Elementary Music/Music Technology Blog

I hope that everyone is having a nice holiday season and a peaceful break. Our two concerts (one which occurred during the beginning of a snow storm) came out very well. I am so proud of my students. They performed both concerts beautifully! After the new year begins, I will post 30 second snippets of my students singing their holiday concert songs on my podomatic site.

I thought that the most appropriate post for today would be New Year’s Resolutions. I am hoping that by posting them on my blog it would help me keep some of them. Here are my New Year’s Resolutions for 2009:

1. Keep enhancing my students’ educations with music.
2. Put my baby girl (due this spring) first.
3. Spend more time with my family.
4. Keep up with my professional development either through attending conferences, workshops, or week-long summer courses.
5. Write more articles on elementary music and music technology.
6. Learn from the best so that I can be an asset to TI:ME.
7. Promote two publications that I co-authored this summer (one is for Sibelius and one is for SoundTree).
8. Present and teach various opportunities for music educators to enhance their music classrooms with technology.
9. Play my flute and clarinet more.
10. Read more.

What are your New Year’s Resolutions?

Happy 2009!

Picture from http://bogglesworldesl.com/new_year_worksheets.htm

Dr. Joseph M. Pisano of MusTech.net began a quest to have 100 Music Education Bloggers by the end of 2008. I really enjoy reading his blog and many other blogs that are on this list and applaud and support his efforts of achieving this goal. As of December 16, 2008 he announced the “almost official list of 100 ME bloggers.” This is an excellent list! Though you can find it on one of my blog pages or you can go right to Joe’s site to find it too, I thought that I would include the list here so that you can just click and read some of these great blogs. To read Joe’s full article, click here.
I congratulate Joe on his vision and how he implemented it for the year of 2008. He made a wonderful difference in the world of music education!

The OFFICIAL ME List (Updated December 16th, 2008)
DRUMROLL PLEASE!

Here is the “unofficial” Official list of the 100 ME bloggers:

