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