Week 8 Listening Journal

Because there was only one suggested listening example for this week’s reading, we look at several additional defining hits from the 2000 to 2015. These hits all have a common them in that they are not released under the traditional record company model. In 2007 The Artist Once Again Known as Prince released an album for free with the newspaper The Mail on Sunday. 2.27 million people received Planet Earth, which was a marketing ploy for Prince to promote his upcoming concert series at London’s O2 arena. The song “Chelsea Rogers”, the second single from the album, was a funky disco style song about a model.
Prince - Chelsea Rogers / Matthew Williamson London Fashion week from Paul Roberts on Vimeo.
Also in 2007 Radiohead released their album In Rainbows on the internet for free, asking fans to pay whatever they wanted. More than a million copies were downloaded and $2.27 million went directly to the musicians. As the only listening example from the readings this week, “Bodysnatchers” employs a strong message against the modern day record label. More recently, in 2012, Ryan Lewis and Macklemore created “Jimmy Iovine” which recaps a meeting they had with the president of Interscope Records. There is absolutely no question how the duo feels about Jimmy Iovine and record companies in general. As a follow up to song, enjoy a parody skit reenacting the now famous meeting.

 Embedding is not available for the parody video, but it is worth the click.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY_cKt1FXq0

Listening Journal Week 7

Technology has been a strong influencer in all of the musical twists and turns in American vernacular music up to the 1980s, however, technology is a definite game changer in the late 80s. The launch of MTV, a 24 hour a day network channel dedicated to music videos and music news, allowed fans into nearly every aspect of the artists’ lives. This meant that the artists now needed to become actors as well as musicians, which led to some artists creating multiple personalities. We see this in several genres including pop artists like Madonna who recreated their personalities as their careers developed and also in hip hop when rap artists changed their names. Below I will touch on several of the top songs and artists from the 1980’s and 1990’s and will describe how technology played a role in their success. It should be noted that I forwent the downloaded tracks and iTunes tracks this week and took advantage of watching the music videos for most of the listening examples this week.


Two of the biggest hits of 1984 were “Like a Virgin” by Madonna and “When Doves Cry” by Prince. Madonna and Prince were both very well rounded in terms of creating chart topping music along with elaborate music videos, however there are several differences between these two songs. Prince not only wrote, produced, and performed his song, he also recorded all of the instrumental tracks and the 12 different voice tracks. This was largely possible due to increased recording studio technology. Madonna’s song on the other hand, was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and Madonna sung the only vocal track. This very well may be an example of video successfully killing the radio star, and for that reason we will feature Prince’s live performance of “Purple Rain” here.

As mentioned earlier, the mixture of hungry fans and new technology meant that successful musicians could lose any privacy they once had. This transition happened incredibly fast for Nirvana once their album Nevermind was released. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” propelled them to constant circulation on MTV and that high level of stardom was too much for front man Kurt Cobain to handle. The songs use of heavy metal instrumentals gives it the signature grunge sound. It could be that the style was changed to fit the “unplugged” model, but if you compare these two recordings of “Come as You Are” you can see some changes in Kurt Cobain. The first is a live recording from 1991, the year Nevermind was released, and the second is a sound check for MTV’s Unplugged, taped in late 1993, just 5 months before his death.

The advances in technology during this time period also added to the increasingly blurred lines between genres of music at the end of the twentieth century (2014, page 491). You can see the “rules” being bent as Michael Jackson uses Paul McCarthy and Eddie Van Halen on his Thriller album. Also, hip hop artists Run DMC teamed up with rock stars Stephen Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith to create a very entertaining version of “Walk This Way.” In searching I found an even more entertaining version that includes Kid Rock.



Starr, L., & Waterman, C. (2014). American popular music: From minstrelsy to MP3 (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Listening Journal Week 6

The first five listening examples for the week six readings were grouped together in a category called “A 1970s Jukebox.” I found it interesting that these very different songs all had simple forms and where written or co-written by their performer and yet all claimed a number one position during the decade. The Tin Pan Alley model makes it seem unlikely that so many singer-songwriters would achieve this claim. Another similarity they hold is their nostalgic components. Starr and Waterman (2014, page 374 – 377) mention the throwback lyric efforts of Elton John and The Eagles, and John Denver also uses the technique in “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.” Interestingly enough, while I was reading about the origination of the nostalgic “revival shows” or the 1970’s I saw an advertisement on my email for Selena Gomez’s upcoming revival tour. I suppose it’s never too early to market to the nostalgic listeners. The most recent concert I attended was REO Speedwagon and I’m not really sure why they would solicit me with a Selena Gomez advertisement, but it was very topical.

Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” is described as the time periods “anthem for heavy metal.” When compared to the music of the other rock bands of that time, I think it is vocals of lead singer Robert Plant that indicates the title of “heavy metal.” The development of “Stairway to Heaven”, particularly the vocals, shows just how versatile and talented Led Zeppelin was musically. For comparison here are songs from The Stones and The Who from the same year of 1971.

 The song by Townes Van Zandt titled “Pancho and Lefty” is rather intriguing. The story has several different perceived meanings including a correlation between Pancho to Jesus and Lefty to Judas. In a live recording, Van Zandt claims to have written the song about “two bandits that he saw on television two weeks after he wrote it.” I suppose musicians of “outsider” music might feel the need to fit the role, authentically or not, as “outsider” themselves.

The text was not exaggerating when it categorized the Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” and punk rock in general as a “back to basic” approach (2014, page 423). “Psycho Killer” does not contain impressive musical abilities in any area of the group and I wonder if part of this song’s success is due to its relationship to the news media sensation Son of Sam killings. Another example of the importance of the lyrics can be found in “Pedro Navaja.” I began listening to the song and reading the description at the same time. The light hearted percussion instruments and ascending trombone harmonies made the song seem delightful. That is until I read that the Spanish lyrics were about a double murder that went unnoticed by other civilians expect for a drunk thief.  Relating to the lyrics of a pop song can be critical to the song’s success.

Starr, L., & Waterman, C. (2014). American popular music: From minstrelsy to MP3 (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Listening Journal Week 5

The reading and listening examples from chapters nine and ten demonstrates American pop, country, soul, urban folk, and rock in the 1960’s. In previous chapters there had been far fewer categories. It could be speculated that the increase in genres (or sub genres) could have been possible due to increased technology. For example, new amplified instruments, or more sophisticated recording equipment (4 track), or the increase in available media to hear and see new music. During this time there was also an increase in topics that inspired new music (wars, civil rights). Regardless of the reason, the decade produced some powerful and influential music for the American popular music scrapbook.

Phil Spector is noted as an iconic songwriter and producer. There is no question that he succeeded in developing a characteristic sound, referred to as “the wall of sound”, that changed the music industry in the 1960’s. Starr and Waterman (2014, page 289) refer to “Spector’s level of involvement and obsession with detail” as “legendary.” In no way do I intend to take away from the products of musical genius that this man provided for American music, however, I think his “obsession” should be elaborated within the text. We most recently know Spector in the media for the trial and sentence of the death of a girlfriend in 2003. As noted by ex-wife Ronnie Spector, lead singer of The Ronettes, Phil had bipolar traits as far back as the late 1960’s as he kept a glass coffin in their home as a warning for her to stay with him or die (“Ronnie Spector Biography”).  This should not take away from his musical creativity, although I feel that it should be mentioned in the text like all other “negative” aspects of the music industry (“Sex, Drugs, and Rock n Roll”).

Bob Dylan’s influence during this time period seems to be unparalleled. His push to take urban folk music to rock folk music with the addition of amplified electric guitars was a bold and even (at the beginning) unwanted move. Breaking even more musical modes, his six minute long recording of “Like a Rolling Stone” paved the way for other groups (The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”) to make long musical masterpieces. The list of artist that claim to be influenced by Dylan throughout the chapter is lengthy: The Beatles, Credence Clearwater Revival, Eric Clapton. Just recently, Rolling Stone Magazine released an article announcing the discovery of unplugged, raw recordings of The Beach Boys doing covers of various artists, including Dylan.

The Beatles are also covered on these newly found Beach Boys’ recordings.

It is interesting to see how these different groups (of at least slightly different genres) learned from and appreciated each other’s’ music. I know this still happens to some degree in modern day music, but covers seem to happen more so to tribute past musical works rather than present day works.

Ronnie Spector Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2015, from http://www.biography.com/people/ronnie-spector-17172228#trouble-with-phil-spector

Starr, L., & Waterman, C. (2014). American popular music: From minstrelsy to MP3 (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Listening Journal Week 4

The adult post WW II culture in America desired a comforting style of music that was fulfilled by crooners like Frank Sinatra, Nat “King” Cole, and Perry Como. These “big singers” gained great exposure during the musicians’ union strike from 1942 to 1944 and they stayed at the helm of pop music into the 1950s. After a variety of music jobs, including being a singing waiter, Frank Sinatra gained stardom with his ability to “play” his voice into long, uninterrupted phrases. Nat King Cole’s style had a more separated attack which mimicked his piano playing. Both singers achieved great success when their music was released and later on as their songs are often reworked by present day artists. For example, “Nature Boy” was featured in the 2001 movie “Moulin Rouge.”

