Dorian Mode
Teaching scales other than major and minor can get quite confusing! This link explains the dorian mode and allows us to explore it before utilizing it. This seems very practical for not only guitarists, but teaching beginning improvisation to your jazz band!
Classroom Stage Fright?
When we start to teach new concepts and lessons, sometimes we second guess ourselves and our abilities and freeze up. This link has 9 wonderful tips on how to overcome your classroom stage fright! I know I'll be using some of these in the future!
Friday, December 6, 2013
Friday, November 29, 2013
Week 6
Steady Beat Activities/Games
I know what you're thinking ... "BAND?! GAMES?!" Yes! ANY steady beat activity made for a general elementary classroom can be adapted for MS Band! I often use the game "beat nick" also known as "beat catcher" in my rehearsals as a form of team bonding and socializing. It really works well, and these games in this blog could also be used in your classroom! ... Oh! And don't forget to use the metronome! My band has a tendency to speed up, just like the lovely "slow clap." Haha!
Teaching Jazz
Although this is for piano, if you have no idea where to start on teaching jazz, this article gives you a stepping off point. You can even give your students the first 5 notes of the concert Bb jazz scale to start with. The jazz basics are key in getting a good start with jazz. Everything builds off the basics, so don't jump into concepts too quickly!
I know what you're thinking ... "BAND?! GAMES?!" Yes! ANY steady beat activity made for a general elementary classroom can be adapted for MS Band! I often use the game "beat nick" also known as "beat catcher" in my rehearsals as a form of team bonding and socializing. It really works well, and these games in this blog could also be used in your classroom! ... Oh! And don't forget to use the metronome! My band has a tendency to speed up, just like the lovely "slow clap." Haha!
Teaching Jazz
Although this is for piano, if you have no idea where to start on teaching jazz, this article gives you a stepping off point. You can even give your students the first 5 notes of the concert Bb jazz scale to start with. The jazz basics are key in getting a good start with jazz. Everything builds off the basics, so don't jump into concepts too quickly!
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Week 5
Musictheory.net
Are your students having troubles memorizing their note names? This site developed a great way to quiz your students! You can pick the clef and range you'd like to quiz and your students pick from the notes below. Click here to go right to that quiz. This is MUCH more fun than flashcards and you're students will want to try to beat their score every week! :) Check out the rest of the site for different lessons and exercises!
Arts Education and Entrepreneurship
Here's a wonderful article on the link between arts education and entrepreneurship. All too often we find ourselves on the chopping block, begging for the school board to understand the importance of our programs, yet we still get cut! This is just another reason why what we do is so extremely important!
Are your students having troubles memorizing their note names? This site developed a great way to quiz your students! You can pick the clef and range you'd like to quiz and your students pick from the notes below. Click here to go right to that quiz. This is MUCH more fun than flashcards and you're students will want to try to beat their score every week! :) Check out the rest of the site for different lessons and exercises!
Arts Education and Entrepreneurship
Here's a wonderful article on the link between arts education and entrepreneurship. All too often we find ourselves on the chopping block, begging for the school board to understand the importance of our programs, yet we still get cut! This is just another reason why what we do is so extremely important!
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Week 4
High Tech-Low Budget
Those words are music to my (and my principals) ears! I don't have a very large budget and find myself spending quite a bit of money every year covering the little things that we need to be successful. Although this page is quite lengthy, it has some wonderful information on many of the software programs out there with prices. Take a look and see if you could benefit from any of the FREE ones!
Chromatik
If all my students had an iPad or tablet, I would LOVE to use this! From sending assignments, to students recording and submitting, to you being able to make notes on what they should focus on is fantastic! Although, I don't want this to take away from the importance of weekly lessons, it sure would assist in holding students accountable for practicing!
Those words are music to my (and my principals) ears! I don't have a very large budget and find myself spending quite a bit of money every year covering the little things that we need to be successful. Although this page is quite lengthy, it has some wonderful information on many of the software programs out there with prices. Take a look and see if you could benefit from any of the FREE ones!
Chromatik
If all my students had an iPad or tablet, I would LOVE to use this! From sending assignments, to students recording and submitting, to you being able to make notes on what they should focus on is fantastic! Although, I don't want this to take away from the importance of weekly lessons, it sure would assist in holding students accountable for practicing!
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Noteflight: A Bicycle Built for Two
Click here to go directly to the Noteflight score of: A Bicycle Built for Two.
