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!

Throwing My Hat Into the Ring

iGoogle strikes again! The e-mail alert feature allows me to get breaking news on music education. Through iGoogle I learned about the call for nominations by the MENC for the Music Educators Journal Advisory Board. I am officially announcing my candidacy and look forward to throwing my hat into the ring.

They say they are looking for a 'new' group of members from 'populations that have been historically underrepresented'. Well, I have been teaching for (gulp) about 30 years, I have taught in a public school, at the Hartt Community Division, in a private studio and have been in the administrations at each. That I am currently in a for-profit music education firm might disqualify me - but what group has been more largely 'unrepresented' than us?

Several years ago my colleague Gary Feltner and I attended the MENC National Conference in Phoenix, AZ. Those of you who have heard my interview with Larry Marra might remember the story I told of us trying to register for the conference on the first day. It went something like this:

'Welcome to Phoenix MENC! What state and district are you from?'
Uhh..Texas....Dallas?
'Great what school?'
The Dallas School of Music.
'I don't see that on my list, is that in DISD?'
No, we are a private school.
'Oh, you must mean it's part of TAPPS, like a private or parochial school'
No, we are a private music school.
'Oh...well are you part of a college or university?'
No we are not affiliated with any academic institutions. It's a for-profit music school, we are not part of any district or university.
'I see, it's a private studio like in a music store? So you're a retailer?'
No we don't sell instruments, we just teach. I guess you could say we sell music education?
'Hmm, I don't have that as a category,...let me just draw a little box down here and put 'Other'... Welcome to MENC!'

...and so it went for the entire week.

I would welcome a chance to represent the for-profit, private music school option at MENC, but somehow I imagine my views might fall on deaf ears. After all, even when I tell my own extended family members that I am a 'music educator', they can't understand why I don't work at a high school or know how 'our teams' are doing.

On the MENC 'About' page it states that their 'activities and resources have been largely responsible for the establishment of music education as a profession, ...' Amen I say! But if MENC was really true to their mission statement ...'to advance music education by encouraging the study and making of music by all', would they not devote as much time, energy and resources to reaching all segments of the population who want to study music? Why is MENC so entrenched in academia which abandons almost all musicians at age 17 or 18?

Well, I guess I'll save any rants for the first journal meeting in 2009. I will keep you posted on these pages as to my progress. If anyone out there has any advice, feel free to let me know!

Bill Cowher's Piano Lessons

A colleague of mine forwarded me an article by Frank Fitzpatrick, a Philadelphia Inquire Staff Writer, about former Pittsburgh Steelers coach and current CBS - NFL analyst Bill Cowher.

The article is attached to the sports page as you might imagine, but the title was intriguing, 'Bill Cowher's Piano Lessons'. Most of the article talks about Bill's life after football, his gruff exterior, 'defiant under-bite' and jutting jaw; a sharp contrast to someone playing chord progressions at the piano (in most cases!).

But Cowher says 'It's something I really enjoy' admitting... 'One of my daughters played the piano...and I'd be thinking, 'How neat. Wouldn't it be great to be able to do something like that?'

I wish all adults had this kind of attitude about studying music and I wish music educators would work more on promoting our craft to this market rather than dumping all of their eggs into the El-Hi world of academia. At DSM, we find adult students to be an amazingly rewarding group with which to work. And the profession as a whole would do well to address this largely untapped resource of new and willing learners.

So we congratulate Bill on his decision to learn piano and encourage him to keep at it until he reaches his goal 'to get good enough where I can put out a tip jar'.

Don't forget to enjoy the journey too Bill!

Click here to read the full story. And special thanks to Frank Fitzpatrick for allowing me to post this article.