The readings from this week detailed the fascinating early history of “covering” a song. The songs “Shake Rattle and Roll”, “Sh-Boom”, and “Mystery Train” were all covered within a year and a half of their original release. Even more interesting is how both the originals and the covers did well on the charts. The art of covering a song today seems to mostly be executed by young aspiring musicians or bands that play gigs using only cover songs. Although some artists do cover past pop songs either as tribute or for personal gain through fame or money. One example from the text this week is “Mambo No. 5.” Originally performed by Perez Prado in 1949 as a song about the mambo dance, the song was reworked by Lou Bega in 1999 and included much more derogatory lyrics.

My favorite listening track from this week was “Choo Choo Boogie” by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five. This track is integral to showing the influence of “Jump bands” after the war, but Jordan’s influence extends much further. Although he was not as finically successful as others like Nat “King” Cole, Jordan’s work would influence the likes of Chuck Berry and James Brown. Learning of his widespread influence, and of his origin as a saxophone player from the Midwest (like me), I used his “Best of” youtube video as my grad school work playlist this week and was not disappointed.

While doing my reading and listening this week my husband was in the same room doing computer work. It was very interesting to watch and hear his reaction to the listening tracks. He commented on both “Choo Choo Boogie” and “Mambo Italiano” how “they were going to be stuck in his head”, but did not comment on “Black Night.” I believe this suggests the power of a good hook. It could be argued that “Black Night” does possess a hook, but overall the song is emotional, slow, and not catchy; the complete opposite of “Choo Choo Boogie” and “Mambo Italiano.” “Long Tail Sally” and “Don’t Be Cruel” provoked a “you’re getting to listen to really good music this week” comment and “La Bamba” encouraged him to say “that’s sad.” Over the summer we had the opportunity to see “The Buddy Holly Story” at our local outdoor theater and were given a good look at just how much of an impact February 3^rd, 1959 had on American music.

Listening journal week 3

Starr and Waterman (2014, page 133) describe W.C. Handy’s “St. Louis Blues”, as performed by Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong, with words like “direct”, “sincere”, and “emotionally devastating.” While the song is written about love lost, I do not agree with the feeling of emotional devastation from Armstrong’s use of deep vibrato and Smith’s addition of blue notes. If anything, I think the song serves as emotional closure and the pain from the St. Louis break up should be felt less after this musical experience. Even further removed from a sad feeling, the instrumental arrangement is played often where I reside as an anthem for our local hockey team.

 The previous readings and listening examples have made note of influential songs that have been recorded by more modern performers, however it wasn’t until this week that I discovered some “covers” that I have long known. Two in particular, “Crossroad Blues” by Eric Clapton and “Wreck of Old ‘97” by Johnny Cash, are tracks I have been familiar with for quite some time but did not realize they have a vernacular history long before Clapton and Cash. Vernon Dalhart’s “Wreck of the Old ‘97” is credited as the first big country music hit. While quite different from Cash’s rendition, with a long instrumental introduction and a whistling break, the basic form is held true in both. It is neat to see the correlation between the artists over so many decades.

Chapter six also brought familiarity through the introduction of swing music. Fletcher Henderson’s composition of “Wrappin’ it Up” and arrangement of “Taking a Chance on Love” are no doubt similar to what you would here a present day “jazz band” include in their repertoire. The use of woodwinds, brass, and the rhythm section along with large, structured solo sections for improvisation separated these swing bands from the older and smaller jazz bands. This may pose the question why do we refer to public school ensembles who play this style as “jazz bands” and not “swing bands”? As can be heard in “Wrappin it Up”, Henderson had quite the ability to make music pleasing for these ensembles. Benny Goodman took notice of his skills and hired him. With the Goodman band playing Henderson arrangements, while Henderson was also in the band, I wonder how much musical direction was provided by Goodman.

Two of the other very well-known recordings from chapter six have some interesting contributors to their success. “In the Mood” as performed by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, which held the number one spot on the charts for twelve weeks (2014, page 173), coincidentally has an easy to follow structure. “Paper Doll”, as recorded by the vocal harmony group the Mills Brothers, happened to fall during the American Federation of Musician’s recording strike, which encouraged record companies to focus on vocal artists.

