5. Reading and notating music.
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.

Good luck and let us all know how it goes!