Social Media and Music

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there was a website called MySpace. MySpace was a worldwide social network that virtually everyone was on. The really great thing about myspace, aside from the fact that you could customize your page and personalize your top friends, was that it made music very accessible. A-List artists and worldwide musicians had MySpace, as well as local bands and "getting there" musicians. MySpace made supporting and accessing music and musicians easy.

In that same galaxy a long time ago there existed Pure Volume. Pure Volume allowed you to follow your favorite artists, listen to their music, vote for them to become featured artists or artists of the week- and more often than not, they recognized their fans! It seems like a once in a lifetime thing, but with Pure Volume, this dream became a reality.

Since MySpace has fallen from its reign as supreme social network and FaceBook has taken the throne, the connection between music and social media has become very different. Sure, we can follow our favorite rapper on Twitter and "like" our favorite band's FaceBook status update, but you can't listen to that local band's new EP right on Twitter, and that band can't upload their latest song on FaceBook without downloading a new app to make the file accessible.

It is my personal opinion that modern social media is making it increasingly more challenging to support music. While we still have iTunes and we can still torrent until the feds catch us, it's not easy to communicate with musicians anymore. With the billions of tweets Kanye gets in a day, the chances of him even seeing yours are slim. We as the 99% who are not multi-million dollar recording artists are inspired by our favorite musicians. We can send them fan mail and tweet them until our fingers bleed, but there is not guarantee that they will feel our support.

This post doesn't come with a solution to this problem- it is merely a recognition that social media does not support music the way it once did. It is important for us to support our favorite artists, but it is equally as important for us to feel supported by our artists. Music appreciation is not a one-way street.

Technology Integration Plan

My technology integration plan is based on a lesson that I developed for my Language and Literacy class. This lesson focuses on vocal production, vocal placement, and proper breathing technique for singers. 

My matrix focuses on three Core Curriculum Content Standards, two of which are musically relevant, and one of which is technologically based. 
The first standard, Demonstrate developmentally appropriate vocal production/vocal placement and breathing technique (1.3.2.B.2), is aligned with several National Educational Technology Standards. The technological integration in this lesson deals with collecting data and critical thinking, as well as the use of models and simulations to enhance student understanding. The teaching strategies aligned with the first standard are: lecture and demonstration, which are teacher-based, group discussion and simulation, which are teacher/student aligned, and research and journaling, which are student-based. The lesson involves a lot of lecture based on vocal production and breathing technique, and then involves a group simulation in which the students use their hands to demonstrate different parts of the anatomy and how they work together to generate a full, supportive breath. This qualifies as group discussion and simulation. The research and journaling involve the student's individual application of the techniques, as well as independent research to further their knowledge. The technologies I chose to use include the computer. Computer work would be the internet and word processors, interactive/simulation technology, and a blog post. The simulation I chose to integrate into the actual lesson is based on a book written by the woman who's book is the resource for the lesson. The recording technology is, in this instance, simply a suggestion for students to understand the mechanics of proper breathing- they would be encouraged, but not required, to record themselves breathing and practicing with proper breathing and without in order to see the difference- this practice would benefit their blogging.

The second standard, Demonstrate appropriate posture and breathing technique while performing (1.3.2.B.4) involves the practical application of the core content. The NET-S aligned with this standard are: demonstrate construct knowledge, and use digital media. This standard is aligned tightly with the use of digital media to enforce the content. The teaching techniques used for this standard are similar to that of the first: demonstration, which is teacher-based, provides students with a model. Group discussion/simulation and guided practice allows students to practically apply the knowledge with peers while still being guided by the teacher, so this is teacher and student aligned. The student-based strategies involve individual practice. The technologies aligned with teaching this standard are also similar to the first, but target different pedagogical strategies. The visual recording technology is the key here; students will be responsible for applying the information learned in performance, so they are to record themselves singing using the proper breathing and vocal technique and placement, and include this in a blog post about their progress and their thoughts. This is a performance-based assessment, but is still beneficial to the student's progress and growth.