The Latin music in the Swing era had to ease its way into America. Musicians like Xavier Cugat, Chano Pozo, and Machito (Frank Grillo) came to New York to spread Latin music, but did so diligently. As Cugat noted about Americans’ acceptance of Latin music “they have to be given music more for the eyes than the ears” (page 185). This is evident in Machito and his Afro-Cubans’ performance of “Nague” complete with palm trees around the stage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICDkF_uHBHM

Starr, L., & Waterman, C. (2014). American popular music: From minstrelsy to MP3 (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Stefanie Buscher Listening Journal Week 2

After completing the listening for this week, which included American jazz music from 1917 into the 1930s, a few central themes and questions came to mind. I noted a continuous relationship with the commercialization and simplification of music introduced into the main stream culture. While listening, I wondered how musicians, who did not compose music, were able to be creative before the use of improvisation. I recognized how the lack of technology, specifically social media, made it possible for musicians and their songs to stay relevant longer.  Lastly, I noticed the beginning of the trend of credit for “hits” going more to the performer than to the writer. Below I will detail these concepts with examples from the listening.

                “The Castle House Rag”, by James Reese Europe, catered to the dance style of Vernon and Irene Castle. While the Castles’ dance moves and Europe’s music were new and fresh and edgy, their success came greatly in part of their ability to “water it down” for their customers; Americans. The Castles put together combinations of simplified tango dance moves so that it could be easily learned and repeated throughout a song. That component of the dance transfers over to Europe’s “The Castle House Rag” as you can see with the repeat of sections in its AABBACCDEEF form. Additionally, the integration of the waltz in the C section is possibly a strategic break for the dancers from the new fast paced moves to a slower, more familiar, and less skilled dance style. While “The Castle House Rag” did wonders for getting Americans involved in the new dance and music movement, I wonder what would be different in the composition if Europe had not considered commercialized motivations.

                The Original Dixieland Jazz Band and King Joe Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band both brought respectable music to Americans in the jazz era, but modern day critics view Oliver’s ensemble as “the first authentic evidence of a mature jazz style”  (Starr & Waterman, 2014, page 87). If you compare the recordings of ODJB’s “Tiger Rag” to Oliver’s “Dipper Mouth Blues” one very noticeable difference is the use of improvisation. Both groups furthered improvisation in jazz music, but King Joe’s ensemble’s use of a solo section is more elaborate than the ODJB’s use of “collective improvisation.” Additionally, Oliver’s ensemble, which included trumpeter Louis Armstrong, made use of various mutes to create new and exciting sounds.

                Technology did many great things for the American music industry during this time period, including the development of the electric microphone for recording. This microphone inspired the recreation of a popular 1921 hit “April Showers” over a decade after the original release. While technology allowed for both of Al Jolson’s “April Shower” recordings to be popular, I believe that the lack of technology also contributed. Modern day technology allows for us to enjoy “new” music with a push of a button through many different avenues (radio, computer, cell phone, television). The instant gratification that we receive by having this music on demand pushes us to want more new music constantly. I do not believe that Jolson would be able to re-release his song the same way in today’s music industry, even with a newly founded technological advance.

                “I’ve Got Rhythm” performed by Ethel Merman is a very powerful song for many reasons beyond Merman’s full throttle voice. This is the first suggested recording in the text that is performed by a woman and the recording date is 1947! Jean Ritchie’s “Barbary Allen” (page 21) was recorded later in 1960. Although the lyrics of “I’ve Got Rhythm” were written by a man (Ira Gershwin), the words are very inviting for a female singer.  The order of the lines, “I’ve got rhythm, I’ve got music, I’ve got my man”, places emphasis on the singer’s love of music and choice to place her love music first (before her “man”). I first saw Merman perform a part of  “I’ve Got Rhythm” on the I Love Lucy show in an episode from 1964. Her musicianship and stage presence is to be admired and should be credited for the development of later female performers.

Link to I Love Lucy clip with EthelMerman

Starr, L., & Waterman, C. (2014). American popular music: From minstrelsy to MP3 (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Stefanie Buscher Listening Journal Week One

                The old time music examples of “Barbary Allen” and the two arrangements of “Soldier’s Joy” all have different qualities. “Barbary Allen” defies the standard formula for present day popular music with its length of well over the three minutes and a wide vocal range. Additionally, the lack of instrumentation and repetitive melodic pattern throughout gives it similarities to that of a work song. Even further, performer Jean Ritchie discusses not needing to write down these “old songs” and knowing them like “butter churning chants.” The two recordings of “Soldier’s Joy” carry the same meaning but have very different deliveries. Tommy Jarrell plays his instrumental only version at the army bases while the Skillet Lickers perform it with lyrics at rural house parties. One reason for this could be that the words contain a rather dark message about morphine and alcohol while the instrumentals lines are rather cheerful. When comparing these three recordings it is evident which one would be considered the most “commercial” of the three. The Skillet Lickers “Soldier’s Joy” is under three minutes and also contains a short comedic segment in which the performers pick at a stereotype of themselves.  

