4 Must Haves for Every Music Teacher

1. Computer

OK, it sounds ridiculous. But as we all know, music educators are not the first or most likely group to adopt 'new' technology. I know some teachers who still prefer to wind their metronomes. And how many of us teach out of the same old tired method books that we learned from when we were kids?

The offices of DSM are furnished with state of the art systems from Dell and have been ever since its inception in 1992. It was always part of the grand plan to expose faculty (and students) to the best tools available for both teaching and learning.

Of course, we were building MusickEd.com all along the way so having computers, the internet and related software came with the territory. We also developed something called an II Doc (Individual Instruction Documentation) that is completed by each teacher during every session and is e-mailed to the student or parent afterward. This documentation becomes a terrific history of every students' progress and a reference for other teachers who may step in or sub on given notice. The idea is so powerful that it is being incorporated into the Support Center of our MusickEd software.

Computers allow us to stay connected with students, parents and the outside world. If you are a teacher, get yourself a computer and use it to better your craft. Keep it connected to the internet and close to where you teach. You won't regret it!


2. YouTube

This is a fantastic resource for recorded music - both with and without video. Spend a few minutes searching and you'll become addicted. Once you become a little discerning, you can quickly cipher the good from the bad and find great examples of music covering all genres. I've used YouTube as a play-along tool, to show great performances by great artists and to show examples of what NOT to do (and there's plenty of that to choose from, believe me).

Every teacher (especially private teachers) should access YouTube in their studios and spend some time getting their favorite videos saved for future reference. You and your students will love it.

3. Digital Keyboard

In the offices at DSM and MusickEd, we have a combination of upright and digital pianos depending on the taste and need for each educator. I totally love my Yamaha 625 and use it often during my sessions... regardless of the instrument I'm teaching. It has an amazing number of sounds, grooves and even recording capability. know I have only scratched the surface of this fantastic machine. Many of my younger students seem to have this innate ability to find all sorts of fun sound combinations and rhythms very quickly. It sure beats the wind up metronome my teacher used.



4. MusickEd.com Software

Yeah, I know, it sounds like a plug. But my passion for this software goes way beyond the fact that I have had a hand in its development. I know what is happening behind the scenes and I can tell you that there is a team of amazing educators and innovators who are working to make this product all that it can be. The software is comprehensive in its approach, presenting concepts in sequential order and giving learners (and teachers) a variety of ways to address and absorb musical information. Teachers who once may have felt uncomfortable working with students at certain levels of ability (low or high) now have a quick and easy way to evaluate and assimilate them into a solid curriculum.

In the few years that we have been using MusickEd material here at DSM, our students have found the learning process is fun and easy to follow. Younger students enjoy the interactivity and older students appreciate the no nonsense approach (it's not a shortcut or magic potion!).

In 2009 we will be announcing some major partnerships and releasing a new navigation and look for the current software. We are also excited about the release of our Jazz Series later next year. Keep an eye out in this space for sneak peeks and breaking news!

Oh, What a Wonderfully Tangled Blogosphere!

This wonderful blogosphere where one thing seems to lead to another in a long and interesting succession of winding roads full of discovery...is like candy to me. I love how one post or a comment might lead to others with many points of view from fascinating people all inter-connected by silicon and thought.

I have my Google e-mail set to alert me to any blog that mentions 'music education' and I'd say they get it right about 85% of the time. And even when they get it wrong, I find something fun or funny to peruse. A day rarely goes past that I am not simply amazed by the amount of material written or referencing the subject of music education. Some good, some awful, most all interesting - at least to me. One such 'alert' caught my eye this morning, it read simply :

Music Education
By Don Berg(Don Berg)
Here's a music lesson that everyone can learn from:
Attitutor Blog - http://blog.attitutor.com/

This lead to Don Berg's blog called the Attitutor (great term!) and one of the first things that caught my eye under his cheery picture was the word 'Teacherpreneur' (another great term!). I was instantly jealous and wished I had come with both of these on my own! I think perhaps these may spawn a future blog - thanks and Kudo's to Don :)

Don's post from October 25 features yet another remarkable video from the TED series; this time by Maestro Benjamin Zander. Some of you might remember my post from July 16th, 2008 that featured a TED presentation by Sir Kenneth Robinson. The Zander clip is equally as engaging and fascinating.

I am always moved by someone who is passionate about what they do irregardless of the subject. If they are also blessed with the ability to convey and articulate their passion (as is Ben Zander), I will watch and listen with little chance of my ADD rearing its wonderful head. Maestro Zander is obviously passionate about music and I hope you'll take the time to watch his presentation. Enjoy!

Wii Can't Bridge the Gap

I had read a few weeks ago about the much ballyhooed launch of Wii Music software and have even mentioned Guitar Hero and Rock Band in several posts over the past few months. I thought that each of these items might actually have their rightful place in current music education 'circles'. Perhaps at the very least they might create interest enough for some people to get out and attempt the real thing - that is, actually access a real instrument, and a real music educator and actually LEARN MUSIC!

