The overarching theme of pages 44-51 in Chapter 3: Creating Music of William Bauer’s (2014) book, Music Learning Today, was how to cultivate creativity as a music educator so that “the other 80%” (p. 46) who are not involved in their schools’ music programs can still have active musical lives apart from school. However, Bauer also emphasized using technology to expand the creativity of those who are in their school’s music ensembles.
The first major idea Bauer addresses is the misconception that creativity is a rare gift that only some people are endowed with. He states that because of this misconception, it is all the more important that music educators find ways to develop creativity, especially through the use of technology, to prove that creativity is achieved through persistent practice. His four main steps to developing creativity are: preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification. This process is not linear, it is full of trial and error; a person can go back and forth between steps in order to fully develop their creativity. Finally, Bauer explains that the most beneficial method for facilitating creativity in students consists of certain constraints or frameworks, resources, and opportunities where the student can take ownership of their work. The students will also have to be motivated to develop their own aural and analyzing skills, in addition to imitate and informally learning from more experienced musicians. In a general music classroom, I would be sure to use Bauer’s idea of constraints to cultivate creativity. In that type of class there are many levels of interests in music, but as an educator it would be my goal to stir or increase excitement in the students toward music. Giving students a general format to adhere to would allow for rules, but would leave space for exploration of new sounds and ideas that they can take ownership of and become more interested in. In a collaborative maker space with music makers setting, I would allow the students to gain experience through an informal manner: modeling after their peers. Bauer explains that sometimes this can be the best way for a student to learn at times because they are experiencing the activity hands-on and making instant connections. In a creative space like this, I would not want my students to feel as if there are many rules in place; instead I want them to explore and find their own ideas. When using notation as a medium for composing, Bauer states that it is helpful for teaching students learn the ways of how musical notation works. Notation software can also show the pitch range of an instrument which helps with the technical portion of composing. Teachers can easily create composition templates for their students to follow, and teachers can listen to their work midway through the project so that they can provide ongoing feedback. The students can instantly hear their own work with similar sounding instruments and revise their own music continuously too. Some constraints would be that notation software does not allow the student to be actively thinking in sound or musically since the software puts out whatever is notated. Also, though sound can instantly be played back, the instruments may not have the right timbre and give students a misconception of what their piece will sound like live. Lastly, students will be more unwilling to change their musical ideas if it has already been notated, as opposed to if they had just jotted it down on scratch paper. My experience with notation software afforded me an easy way to notate my music and immediately hear back what I wanted it to sound like so that I could revise it right then and there. I could also easily change the notes that I wanted without spending extra time erasing and scratching out measures. I liked how easy the software was to manage and how I could easily find different items like dynamics and accidentals without too much trouble. First, it was constraining trying to make the beats smaller because it would take a lot of time or it would change the beat to rests when I wanted them to remain as notes. Sometimes the placement of dynamic markings was also strange and did not format well in the music. Lastly, the timbre of certain instruments was lacking and would not sound like what I imagined or wanted them to sound like. Overall, I think my experience with the notation software, Noteflight, was successful and I could easily compose without too many issues. My questions that I thought of when reading this chapter were, “How do you determine the extent of the constraints or how much critique is proper and still encouraging for the student?” and “What is the point of reaching the other 80% of students who are not involved in schools’ ensembles through notation software---is it to expose them to new things? If that is the case, what about the students who are not interested in notating music; what do you then do to connect them with music?” My first resource that I found was the blog, MusTech.net (http://mustech.net/music-technology/). Even though the domain, “.net”, is usually not to be trusted, since it was only a blog, and the author’s credentials were fine, I still used the site. The authors of this blog were Dr. Joseph M. Pisano and Amy M. Burns. Dr. Pisano has a doctorate in Music Education from Kent State University. He has spoken at several national conferences, published a handful of articles, and received the Ti:ME (Technology for Music Educators) Teacher of the Year Award. Amy M. Burns was the past President for Ti:Me from 20120-2014. She was the first person to ever be awarded Ti:ME teacher of the year. She is also the author of several published articles relating to using technology in music classrooms and lesson plans that go along with these suggestions. Their blog specializes in providing current facts and information, as well as sharing and reviewing different resources like apps and software programs to its readers so that they can be better users of technology in their music classrooms. The blog is linked to other music education blogs and is funded by advertisers who want their programs to be shared on the website. Overall, this blog seems like a great resource tool for music educators looking to implement technology into their classrooms more often and contains tutorials, as well as apps, on how to accomplish that goal. For me, as an aspiring music educator, I find this blog as a quick and easy way to search up creative, interesting applications of music in the classroom. If I needed denser content, I could always read the published articles the authors have written on music technology in the classroom. However, the blog is a simplistic way for me to read their reviews and suggestions without being too bogged down by complex wording on how and what to use in music technology.