                The recording of “Coo Coo” by Dink Roberts and “Stagolee” by Mississippi John Hurt have several musical similarities. Both incorporate call and response form with a string instrument as well as polyrhythmic textures. The lyrics however are quite different between the two songs. Roberts, who learned “Coo Coo” nearly 65 years before the recording, sings a song about conversing with an independent women. Hurt, on the other hand, sings about the “bad man” Stack O Lee (black) who kills a white man because he stole his hat. It is interesting to think about Hurt’s motives with “Stagolee.” As a black man himself, is he endorsing the “bad man” black image that many white Americans believed after the abolition of slavery, or is he trying to exemplify what characteristics should really define a “bad man” in order to prove that being black is not synonymous with “bad.”

                The Latin influence on American popular music is fascinating. “La Cumparsita” performed by Carlos Gardel (with guitar accompaniment and lyrics about betrayed love) and the arrangement without lyrics performed by Francisco Canaro, both paint a beautiful imagery of two people dancing a tango. The instrumental version of Canaro seems to have a stronger sense of pulse, which results in more dramatic articulations at the time of the arrastres (or drags). The Afro-Cuban Rumba example of “Enigue Nigue” is resembled in the work of Pedrito Martinez, who I recently go to see perform live. I feel like I should see his group again now that I know more about the history of Afro-Cuban music, including the purpose of the montuno and the story of the guaguanco dance. The last example of “La Negra” and the origins of the Mariachi style from the Mexican state of Jalisco is striking a chord with me right now. Over the summer I was fortunate enough to get to travel to Puerto Vallarta and had the pleasure of experiencing music all over the beautiful town. Today a terrible hurricane is going to approach the western coastline of Mexico, including much of Jalisco. My heart breaks as I listen to this music right now even though the melodies are normally uplifting and happy. One thing that is evident in the recordings and in the live performances is how the Latin culture approaches music making as a social endeavor. It is even evident in the names of the bands; The Pedrito Martinez Group.

Link to Pedrito Martinez

Link to dropbox folder of some music in Puerto Vallarta

                The last few listening examples focus on music that achieved popularity in the American music industry in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. Stephen Foster’s “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair”, with a Westernized favorable formal structure of AABA, gained most of its fame well after its release. After listening to the suggested recording by Thomas Hampson and several others, I find it impressive that a song can withstand the test of time and be applied in so many different contexts (Looney Tunes, the Flinstones, Sam Cooke). The other song mentioned in the text, “After the Ball”, managed to find immediate star power. I believe this was due to the publishing date. “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair”, published in 1854, was nearly forty years before “After the Ball” in 1892. The sheet music industry was much stronger in 1892 with the immersion of Tin Pan Alley and other technologies that were developed.

Link to Sam Cooke Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair

Musical Assessment and Professional Productivity with Technology

The course work this week covered several ways in which technology can assist music teachers while assessing learning. By far the best resource acquired from this week was the ability to use Flubaroo to grade quizzes made with Google Forms. Using Google Forms to track data from assessments or responses from surveys is very helpful, but the Flubaroo add-on makes the overall grading process extremely easy. Flubaroo is also helpful for students since instructors can send an email with feedback as soon as the assessments are graded.  The ability to provide timely feedback is very important and is even part of the criteria listed by The Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning organization (Bauer, 2014).  

This week also included work on the WebQuest designs. The WebQuest project was good for me because it proved (to myself) that I am capable of using technology, capable of thinking outside the box to make fun and beneficial learning opportunities for my students, and lastly, that this kind of learning can happen in a high school band setting. The need for teachers, especially band directors, to get away from teacher led classrooms is very high. The traditional band setting places a director on a podium with a baton and tells them to lead the group. While my classroom has many opportunities for class discussions and student input, it will be interesting to see how different learning will occur when they complete the WebQuest.  

Bauer, W. (2014). Technology Fundamentals. In Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music. Oxford University Press.

