Module 3 (Soundtrap, MIDI, Loops, and More)

Module 3 (Soundtrap, MIDI, Loops, and More)

This week has been very busy in both my career as well as my graduate school course.  This week in my professional career I had my middle school’s Spring Concert where I and my co-worker had our sixth, seventh, and eighth graders all perform “Star Wars Opening Theme” together.  I had the opportunity to conduct the eighth grade concert band as well as the first Coffee Middle School Jazz Ensemble.  The very next morning we left for Panama City Beach on our spring trip to Dave and Busters, as well as a performance and fun at Shipwreck Island.

Shipwreck Island©

                    

Dave and Busters©

One of the assignments that we had for class this week was a Soundtrap project.  As I was working on that project I realized how user friendly the program was and easily available for students.  I would love to incorporate this type of project along with some Incredibox projects into my band classes.  Both of these websites are easy to use and great for creating music.  As I have mentioned before, today’s students expect instant gratification on many things.  By using either of these programs the students will be able to create music using loops and see that they really can create music.  After they are used to the loops, expand their composition range by the use of MIDI and other devices.         

Soundtrap©

Some of the things from the readings this week caught my attention.  One of the things was the use of digital audio workstation (DAW) which we got the experience of using this week with Soundtrap.  Bauer said “Of course, refined listening skills are essential when making musical decisions in audio production” (p. 32).  This is a very encouraging quote.  By students and teachers getting the opportunity to really use one of these programs, even the free online ones, they can refine their listening skills and build up their timing when cutting and splicing sections together.  

Another thing that I really enjoyed from the reading was the discussion about portable digital audio recorders.  When I was at my first job I ended up having to use a tape recorder to record my band when we were getting ready for our concerts, or if I did not want to take too much time from class to have them take their performance test.  This just happened to be the only kind of technology that was available at my school with no money to buy any other recording devices.  With the availability to use digital audio recorders it is much more convenient to record and listen back to full ensemble recordings as well as individual performances.  

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