My second resource is the website, Tutsplus (http://music.tutsplus.com/); its domain is “.com”, which is what I would expect from a website. This website is joint effort by a plethora of authors, but is a reliable source based on the reviews given to it. Tutsplus is well laid out and provides easy to follow how-tos, courses, and ebooks on audio and music, such as mastering the art of mixing or learning synth basics. For a low monthly cost, users can enjoy these step-by-step tutorials and learn more on how to use technology in music. Through this payment plan, as well as through advertisers, Tutsplus can continuing running to provide the resources it specializes in. For me, a relatively cheap website like Tutsplus that provides tutorials on technology basics would be extremely helpful in getting the initial experience with mixing and synthesizers. I would get quality learning material, without having to pay an extensive amount of money for a course on it. The last resource I found was the software, Music First, and more specifically the application they provide Soundation4Education (https://www.musicfirst.com/applications/soundation4education). The application was published in 2014 and is relatively up to date; the program easily runs on any browser that has internet access. It requires no additional hardware setup, though a plug in microphone may be useful for recording sounds. The software can be used for band, orchestra, or choir, and is generally used for elementary and middle school kids, but can be used in high school classrooms too. This application addresses how to work with audio loops, how to build multitrack sequences, and play MIDI data straight into Soundation. This program would be an easy hands on program for children to experiment with and learn the different processes involved. This educational priced, tutorial software has a clear and easy layout that younger students could easily figure out. The teacher can also be involved in the student’s learning by directly viewing each student’s work when it is submitted and giving immediate feedback. This application would be a great resource as a teacher that I could use in the future to allow my students to have a hands on experience with looping and manipulating audio files. It is simple enough that I would not have to teach too much, but would be able to let them explore and make music on their own. After reading the chapter entitled Technology Fundamentals from William Bauer's (2014) book, Music Learning Today, I have noticed the various types of technology that past music educators have implemented into my musical experiences. For example, my private flute teacher encouraged the use of Smart Music, a program that includes piano accompaniments and technique books that can monitor and record pitches and rhythms one has just played. The program then grades the recording based on its accuracy, which can then be used to help the student improve for the next time. Smart Music fits into the category of practice that Bauer mentions because this instructional software allows for drilling and practicing of etudes and repertoire with immediate feedback. In my opinion, Smart Music is an excellent tool for practicing solo works without the need to pay for a pianist. I also found it to be great at providing a quick, clear assessment of an etude that I had just played. However, there are some inaccuracies with pitch and rhythm recognition depending on the quality of microphone and computer used, which can be frustrating.
Another example of technology that I have been exposed to is blogs. In my AP Music Theory class, the teacher offered handouts and practice worksheets that came from another more experienced music theory teacher's blog. This blog was extremely helpful in providing a different teaching method than my high school's music teacher in case his method of learning chords and proper voice leading did not make sense to me. The extra practice worksheets were also beneficial in providing more practice with certain topics because we did not have enough time in class to continuously practice the more difficult concepts. Overall, I believe technologies are extremely beneficial in providing extra practice for students, whether it be through extra worksheets, video tutorials, or instant feedback on playing. However, all technology has its flaws, so it is important to be careful that the technology used is credible and easily accessible to all students. During this semester, I would love to learn more about music technologies that involve the use of only human body movement, such as Scratch and the Theremini. An example of the Theremini being used is found in this Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cqcTbDxsHM. I think it is amazing how only body movement can create musical sounds through the use of technology. It's almost unimaginable that my hand moving in the air could be the tool that can change pitch. With the technology, my kinesthetic learning can easily be combined with audio learning, which in turn will hopefully lead to better memory and enjoyment of musical skills and sounds. In order to learn more about this technology, I would love to use and practice the Theremini or other kinds of music technology that employ physical movement to produce sounds. The two questions I had related to the reading were: "How can music teachers use music technology in a way that is interesting to students without wasting too much time with technical difficulties?" and "How should sessions and workshops be formatted and given so that music educators have more knowledge on music technology?". |
Davina MiawOn this page, I will present examples of my scholarship in the form of reflective essays and philosophical assignments. Archives
November 2019
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