Instructional Design and Technology In Music Education

            This week I got to revisit the backward design model that was focused on in a previous UFL music education course. The backwards design model is a great tool for teachers of all content areas because it focuses on student outcomes (the learning) more so than the teaching (Bauer, 2014). While I do use the backward design with my middle school bands consistently, I occasionally find myself getting wrapped up in the strenuous high school band performance schedule and losing focus on the real goal of student learning. Administering assignments and assessments digitally (with a program like SmartMusic) is a great way to use technology in the instructional design for band, but it is also a digital record keeper. Having the ability to track data electronically means easy adjustments in my backward design and it also makes planning for differentiated instruction easier.

            This week I also became familiar with project based learning in the form of WebQuests. WebQuests, or an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information comes from resources on the internet, seem like a great way to have higher level thinking outside of the band room.  I fear that students often “practice” at home without using deep practice and the use of WebQuests will hopefully provoke thinking at a higher level than just playing through some notes. I look forward to completing a WebQuest for my middle school students on the topic of time signatures. I’ve never tried anything like this with them and I predict they will enjoy being “researchers.” The Driscoll model of constructivism, and the idea that knowledge should be constructed, challenges the typical band rehearsal of warm up and play through music as led by the director. I expect that by incorporating project based learning activities, like WebQuests, my students’ musical skills will strengthen even if the project does not necessarily require playing their instruments.

            Lastly, this week I am using technology to get parent feedback on my instructional design. This is my third year in my current teacher position. I brought back the marching band program (from a 17 year vacation) during my first year here. It seemed as though the students, parents, and community loved it. We began with parade marching in local parades the first year, then attended several parade competitions last year, and now field march at home football games in addition to several parade competitions. Recently I have had a very difficult time getting color guard and drumline students to come to the once a week after school rehearsals. That on top of woodwind and brass players not individually practicing has resulted in a frustrating score at our most recent competition. My goal is to do what is best for the students and, until recently, I thought that was to provide them with marching band opportunities that they didn’t have before. And so I have constructed a survey (with google forms) to try to get feedback from parents and students. Hopefully the feedback will give me information to help the program move forward.

Link to Marching BandSurvey

Bauer, W. (2014). Technology Fundamentals. In Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music. Oxford University Press.

Responding to Music with Technology

            Using technology in the music classroom to facilitate learning by responding to music offers limitless options. In class this week I became familiar with the online video resource Zaption, whose company motto is “Don’t just watch. Learn.” I find this particularly relevant to music educators because we have to make sure our students “Don’t just hear. Listen.” Incorporating multimedia in my classroom is possible with a projector and whiteboard and offers nothing but advantages to student learning. The Zaption video I created about our field show performance music only contained a few prompts, however my students were far more engaged than they would have been if I had simply shown them the video. Additionally, I think Zaption is a wonderful tool because students need concurrent stimulates to stay engaged. They are constantly on their smart devices while having a conversation, eating lunch, and doing homework at the same time. There are arguments that discuss how effective (or ineffective) humans are when multitasking, nonetheless, many students are accustomed to and demand this type of environment to stay engaged.

            In class this week I was guided to revisit the social bookmarking site Diigo. Although I became familiar with Diigo several years ago, I drifted away and I’m not sure why. It is incredibly convenient to have access to all of your bookmarks no matter what device you are using. The ability to source share within a specific group is a wonderful resource. I cannot think of a better place to look directly for quality internet resources. Something that I noticed from viewing my previous bookmarks from a few years ago is that Diigo is almost like a progress monitoring tool for teachers. I quickly realized what I tried, when I tried it, and what was successful.  

             This week I realized something about my approach to teaching that was very eye opening. I occasionally rehab property (usually during the summer months) and in my current project I am in 13 days in and much further along than usual. While reflecting on this I determined that I have become very good at locating the right tool for the job. I do not hesitate to go to my toolbox when something is not working or I go ask an expert for advice. However, in my classroom I have a student laptop that does not get used as often as it should and (until this technology course) I did not take the initiative to find the right tools and did not ask an expert. I am constantly watching YouTube videos for guide on home repair but never for teaching. So the question is why do I view these two jobs so differently? I have concluded that it is because I am formally trained in one but not the other. I have thought of myself as a lifelong learner because I have continued education and read articles and among other things, but have not truly been willing to learn for the best interest of my students. Until now.