1. http://www.mustech.net
   Dr. Joseph M. Pisano- MusTech.net
2. http://digitalmusiceducator.wordpress.com
   Owen Bradley -The Digital Music Educator
3. http://etobiasblog.musiced.net
   Evan Tobias- Catalysts & Connections
4. http://musiced.about.com/
   Espie Estrella -About Music Education
5. http://jamesfrankel.musiced.net/
   Dr. James Frankel- Music Technology in Education
6. http://weblog.siba.fi/msalavuo
   Dr. Miikka Salavuo- Music Education, Technology & Social Media
7. http://pwhitfield.edublogs.org
   Pete Whitfield- e-Learning for Music
8. http://www.musicedmagic.com
   Chad Criswell- Music Ed. Magic
9. http://jsavage.org.uk/
   Dr. Jonathan Savage- Jonathan Savage
10. http://musictechforme.com/
    V. Keith Mason- Music Tech. for Me.
11. http://tjweller.wordpress.com
    Travis J. Weller- Composing Like Mad
12. http://mystro2b.edublogs.org/
    Ken Pendergrass- Music is Not for Insects
13. http://www.soyouwanttoteach.com/
    Joel- So You Want to Teach
14. http://stengel99.wordpress.com/
    Steve Engel- Music Ed. Lounge
15. http://fsharpbflat.wordpress.com/
    Linda Granite- Bb, F#
16. http://doublebassblog.org
    Jason Heath- Double Bass Blog
17. http://musicisfree.ning.com/
    Robert Brannan- The Music is Free
18. http://dvzmix.wordpress.com/
    Deborah Valdivia-Zwolinski- DVZ’s Mix
19. http://choirteachers.blogspot.com/
    Kyle Gardner- Choir Teachers
20. http://www.pauldraper.org
    Paul Draper- Draper’s Blogspot
21. http://johnwilborn.wordpress.com
    John Wilborn- John Wilborn’s Weblog
22. http://iknowithink.blogspot.com
    Leo Park- I Know…I Think
23. http://gluedtothestring.blogspot.com
    Stan Haskins- Glued to the String
24. http://musicedtech.wordpress.com
    Barbara Freedman- Music Ed. Tech.
25. http://tomrudolph.berkleemusicblogs.com
    Dr. Tom Rudolph- Make the Most of Notation Software
26. http://wirechoir.dlewisweb.com
    Dale Lewis- Teaching the “Wire Choir”
27. http://docandry.edublogs.org
    Dr. Kevin Andry-Dr. Andry’s Band Blog
28. http://sperham.wordpress.com
    Steffany Perham- Perham’s Prattlings
29. http://alexruthmann.com
    Alex Ruthmann- Alex Ruthmann’s Blog
30. http://www.beatechie.com/
    Carol Broos- Be A Techie:)
31. http://musicanthology.org
    Geejay Arrioloa and Jeffrey Langlois -Music Anthology
32. http://southiowamusiced.blogspot.com/
    Michael Compton -Southern Iowa Music Education Network
33. http://qachsband.edublogs.org/
    Eric Wright- QACHS’s Band Blog
34. http://jonathanfilbert.com/blog/
    Jonathan Filbert -Sound On ~Music and Music Education
35. http://alleyjazz13.wordpress.com/
    Alison Hulihan- Marching Music
36. http://rogerwhaley.blogspot.com
    Roger Whaley -The BandEd ToolShed
37. http://mgrondin.edublogs.org
    Martha Grondin-Artful, Tuneful, Beatful
38. http://percussioneducationonline.com
    Kevin Tuck -Percussion Education Online
39. http://www.musicteachersblog.com
    Janice Tuck -The Music Teacher’s Blog
40. http://bnceducation.blogspot.com
    Steve Raybould, Kriston Feldpausch -Band and Chorus PMS/PJHS
41. http://musicedshare.wordpress.com
    Kyle Krstolic -Music Education Share
42. http://musicedforall.blogspot.com
    Dan Leeman -Music Education for All
43. http://amymburns.musiced.net
    Amy Burns -Elementary Music/Music Technology
44. http://www.music.erinnwrobel.com
    Erinn Wrobel - Notes From The Mitten
45. http://dougbutchy.wordpress.com
    Doug Butchy - Confessions of a Band Director
46. http://studiobeemusic.com/mutech
    Rich Blenkinsopp - Studiobee Music
47. http://musicmiddleschoolandweb20.blogspot.com/
    Susan Hurst - Music, Middle School and Web 2.0
48. http://www.kirki.co.uk
    Dr. Phil Kirkman -Music Education and Technology Blog
49. http://tufsdblogs.org/winze
    Ann Winze- WI Orchestra
50. http://thirddivision.org
    David DeVoto - Third Division
51. http://collaborativepiano.blogspot.com
    Dr. Chris Foley - The Collaborative Piano Blog
52. http://bandguys.wordpress.com
