Pyware

My favorite bit of music technology was finally mentioned here in the text during week 7 of our class.  I use Pyware 3d to design marching band drill design.  At first I did it for fun, then I got very engaged in writing and write for bands and drum corps whenever I can.  This bit of technology has really changed the activity for the better.  Check them out at          
 
Pyware 3D                                                                                                                            

Ted Talks

I always find insperation from the TED Talks.  A summit of the greatest minds in the world together discussing how the human mind works.  Here is a resource of TED Talks regarding music education that we can all benefit from.  Not sure if all are effective for your classes, but they will inspire you as you start the new year.

Ted Talks

Band Director.com

I use this website often to find resources on material, techniques, and lessons.  It's nice to have a place to find material I can use the next day in my class.  Many videos and resources that are useful to use in the classroom with my students.  They also have many resources regarding fundraising and new tools that I find useful.  Check them out.

BandDirector.com

Jazz class

I found this great jazz website to help your students learn improvisations skills.  Scales, chords, and even recordings of background tracks to help students practice.  Some of the concepts may be over the heads of your students but it is a great resource to learn scales and passages.  I highly suggest Jazz Class.

Jazz Class

Finding the funds?

We often suggest that funding is what limits us as being able to bring technology into the classroom.  Here is a great website with links to online resources to get funding through local, state and federal agencies and tips when writing your grants.   I know we're all busy so may I suggest finding a booster parent or two who may be able to help you out prepare grants to bring technology to your classroom?  Check them out and hopefully we can all find some resources for our schools.

Finding Funds

Good Ear

I've shared a lot of links regarding music theory that I found useful for general music classrooms at a variety of grade levels.  Well, here's one more!  Good Ear is an online ear training site where students can listen to a series of examples at different difficulty levels.  It records their progress and is 100% free check them out.

Good Ear

Sight Reading Generator

Wow!  I just found Sight Reading Factory.  Go sign up for your 7 day trial and check out their site.  There you can generate hundreds of sight reading examples in a variety of keys, times and difficulties.  You generate it for the instrument you specifically want too.  Great for auditions and assesments!  Then you can buy a year subscription for only $30!  I'm going to ask for my school site to pay for it as its an assesment and classroom tool everyone can benifit from.  Check out their site and do their trial to check it out, I'm sold!

Sight Reading Factory

Music Theory online

I had a friend tell me about MusicTheory.net recently.  Its a great tool to get lessons on everything from basic theory to inversions and analysis.  I can't wait to use this with my general music classes!  Check it out, I think you'll love it.

Music Theory

Here is my arrangement of "Bicycle Built for Two"  made in Noteflight.

http://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/753962c9ff7592aed6787c3d83a883d5986e8995

Smart Music

Are any of you using Smart Music?  I have been really interested in checking it out, but don't know how to realistically bring it to my school.  Any thoughts?  It has some great tools to help increase student's practice at home, and helps saves classroom time by getting tests emailed to me.  Any thoughts on how to make this happen at my school would be fantastic.

Smart Music

Donors Choose

I know we've all enjoyed some of the idea presented thus far in the technology course.  And if your anything like me you say "well that would be nice, but we don't have the money".  Well have you heard of Donors Choose?  It's a website where classroom teachers make grants and people donate online.  They can choose how much of your project they'd like to fund.  You could advertise this at concerts and to the parents in the community you teach in.  I know I'm going to try and get some gear funded through this program.  Check it out!

Donors Choose

Tone Deaf Comics

I love using this website on a regular basis.  I "borrow" the cartoons for my website or publications, I've turned some into posters, and sometimes I just need t laugh at myself.  They have a great store to for classroom posters and  books.  Check them out I'm sure you'll love Tone Deaf Comics.

Tone Deaf Comics

Facebook for Educators

Being a technology course I thought it was important to connect to our students on their playing field.  Using facebook as a means of communication is something we can start to think about.  But obviously we have to be careful how we and our students use it.  Here is a great website I found to help us as educators use facebook in the classroom and not cross any professional lines.

http://facebookforeducators.org/educators-guide

Spotify

Have you guys used Spotify?  I love using this program to stream music, either for my own personal use or in the classroom.  There are free and paid versions of this program but I have enjoyed it since day one.  Trust me, check it out you'll be hooked!  It's a great web based tool that I use all the time

http://www.spotify.com/us/

Finale Notepad

I really like using MuseScore as introduced by this course.  It was very easy to learn and I look forward to the assignment we have coming up.  Another tool you can use is Finale Notepad.  Finale NotePad is a free download that can create, play, and print music notation. NotePad can also open and save MIDI and MusicXML files and is compatible with version 2012 and older Finale family notation files.  Give it a spin, all your students could print music from home for you if you assign small theory projects!


Finale Notepad

Online Tuner

Last week I showed you an online metronome I share with my students.  This week I thought I'd share an online tuner I found.  If your students have a microphone on their computer they can turn it into a digital strobe tuner with this website.  Java does need to be running.  Please share and enjoy!  Again there is no excuse to practice out of tune!


Online Tuner

Virtual Choir

If you don't know about this please check it out.  This is what our students can do at home.  Not to say they don't need teachers but this is what they are exposed to.  Eric Whitacre is a genius and his virtual choir shows how student's can work together to make beautiful music.  Check out all three links to see how this has grown over the last few years.

Virtual Choir 3
Virtual Choir 2
Virtual Choir 1

Online metronome

Make sure to give your students this link when they say they don't own a metronome to practice with. It's an easy to use tool, even accessible on your cell phone!  Now they have no excuse not to practice good time.

http://www.metronomeonline.com

First blog

This blog is required of my music technology class I'm taking online through Kent State University. I hope to post useful links/articles and other info that others in the music education field can find beneficial. Enjoy.