The final standard aligned with this lesson is technologically relevant: Select and use appropriate tools and digital resources to accomplish a variety of tasks and to solve problems (8.1.8.A.5). This standard focuses on the student's ability to gather information and organize it comprehensively in order to submit the information for a grade. The NET-S aligned with this standard is to apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. The teaching strategies aligned with this standard are demonstration, which is teacher-based and involves demonstrating different types of resources to use for the assignment, and homework, which is directly linked to formal assessment and is student-based. The students will be expected to gather information on the subject- this can include a variety of multi-media sources, and create a visual presentation on the lesson. This presentation can include but is not limited to: PowerPoint Presentations, video presentations, blog presentations, simulations. The technologies that are integrated for this element of the lesson are the computer, the internet, word processors, visual presentations, blogs, and digital recordings.

Overall, my lesson integrates several different technologies, each of which is relevant and beneficial to the content area. The basis of the lesson began with a simulation of the proper breathing, and from there explored several different branches of technology. I believe that incorporating the use of technology for the personal benefit of the students and for progress indication allows students to see technology as something that they can use in their daily lives- and I don’t mean technology like their cell phones and FaceBook. Being able to incorporate a blog or an online journal into daily life, and being able to use recordings of oneself to record personal progress, integrates technology into daily life in a functional way.

Spotify

I am a musician, so it is only fitting that I spend most of my time immersed in music. I listen to it on the go, I look to it for inspiration, and I am always searching for new music to listen to. I usually google music or watch YouTube videos, but a few months ago I was introduced to Spotify, and I'm now addicted. I've always hated Pandora because they automatically assume that I want to listen to similar music when I really just want to listen to a particular artist. This gets especially tricky when I am looking to listen to a classical composer as a reference for a future performance, or need a certain jazz album to write a critique on.

I know I'm a little behind on the Spotify bandwagon, but to explain briefly for those who may also be behind: Spotify is a commercial music streaming service that allows you to browse music by artist, album, song, genre, record label, or playlist. There is a free version of Spotify, as well as one that you can purchase. Spotify features advertisements that play in between some songs- this feature is disabled when you become a premium member. Regardless, Spotify is a great way to find and listen to the music that you want to listen to. It has an impressive library to stream from, as well as the capability to share playlists with other listeners and even listen to top charts from several different genres.

For relevance in the music education world:
Spotify allows you to search music and stream it easily. It was particularly helpful for me when I was attempting to learn a challenging song cycle. I struggled trying to find good YouTube recordings, and unless I wanted to purchase the CD recordings, I was out of luck. Spotify had the songs by several different recording artists, and I was able to learn them quickly and efficiently.

It seems sometimes that we take things like this for granted. We do not realize that not all music is instantly accessible- unless it's the latest One Direction song or Taylor Swift ballad, which is streamed and played and covered 9 billion times daily, it's not easy to find all the time. Spotify has given me the opportunity to actually listen to quality recordings of music that is relevant to my major as opposed to having to watch ads of the new Call of Duty game before I listen to some average at best teenage girl try to sing the music, or be forced to listen to an impostor of the composer I'm really looking to listen to.

Smart Phones and Music Technology

I have been thinking lately of the capabilities that Smart Phones have for music- particularly my iPhone. As "millennials", we have grown up amidst the rise of technology. We became reliant on computers and the internet since we were in school, using it for research and document production. As we got older, we became reliant on our phones for communication, and now, we are reliant on our phones as connections to the world around us. I am a child of the 21st century, and my phone is my lifeline. Being that music is a huge part of my life, it is only fitting that I connect that with my Smart Phone as well!

The iPhone comes with a Voice Memo tool that allows you to record audio clips and save them to your computer. They can easily be uploaded onto iTunes as mp3 files, which is incredibly convenient when you are recording music or taking lessons and documenting your progress. The iPhone also has a video capability, which allows you to take videos that can easily be uploaded onto iPhoto or iMovie and can be linked to YouTube and other social media sites.

The iPhone also has many downloadable and free applications that are incredibly beneficial for musicians. On my iPhone, I have several of these apps. My favorite of these is my keyboard application. This app is a virtual interactive keyboard for your phone- you can scroll through registers on the piano and hear pitches, as well as record simple melodies on your phone or noodle around while you are writing music. I use this app most often when I am practicing on the go and need a starting pitch.

Another app that I use quite often is my tuner. It is very easy to navigate- all you have to do is open the app and play your instrument. The app tells you what pitch you are playing, which makes tuning easy! It works for all instruments, transposing or non-transposing. I use mine most often for my guitar, but have used it to tune a violin and a trumpet.