Week 4 - Technology for Musical Performance

Technology for Musical Performance

The coursework this week identified multiple ways to use technology to better music performance, but also recognized some overall best teaching practices. The chapter Performing Music in Music Learning Today (Bauer, 2014) noted several valuable technological resources including the auto- accompaniment software Smart Music, digital metronomes, and interactive whiteboards. While I had already been using most of the above mentioned technologies to some degree, there are several new practices that I learned. For example, using Smart Music for an ensemble rehearsal rather than just individual practice or assessment seems to be a great resource for my small ensembles. Additionally, I will be using Audacity later this semester with my drumline class (a fine art credit for non-ensemble students) to record and arrange tracks. The precursor for that project will be the resources on Lynda.com including “Up and Running with Audacity” and “Digital Audio Principals.” Prior to this week’s lesson I had only used audacity as a tool to slow down or speed up recordings for students to practice with or for color guard routines and I am excited to see the students use it for a profounder project.

In addition to the technology resources, I found several good teaching practices from this week’s reading to be beneficial. While I am already using modeling and feedback to teach musical concepts and skills, the reading challenges me to guide students in self-regulation. Smart Music is a great tool for students to receive immediate extrinsic feedback, however I would like for my students to be able to increase their ability to monitor themselves. I have recently shown them the various technologies that can be used for recording and have established a system in which students receive “base points” if they send me a recording of them practicing. The “base points” are added to their playing test grade for the material they practiced. Although very new this system has worked well so far. I think the next step will be to have them submit two recordings: a pre and a post self-assessed track. While it can sometimes be a constraint for students that do not have access to technology outside of school, the advantages to using technology to supplement music performance are invaluable.

Bauer, William I. (2014). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music. New York: Oxford University Press.

Composing Music With Technology

The benefits from creating music with technology reach students who are involved in typical performing ensemble classes as well as those who not. As I learned this week in UF’s Music Technology course, modern technology can be utilized to help the estimated 80% of students who are not a part of a performing ensemble compose music. Digital audio workstations (DAWs) use MIDI, digital audio, and loops to allow users to create music even without understanding music notation (Bauer, 2014). There are two sides to the argument concerning music notation and its role in music education. While some believe that students must learn notation in order to be able to “create” music, much of the music we hear in present day is “created” with technology such as DAWs. The DAW that I became familiar with this week, SoundTrap, is incredibly fun to use and I feel that the final product is 100% music even though I did not notate anything for the composition. I must admit that prior to this week I fell more to the side of the argument that requires teaching music notation, but now I am now in favor of using programs like SoundTrap and especially so for students who do not perform with an ensemble. When I began using the program I was completely out of my element, as I am very concrete person who thrives when the notes are black print in front of me, but it did not take me long to warm up to the program. The ability to create a digital audio with the computer keyboard (and no notation knowledge) is probably my favorite feature. The bar lines and measures are easily mapped out and the playback feature shows users exactly where they are at all times.

This week also provided me with the valuable resource Lynda.com. The video lessons on technology provided by this website are outstanding. I enjoyed learning about the sound and different aspects of recording it. I also found some valuable lessons concerning music notation programs, with three of the lessons focusing on Finale. While the available software or DAWs may come and go, the most concrete idea I will take from the learning in this week’s class is the concept that students can be musical and learn to think in sound even if they cannot notate music.  

Important links

www.Lynda.com    

www.Soundtrap.com  

Sources

Bauer, W. (2014). Technology Fundamentals. In Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music. Oxford University Press.

Technology in the music classroom provides endless possibilities for creating music. I have regularly used the free downloadable software MuseScore for notating projects of my own but have not turned the power of the program over to the students. This week, students in my drumline class took turns using the laptop to create a composition on either MuseScore or NoteFlight. Almost all of the students chose to use NoteFlight because it gave them the flexibility to work on their pieces outside of class without having to download any software. There were no guidelines or restrictions to the assignment and the completed pieces were pretty outstanding. As an educator, I aim for high performance expectations for the students because I truly believe they will rise to the bar, however this project showed me that I have had low or no expectations when it comes to creating music. I was completely blown away by what these students were capable of doing with a computer and a few short class periods and I will continue to explore ways for them to create written music.

The readings this week also challenged my approach to improvisation in the classroom. I am a mediocre improviser but I regularly trade fours with all of the students in jazz band and we also play along with Jamey Aebersold books and tracks. Before this week’s readings I felt as though I was doing a “good job” in “teaching” improvisation because it is so common for band directors to not incorporate improvisation at all. There are countless strategies listed in the article and textbook readings from this week that could benefit myself and my students, but the approach that stuck with me the most is how Christian Barhard II (2013) uses improvisation in the concert band setting. Incorporating improvisation in the concert band setting will not only reach more students, but could have additional positive effects on the jazz band since students play in both ensembles. We know that improvisation in any ensemble can increase student musical ability in areas such as sight reading and enhanced aural skills (Hallam, 2008).

