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:
- Phrasing
- Enunciation of words
- Pitch
- Tempo - does the tempo assist in hearing the lyrics and phrasing?
I can record my students using the following tools:
- iPod with voice recorder attachment - Mine is XtremeMac micromemo. Grffin (iTalk Pro) and Belkin also make a microphone. Very affordable and easy-to-use.
- M-Audio Micro Track - Great quality stereo recording and very portable.
- 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.
- 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.
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