The Apple Store even has an iPhone version of Garage Band- the standard Macintosh recording program- that is extremely easy to use if you are familiar with the Garage Band software, and is very useful when you need to record on the go, or if you need to work on a previously recorded project.

Canvas Unit Remix

For my remix, I chose a unit plan that focuses on colors. I remixed this by adding color and music to it. Things such as feelings and elements of nature are represented through colors, and these can be represented by music. I added a video for a song by a band called The Dear Hunter. This band created an album called "The Color Spectrum" that manifests the colors of the rainbow, black, and white through different styles and genres of music. For example, blue is written in a blues style, while yellow is surf-rock. I also added an article related to a study that says that the human brain automatically associates music with color shades, and there is an article that deals with ancient connections between music and color. Overall, I believe that the remix is interesting. (Unfortunately, I could not figure out how to remix and keep the posts from the previous canvas, but I did not delete anything. All the widgets are there, but they aren't showing up.)

Access my remixed canvas here!
Access the original canvas for comparison here!

Unit Plan Canvas

My Canvas was created to supplement the lesson that I deconstructed in Interactivity #3. This unit plan takes just about two weeks to finish, and requires students to become familiar with Chinese instruments, the history of the culture, and to learn and perform a traditional Chinese song. This unit also requires students to be familiar with basic elements of music, which should be previously learned. On my canvas, I included photos of traditional Chinese instruments and orchestras, as well as several supplemental links that explain the history of Chinese music and instruments. I included a video of the song that is to be learned during the unit, as well as a video of a small Chinese musical ensemble. I also implore the students who would be viewing my canvas to think about how the music and instruments of other cultures might influence the music and instruments that they are familiar with, and I provided a brief description of the resources that were available on the canvas page. Overall, I felt that the construction of my canvas was fairly simple. I was able to navigate the site pretty easily, and am confident that my students would be able to access the resources easily. I did have trouble linking the NJCCCS to my page, and was unfortunately unable to include that link. However, it is listed in my bibliography, so the source is still accessible.

Smart Boards in Music Education

For interactivity number 3, I incorporated the use of Smart Boards into my lesson based on my experience during high school with smart boards and music. From here, I researched smart boards in music education classrooms a little more and learned that there are uses beyond what I was aware of.

As a musician and a former music technology student, I am familiar with the Finale software. Finale is a music notation software that enables you to create, edit, publish, play, and print musical scores. Finale is extremely useful for musicians and is a fun tool for beginning music fundamentals (for a free trial, click here!). I learned that Finale has an interactive software program for Smart Boards where students can draw on a music staff on the board and sound the notes. This is incredibly useful for teaching notes, solfege (do re mi fa sol la ti), chord structure, and scales. While it is just as easy to draw the triad you are working with on the board and sound it on a piano, it is so much more beneficial for the student to be able to manifest the notes with the pitches and create it themselves.

Another program that is accessible to Smart Boards is SmartMusic. SmartMusic is another interactive software that allows students to experiment with and practice music while also recording their progress. SmartMusic (learn more here) has play along capabilities, which allow students to play along with music on the screen. it also has a tuning application which visually manifests tuning and demonstrates pitch tendencies. There are also recording capabilities enabled through Audacity, which is a recording software. The most exciting element of this software, however, is the ability for teachers to assess their students through the software in a way that is fun for the students.

While the possibilities are endless for SmartBoards, and the software is not limited to these two programs, I was specifically excited about Finale and SmartMusic (which, coincidentally, are affiliated).  While I do believe that piano, staff paper and pencil are the most organic means of musical notation and learning musical theory, with technology advancements and the mass integration of technology in schools, I feel that it is necessary to try incorporating these elements into the music classroom.

Technology and Pedagogy

    

The lesson plan I chose to analyze and deconstruct was a 6^th grade general music lesson plan on Chinese music. Kieth Watlington created this lesson plan for the South Brunswick public school system. I chose this lesson plan because it addressed several New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, and was addressed to general music, which is a subject area I hope to teach. The technology used in this lesson was not very detailed throughout the plan- for example, the lesson plan talks about explaining elements of the lesson to the students, and it lists several different technologies that would be necessary to conduct the lesson such as internet and video, but is very vague as to how these technologies are used. Though the lesson is overall very cohesive, it lacks clarity in the use of the technologies.