I believe that by using a variety of the improvisation activities or games on a regular basis will make my students more comfortable with the act of creating music in my classroom and get away from the mentality that they are just there to recreate music. My classroom has several computers which allows students to take turns working on creating compositions, but probably more important is the option to use any of the improvisation games listed in Trevor Dimoff’s article (2003) without any technology. While it is easy to look the other way when it comes to improvisation in the music classroom, demanding performance schedules and lack of teacher ability are not good enough excuses to ignore one of the three areas (creating) listed in the Core Music Standards.

Barnhard, C. (2013). Improvising in Concert Bands and Orchestras. SBO Magazine.

Dimoff, T. Improvisation Games: Creating Spontaneous Music in Groups. Acadia U, 31 March    2003. Web. 4 Sept. 2015.

Hallam, S. (2008). Music psychology in education. London: Institution of Education, University   of London. (Original work published in 2006).

A Bicycle Built For Two

I enjoyed using NoteFlight for the assignment of notating "A Bicycle Built For Two." Having used several other free and not free programs, I believe Noteflight is a very acceptable note entry program. Some of the features that I enjoyed the most include the ability to add and delete measure with one click and the ability to change note duration with a shortcut. Additionally, I find it very valuable to be able to export works as an MusicXML file. Overall I think Noteflight is a great tool and I predict that I will use in the future for myself as well as with students. 

It is very evident that technology plays a vital role in today’s world and people’s lives. I don’t think it is possible to go somewhere and not see technology, which is defined in the book Music Learning Today (Bauer, 2014) as “computers and related digital tools.” In secondary education is common to see many students using smart phones, and shockingly in wide variety of demographics. This shows the high value our society places on technology and the importance of utilizing it in the classroom.

In general education is not only suggested, but becoming a requirement.

While requiring schools to integrate technology into the classrooms for standardized testing may or may not be a positive approach to technology in the classroom, proper integration of technology leads to small and moderate gains in student learning (Tamim, Bernard, Borokhovski, Abrami, Schmid, 2011).

To reach a level of technological integration that is beneficial for student learning, teachers must understand the relationship between technology knowledge, and content and pedagogical knowledge. The combination of all three is known as TPACK (technological pedagogical and content knowledge). Below is a brief summary of the various components of the TPACK model and how they work together.

Content knowledge (CK) – a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter being taught.

Pedagogical knowledge (PK) – an understanding of the general principles, practices, and methods of instruction and student learning that apply across disciplines.

Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) – combination of expert knowledge of a subject with the ability to teach that subject to learners.

Technology knowledge (TK) – an understanding of general technologies that are required for teaching and learning.

Technological Content Knowledge (TCK) – an understanding of how technology is used in a content areas as well as how content is impacted by technology.

Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK) – an understanding of the affordances and constraints of using common technologies for teaching and learning.

And finally TPACK - effective technology integration for pedagogy around a specific subject matter.

In my current teaching position I can identify the need to integrate more technology in order to progress from PCK to TPACK. At this point I am guilty of using technology as an organizational tool for myself (parent emails, calendars, PowerPoints for lessons, Finale to arrange music for missing parts) rather than as a student centered learning tool. I feel as though I am transitioning from a less experienced teacher who “preferred information about classroom management issues and administrative aspects of music teaching” (Bauer, 2010) to a teacher that can focus more on TPACK. The activities from this week have already given me a direct path to go further in that transition. The personal learning network (PLN), especially the feedly and twitter accounts are incredibly quick and easy to access and take away a bit of the feeling of “professional isolation” that I get from being the only band director in my district. While I am confident it will be easy for me to access the plethora of information available in my PLN, one area I know I will have to focus on is sharing my ideas so that people who are a part of my network can learn from my contributions (Bauer, 2010). After this week’s activities, my goal is to be dedicated to my PLN long term so that I can be an adaptive expert who continues to learn more deeply, rather than a routine expert (book).

References

Bauer, W. (2010). Your personal learning network professional development on demand. Music Educators Journal.

Bauer, W. (2014). A Conceptual Framework for Technology-Assisted Music Learning. In Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music. Oxford University Press.

Tamim, R. M., Bernard, R.M., Borokhovski, E., Abrami, P.C., & Schmid, R. F. (2011). What forty years of research says about the impact of technology on learning: A second-order meta-analysis and validation study. Review of Educational Research, 81(1), 4-28.