Many of our conversations about the use of technology as composers, musicians and teachers focus on doing things more efficiently. In the realm of educational technology, a separate question is to ask how technology can help people understanding complex or abstract concepts more concretely or intuitively. Influenced by theorists such as Seymour Papert, this […]
Speaking the Two Languages of Technology
Can you list all of the “music technology” that you use in your work? It’s a trickier question than you might think. First, there are general tools which help us organize and communicate. Tools such as web browsers, Google Docs, e-mail and text messaging can be an essential part of our toolkit, but we use […]
Mobile Mixing: Wireless/iPad-enabled Mixers for Mixing Around the Room
(yamaha.com) When setting up the sound in any hall or room, you eventually come to the complicated dance of on-stage mixing: someone is at the board (usually in the back of the hall) while someone else listens to the sound on stage and telegraphs a series of gestures to try and communicate the necessary […]
Teaching (and Creating) Rhythm with iOS Apps
A fellow teacher asked for some advice to teach rhythm using iPads. Wearing my “educational technologist” hat, one of my goals is to find places where technology opens the capacity for students to learn in more intuitive, more creative, or more effective way. I think that music theory in general, and rhythm as a specific […]
Reach Your People: Mass Messaging for Group Management
iosThe larger our ensembles or more active our seasons, the more we find ourselves needing to get messages out to our groups quickly. Whether it’s a rehearsal indication or performance note, or an adjustment to meeting times and places, the ability to easily mass communicate to your ensembles helps you manage your groups effectively. How […]
When Your Music Goes Missing: Digital Licensing and the Future of “Ownership:
(ilounge.com) The iPod may have been the single most important technology development for music educators that I’ve seen in my career thus far. The ability to load an entire listening library onto a portable device and recall examples instantly for our musicians allows us to give our ensembles concrete examples of musical language and style […]