    Matthew Pelandina and Mike Lewis - The BandGuys’ blog
53. http://tanbur.wordpress.com
    David French -The Music Education Blogspot
54. http://musicteachers911.blogspot.com
    Larry Marra -Music Teachers 911
55. http://www.pianoteacherblog.com
    Rebecca Brown -Piano Teacher’s Retreat
56. http://wordtogo.wordpress.com
    Steve Mugglin -Creativity and Songwriting in Music Education
57. http://totalmusiceducation.blogspot.com
    Gary Albing -Total Music Education
58. http://teachingmusicbs.com
    Ben Baker -Teaching Music
59. http://susanadavis.com/blog
    Susan Davis -Music Technology Musings
60. http://www.howtopractise.com (yes it’s a “s”, it’s an English spelling)
    Mike Saville - How To Practise
61. http://www.free2create.com/blog
    Valerie Kampmeier - Free 2 Create
62. http://musicmattersblog.com
    Natalie Wickham - Music Matters Blog
63. http://theresawhite.edublogs.org
    Theresa White - Education In Music
64. http://africlassical.blogspot.com
    William Zick - Africlassical
65. http://discoverlearnplay.blogspot.com
    Eugene Cantera - Discover, Learn, Play (MusickED.com’s Blog)
66. http://mstrismusic.com
    Ms. Tris - MsTrisMusic.com
67. http://www.learn-theory-music.com/learn-theory-music-blog.html
    Julian Partridge - Learn Theory Music Blog
68. http://www.guitarticles.net
    Tennyson Williams - Guitar Articles.Net
69. http://creativekidmusic.wordpress.com
    Dan Thompson -Creative Kid Music
70. http://educacionmusical.blogspot.com
    Oscar - Educacion Musical - Music Education (Our first, in Spanish, ME Blog!)
71. http://rizzrazz.vox.com/
    Dr. Eric Rasmussen - Rizz’s Blog
72. http://reband.wordpress.com
    Mr. ReBand
73. http://muench.edublogs.org
    Brenda Muench - DiscomBlogulated!
74. http://www.thomasjwestmusic.com/blog.htm
    Thomas J. West
75. http://musictech4ed.edublogs.org
    Andrew Spang -MusicTech4Ed
76. Click this link. (A very log blog URL…)
    Jon Ensminger -Pedaplus
77. http://techtoysandtunes.blogspot.com
    Richard McCready - Tech Toys and Tunes
78. http://downpressup.wordpress.com
    Derek -Downpressup
79. http://listenlearnmusic.com
    Rachel Rambach - Listen and Learn
80. http://jazzworks.wordpress.com
    Allan Perkins - Jazz Works
81. http://msgallant.edublogs.org
    Alexandra Gallant - The Misadventures of a First Year Music Teacher
82. http://www.acousticpath.com/blog
    Cameron Grant - Acoustic Path
83. http://musicteachercafe.viviti.com/
    Scott Ashby - Music Teacher’s Cafe
84. http://www.frogstoryrecords.com/player_journal.html
    Stever Carter - Frog Story Records/Player’s Journal
85. http://thirdstream.musiced.net
    Cary Stewart - Third-Stream Music Education
86. http://michiganstatepianopedagogy.blogspot.com
    Derek Polischuk - Michigan State Piano Pedagogy
87. http://fromthevoiceof.blogspot.com
    Elizabeth McDonald -From the Voice of…
88. http://urbanmusiceducation.org
    Sarah Johnston -Urban Music Education
89. http://musiced.jasoncrews.net/
    Jason Crews - Music Education Resource Blog
90. http://www.classicalguitarblog.net
    Christopher - Classical Guitar Blog
91. http://willie42.globalteacher.org.au/
    Andrew- Split Three Ways
92. http://mjsheetmusictips.blogspot.com/
    Marilyn Johnson - MJ’s Music Teaching Tips
93. http://www.musicteachershelper.com/blog/
    Brandon Pearce - Music Teacher’s Helper Blog
94. http://jeane-metroyo.blogspot.com
    Jeane Goforth - Scrollworks and Metropolitian Youth Orchestras
95. http://www.oparp.blogspot.com
    Dr. Robert Phillips - The Opinionated Arpgeggist
96. http://www.wikyblog.com/CynthiaWunsch
    Cynthia Wunsch - The Unlikely Entrepreneur (Click the Blog Tab)
97. http://mineoladrama.blogspot.com
    Joe Owens - MHS Theater
98. http://andyzweibel.com
    Andy Zweibel - Music Musings and Other Randoms…
99. http://musicschoolsbc.blogspot.com/
    Stephen Robb - Music Schools BC
100. http://paulbailey.us
     Paul Bailey - Paul Bailey’s Blog