The technologies that were discussed in the lesson plan, such as using Prezi presentations and videos, as well as the use of keyboards, are useful and fit very well into the lesson. However, the lesson could use some more. Instead of watching one video over the five-day unit, I believe that it would be beneficial to incorporate more video clips. For example, a video of someone performing “Silver Moon Boat Song” would be very helpful and would help the students understand the elements such as form and structure, which they are intended to learn during the lesson.

Additionally, a video on the influences that Chinese instruments and musical traditions have had on world music would be helpful in integrating New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standard 1.2, History of the Arts and Culture. I also believe that the integration of Smart Board technology, assuming that it is attainable for this particular lesson, would be helpful. Using the smart board to teach the grand staff, as well as different time signatures, would allow teachers to write on a staff and erase easily. I also feel that it would be beneficial for not only long-term knowledge retention, but for the happiness and excitement of students, to use recording technology to record the performances for the students. This lesson plan was already good, but with the integration of additional technologies, I believe that the unit would be even more successful.

Technology and Pedagogy Supplemental Spreadsheet

The Advantages of Recording

Since my first semester as a student at Montclair State, I have had lessons with a private voice teacher. My teacher requires all of her students to record their lessons on some sort of recording device. I have had about 100 lessons in the past three years, and I have one 50 minute recording for each of these lessons. To be honest, I thought that this was a waste. I hated carting my laptop around campus every Wednesday for my lesson, and it seemed like the recordings were just taking up space on my hard drive. But lately I have been thinking about the benefits of recording music lessons.

It is a common practice for private teachers to have their students record their lessons. This technology allows us to go back and see something that we did a few days ago or even a few years ago and reflect on it. I am able to go back to a song I performed when I was 18 and can compare the differences with the click of a button. I can go to my "lessons" folder and find the lesson I had a few weeks ago to recall a new technique or to try a warm-up that I forgot about. 

I believe that, through recording or filming your lessons, you are creating a larger window for success and improvement on your instrument. While I do not believe that people should be reliant on technology, I definitely think that it has its benefits. This method of learning is similar to recording your lectures on your phone or listening to podcasts. You are still learning in the moment, and you are still immersed in the learning process, but you are given the opportunity to learn and re-learn, and from there you are able to improve and ultimately succeed.

Virtual Choirs: Yay or Nay?

A few years ago, I got an e-mail from the administrator of the music school encouraging us to audition for a virtual choir. Eric Whitacre, a grammy-winning American composer and conductor, commissioned a virtual choir project. Whitacre's virtual choir began with Lux Arumque, featuring 185 voices representing 12 countries. His project and has evolved significantly over the past few years, and his latest project features 5,905 people from 101 countries, and his youtube videos have acquired millions of views. While this development is exciting and demonstrates the progression of technology and the capabilities of music in technology rather efficiently, it does not seem conducive to successful music-making. 

Singing in a choir is the world's most popular past-time. People sing in choirs for many reasons, but it is mostly to feel a sense of community and to share music and passion with others. How can you do that through a computer? Whitacre's choir is composed of video submissions- people choose a voice part, learn the piece, and submit a video of themselves singing it. The video is then cut and edited to create a choral piece. None of the participants ever sing with one another, and they never rehearse as a group. They never experience the excitement and joy of performing with their choirs, and will never personally feel fulfilled when the auditorium rewards them with applause and excitement in sharing music. While it is exciting to be a part of something so cool, for lack of a better word, it doesn't really do anything.

How do you feel? I'm interested in the opinions of others. Would you encourage your students to be a part of this youtube sensation? If so, for what reason? Does it seem valuable, or is it simply an opportunity to be a permanent part of the internet? Do the youtube views mean more than the personal gain of performing with other musicians? Or is it debatable that sharing music with others is a huge part of music making?

Virtual Choir 1: Lux Arumque

Virtual Choir 4: Fly to Paradise

History of Technology in Music Education

Since WHA began to broadcast music education programs on the radio in 1917, the radio has been an effective and efficient way to provide music education to children both in and out of the classrooms.