I felt the same way years ago when then Governor Bill Clinton played saxophone on the Arsenio Hall show (I know, I am showing my age). Even though my personal philosophies may differ from Bill's, I nonetheless thought his saxophone playing appearences might start an uptick in music education or saxophone sales, and indeed it may have. (By the way, the tenor sax used by the Governor on that show was later auctioned off and proceeds went to the Music Rising fund). In fact, I was teaching at The Hartt School Community Division at that time and was interviewed by a nationally syndicated columnist about this possible 'Clinton Effect'.

When I first learned about Napster I wasn't at all worried about artists losing money, instead I thought it might spark more interest in various musical styles, which might then boost sales and even foster interest in music education. Ditto the I-Pod, Guitar Hero, Rock Band and Wii Music. I guess I am just wired this way - it's a curse!

After reading the following post by Derrick Sanskirt titled 'Wii Are Not Amused', I realize I may have been thinking backwards all along. It doesn't take any special gizmo, advance in technology or celebrity to spark interest in actual music education. It takes just two things; 1. willing, well informed, patient learners and 2. quality, passionate, skilled, educators.

Derrick is a self-professed 'geek' in a variety of fields including technology and music. In other words, he is a typical 20 something and his entire post is eye opening. Simply remove the word 'Wii' from this story and some sentences will sound all too familiar to music teachers. Take the following lines for example:

'Watching people attempt to play Wii Music was like watching a cat attempt to catch mice inside a wall with no entry or exit holes: steadily pawing at the air in front of them with the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, staring confused at the screen, and eventually finding the whole thing futile and giving up.'

Or this:

'Maybe I just need more time with it to find where all of that fun is hiding, but a lot more time is not something I'm willing to give Wii Music right now.'

So I found his post to be very enlightening for me in many ways. Bridging the gap between business and music education can be a maddening and often futile endeavor. Hardly have there been two worlds more unlikely to collide. Yet it seems there has never been a more opportune time for both worlds to come together, especially with today's tech heavy atmosphere.... and so we carry on!

Read the entire article HERE.

Music Teachers 911 Interview with Mike Finkel

Episodes #15 and #16 of Larry Marra's Podcasts are now available. Besides the great interview with MusickEd.com's own Mike Finkel, Larry also includes some useful 'music teacher handbook' tips for educators of all kinds. Each podcast has 3 segments and if you happen to have a penchant for technology, composition and or recording, you will definitely enjoy the interview with Mr. Finkel.

Mike's interview begins where my episode (#13) leaves off by talking about the early days of MusickEd.com and how we have evolved to our current state of software development. The Q and A continues with a discussion about 'sequential learning' and his own personal approach to composition as it applies to the music learning process.

If you are an arranger or composer, you won't want to miss Mike's list of specific gear, software and recording tools. He also addresses the artistic and educational processes he uses to create the literally thousands of tracks that comprise the MusickEd Kore Series and the Jazz Series - due out in 2009.

Enjoy!

Video Components Add Educational Punch to Software

As Tony and Joe put the finishing touches on the MusickEd Studios, the big cheese (Bob Lawrence) has been working on streamlining the recording processes for videos that will populate the Instrument and Lesson Support Centers at MusickEd.com.

The videos include both candid shorts, shot in private offices that show instrument specific concepts (like tonguing on saxophone or alternate fingerings on flute for example), all the way up to complete songs played along with the orchestrations. This allows users to both see and hear the material being performed and get instrument specific tips as well.

The lesson videos are recorded in our newly refurbished and painted studio, edited and uploaded fairly quickly as we continue to hone the process that our team members will follow. The sheer volume of material is overwhelming but because the Support Centers reside outside of the software (html based), we are able to upload the videos as they are produced and give instant access to our users. These will populate the Lesson Support Centers and be cross referenced in each Instrument Center along with any concept specific videos. The overall infrastructure of the site is incredibly important and thankfully left in the able hands of Mr. Detail himself, Dr. Bob.

The math and the sheer volume of material remains daunting; there are 9 songs in every Lesson and there are 20 Lessons in our Kore Series = 180. Our software is available for 37 instruments so that makes 6,660 videos. This number will ultimately grow to be well over 7,000 as we include the informal edu-videos that are instrument and concept specific.





The latest acquisition is a software product that helps make this entire process possible called Camtasia Studio. It's insanely easy to record videos, capture screen shots, edit and upload to the web very quickly. Camtasia is published by TechSmith who offer a wide variety of 'customer experience software' products.

Camtasia also makes it manageable to keep 7,000 videos and all their associated files organized. Individual folders for all 20 lessons and all 37 instruments have been pre-set (once again under the thoughtful and watchful eye of Dr. Bob Lawrence) so that as each video is recorded through the program, all files are instantly routed and saved to the correct folder.

No more time to write....I am off to start recording!