I wanted to share with you a letter that I received from a friend and colleague. This past March I went to her school to show her and her colleagues ideas to enhance their current curriculum with technology. I am so proud of her accomplishments. If you were ever curious about how to enhance your current curriculum but you were not sure how to go about it, please read her letter. I hope that it will inspire and encourage you to try to integrate technology into some of your lessons or even to use technology as a tool to simplify some items in your classroom. If you are curious as to where to find music technology workshops, check out some of the TI:ME conferences and workshops in the summer.

“I’m beginning to feel more confident with my Mac now.  I found myself in a situation where my accompanist couldn’t make it to my school chorus rehearsals as often as I wanted.  I solved my problem with my Mac.  I input the piano accompaniments into Sibelius, then exported them in Garageband as midi files, and shared them to iTunes.  For rehearsal, I plugged my iPod into the classroom stereo and my kids sang along while I conducted with both hands free.  When our accompanist finally did make it to rehearsal, our time together was more fruitful since the choir was already familiar with the accompaniment.

Yesterday I recorded our concert with the microphone on my iPod.  After downloading the files into iTunes, I imported the file into Garageband.  Then I used Garageband to edit the recording into separate tracks and shared it back to iTunes.  My concert is now on my iPod in nice, neat files and I can burn it to CD to share with the band directors at my school.

I’m becoming more proficient with Sibelius.  I’ve used it to arrange some of my choral pieces.  I took the bridge section out of one piece and rewrote an Orff part for a student flutist.

I know that what I’ve been up to is very easy stuff, but I’m proud of it.  Thank you so much for inspiring me to learn to do these things.  My Mac really is changing the way I’m thinking about teaching and making my job easier.”

If you have been wanting to upgrade your Sibelius notation software, now is the time! This week, Sibelius is offering a great price so that registered Sibelius users can upgrade to Sibelius 5 for $85/Professional Version and $65/Education Version.  Sibelius 5 Lab Pack Upgrades are just $215.  That’s 50% off regular price.

To learn more, click here: http://www.sibelius.com/shop/upgrades.html

Today, my second graders, the second grade teachers, and I went to the local Adult Care Center and sang our holiday concert songs to the residents. The students greeted the residents in the center’s community room, sang their songs, and performed the daily exercises with the residents. The students enjoyed meeting the residents and performing for them. The residents enjoyed listening to the students sing and singing along with the holiday songs that they recognized.

It is a great way for your young students to learn about and perform community service and a wonderful way for you to bring your concerts to your community.

The 6th edition of the Music Education Blog Carnival is here! You can find it on Eugene Cantera’s blog “Discover, Learn, Play” blog.

Two articles that caught my eye were Things I’ve Learned by Alexandra Gallant The Misadventures of a First Year Music Teacher and Promoting Your New School Blog by Theresa White Education in Music.

Alexandra gives a great insight into all of the things that she is learning from being a first year music teacher. Theresa gives you a reflection on the important items required to promote your school blog.

I hope that you will check out the carnival!

As I read the posts on the MENC General Music Boards, I realize that many music teachers are in the same boat as I am and we are preparing for our concerts which are in the next couple of weeks. One part of my concert preparation is to record my students singing their songs and assessing their performances for the following areas:

1. Phrasing
2. Enunciation of words
3. Pitch
4. Tempo - does the tempo assist in hearing the lyrics and phrasing?

I can record my students using the following tools:

1. iPod with voice recorder attachment - Mine is XtremeMac micromemo. Grffin (iTalk Pro) and Belkin also make a microphone. Very affordable and easy-to-use.
2. M-Audio Micro Track - Great quality stereo recording and very portable.
3. Apple’s GarageBand on a laptop - Very easy to use. Just set up a new real instrument track, click record, and let the internal microphone record your students’ voices. If your computer does not have a microphone, the Blue Snowball and the Blue Snowflake are wonderful USB microphones that record with excellent quality.
4. Computer with the freeware Audacity - Just download Audacity, launch, and press record. If you have an internal microphone, it is that easy and very affordable.

To play any of these items back you will need to hook your portable recorder or computer to a sound system or a good set of speakers. My students get very excited to immediately hear themselves singing. Having them assess themselves is educational for them and assists in achieving MENC standard #7. Evaluating music and music performances.

As I enter December and Holiday Concert Time, and just finishing up the first trimester reports, I wanted to share some of my students’ works so far:

1. Kindergarten: These two podcasts are my students arranging and creating an accompaniment for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star using Sibelius’s Groovy Music Shapes and my students singing their Halloween Parade Songs.
2. Grade One: These three podcasts are my students playing their first 2-part orffestration, Mrs Miller’s 1st grade orchestrating sounds to their original story titled The Scrubbing Machine, and songs they created using Groovy Shapes that utilized dynamics.
3. Grade Two: These two podcasts are my students performing the “oooo” of Skin and Bones on the Orff instruments and their group compositions using the notes of a C Major Pentatonic Scale and Finale NotePad 2008. (If you are saddened by Finale NotePad no longer being free, check out the following post.)
4. Grade Three: This podcast is of my students performing a four-part orffestration of classic folk songs.

I hope that you enjoy my students’ performances/works!