I have found Noteflight to be extremely simple to use. The ease of putting in the notes and adding extras, like the staccatos or chords, made this week's assignment simple. I also find the MIDI playback very nice. Although it still sounds very electronic (or maybe it's just my speakers) I like that I can play along with it. Before I even got to the "Bicycle" assignment this week, I used Noteflight to write up a lost drum set part for a jazz song. It was extremely easy and the copy/paste method made it effortless. Now my drummer isn't completely lost and can do the fills where they're supposed to be! :)
This tool is not only nice for educators to replicate parts like this assignment, but for parts that need to be modified for different levels of musicians. Also, seeing that this site is free, students could use this program for theory class or an assignment from their teacher. Many schools (such as mine) cannot afford to purchase multiple computers with multiple software packages, so this would be a wonderful alternative. Plus, when the students have it on "share" mode, the teacher can access the scores at anytime, from any location!
Here's the embedded link:
<object width="640" height="316"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.noteflight.com/scores/embed"></param> <param name="FlashVars" value="id=c0a0d179f664e73d398dfd343f8eaec98cd84230&scale=1"></param> <embed src="http://www.noteflight.com/scores/embed" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" FlashVars="id=c0a0d179f664e73d398dfd343f8eaec98cd84230&scale=1" width="640" height="316"></embed></object>
I have found Noteflight to be extremely simple to use. The ease of putting in the notes and adding extras, like the staccatos or chords, made this week's assignment simple. I also find the MIDI playback very nice. Although it still sounds very electronic (or maybe it's just my speakers) I like that I can play along with it. Before I even got to the "Bicycle" assignment this week, I used Noteflight to write up a lost drum set part for a jazz song. It was extremely easy and the copy/paste method made it effortless. Now my drummer isn't completely lost and can do the fills where they're supposed to be! :)
This tool is not only nice for educators to replicate parts like this assignment, but for parts that need to be modified for different levels of musicians. Also, seeing that this site is free, students could use this program for theory class or an assignment from their teacher. Many schools (such as mine) cannot afford to purchase multiple computers with multiple software packages, so this would be a wonderful alternative. Plus, when the students have it on "share" mode, the teacher can access the scores at anytime, from any location!
Here's the embedded link:
<object width="640" height="316"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.noteflight.com/scores/embed"></param> <param name="FlashVars" value="id=c0a0d179f664e73d398dfd343f8eaec98cd84230&scale=1"></param> <embed src="http://www.noteflight.com/scores/embed" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" FlashVars="id=c0a0d179f664e73d398dfd343f8eaec98cd84230&scale=1" width="640" height="316"></embed></object>
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Week 3
How to download YouTube videos!!!
This link gives you the "secret" on how to download YouTube videos. No more bookmarking videos (just to find that they have been deleted) or to find that the music was not copyrighted and doesn't play sound anymore! This will help keep you organized from lesson to lesson and allows you to prepare much quicker between classes.
Beatboxing in Band
This article on beatboxing and bucket beats is written for general music classes, ages 10-12, but I would take this concept and use it with my band. Not only is it a fun and engaging activity, you can work on breathing techniques and phrases with beatboxing. I can also see this concept to help students learn new rhythms!
This link gives you the "secret" on how to download YouTube videos. No more bookmarking videos (just to find that they have been deleted) or to find that the music was not copyrighted and doesn't play sound anymore! This will help keep you organized from lesson to lesson and allows you to prepare much quicker between classes.
Beatboxing in Band
This article on beatboxing and bucket beats is written for general music classes, ages 10-12, but I would take this concept and use it with my band. Not only is it a fun and engaging activity, you can work on breathing techniques and phrases with beatboxing. I can also see this concept to help students learn new rhythms!
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Week 2
SmartMusic Q&A
I love using SmartMusic with my students! This link brings you to some great info on SmartMusic's newest update. Although they answered most of my questions, I'd still like to know why the green line tracker on the iPad doesn't follow the music exactly and why every time I use the back button to select a new excerpt number, it always goes back to the Flute part. Hopefully they can fix these app issues soon!
Studio2 App
Record 96 tracks, digital audio AND MIDI! This article gives a quick overview of the Studio2 app. I really like how you can incorporate a YouTube video into your recordings. It is not a free app, but it sure does seem worth the money for all you can do with it!
I love using SmartMusic with my students! This link brings you to some great info on SmartMusic's newest update. Although they answered most of my questions, I'd still like to know why the green line tracker on the iPad doesn't follow the music exactly and why every time I use the back button to select a new excerpt number, it always goes back to the Flute part. Hopefully they can fix these app issues soon!
Studio2 App
Record 96 tracks, digital audio AND MIDI! This article gives a quick overview of the Studio2 app. I really like how you can incorporate a YouTube video into your recordings. It is not a free app, but it sure does seem worth the money for all you can do with it!
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