Music Technology in Schools

Most public schools lack music technology. I’m not saying that schools don’t have technology in music- my high school music theory teacher had a smart board in her classroom, and was able to use the computer and projector and other technological classroom devices during out class. Most schools don’t have the computer technology associated with music. Programs such as Sibelius and Finale are obsolete in most schools. This, to me, poses a deficit for students who wish to learn more about music.

Early on in my music education cycle, I observed a music teacher in an elementary school with a few students from my class at the time. While we were there that day, the music teacher took his students to the computer lab. The computer lab was equipped with enough computers for the students to each have their own, as well as headphones for private working. The assignment the students were working on was music composition. I was shocked to see that they had the necessary music technology to complete the assignment. In all the schools I have been to, whether it is to observe or during my own course of education, I have been to one that had recording technology and composing technology.

This concept seems a little abstract for people who aren't invested in music or who don't understand much or care much about it, so let me put it into perspective. Imagine, as a mathematician, not having access to a calculator. Imagine, as a writer, not having a computer as your scribe. Being a musician, especially someone interested in recording or composition, it is crucial to have a program that allows you to do these things. Imagine how long it took Beethoven to write down his symphonies. How would recording artists record their music without the recording technology we now have?

While things are changing and many more schools are bringing music technology into schools, the ratio of schools with technology to schools without it is heartbreaking. Even more so, the amount of schools that have technology available for many other subject areas is just as sad. What efforts can we take as future educators to open the eyes of school boards to explain the importance of music technology? Organizations such as the National Association for Music Education work to promote music in schools and supports those who do. It is up to us, though- the future educators of America- to really start the movement.

http://www.nafme.org/

Technology Autobiography

The three most important communication technologies that have influenced my life up to this point are the computer (more specifically, the internet), the telephone, and smart phones. I ranked these three communication technologies by not only their importance in my life, but their presence and consistency throughout my life.

The computer has been a pathway for communicating since I have been young. Aside from its useful functions such as word processors, the computer is our number one connection to the information superhighway. The Internet connects people worldwide in merely an instant.  I can remember back to when I was in elementary school and we were encouraged to use the Internet for research papers and as a helpful at-home learning tool. I have used the Internet as a substitute for my television for years- I cannot remember the last time I watched an episode of Game of Thrones on TV, but HBO GO is bookmarked on my computer. While the Internet has proven to be incredibly useful, it has some downsides. I often find myself procrastinating my homework with Facebook, and there are days where I can spend hours in bed with my MacBook. It is my opinion that our generation, myself included, has become too reliant on our computers and on the Internet. Books have become nearly obsolete, and the need for records and CDs is also almost non-existent. Artists sell more iTunes copies of albums than CDs, and some even see it as a waste. Society seems to forget about things that aren’t connected to the Web.

While the Internet has provided me with IM and E-mail and even Oovoo and Skype, it cannot replace the endless hours I have logged on the phone, hearing the steady buzz of the connection along with the voice of the person on the other line. As a child, I found solace in knowing that Grandma’s number was speed dial 2, and Daddy’s cell phone was speed dial 3. In an instant, I could be connected to someone in a way that was fascinating. Even before I could understand how a phone worked I knew what it was- I had a red plastic toy phone with a rotary dial, and I had some of my most important conversations on it. I got my first cell phone when I was 13, and before that I had an address book with all my friend’s phone numbers in it. The telephone connects people to the world. Aside from being harassed by telemarketers and the endless voicemails from ex-boyfriends (thank you, ignore button), I cannot think of a reason that the telephone has negatively affected my life. Being able to hear my mom’s voice on a whim after moving out, or being able to tell my sister to have a great day at school from miles away is a wonderful thing.

Many people believe that the smart phone is God’s (or Allah’s, or Zeus’s, or whoever you believe in) gift to modern technology, and I do not disagree. However, I do not believe that the smart phone has influenced me as much as the Internet or the telephone has throughout my whole life; so smart phones get the number three spot. Smart phones connect us to everything- the Internet, text messaging, Instagram, Facebook, e-mail- and are sleek, stylish, fast, and incredibly convenient. I seldom leave the house without my iPhone. It is comforting to know that, should I need to find out if the lead singer of that hot new band is married, I can do it in a minute or less. With wifi, our smart phones are unstoppable. There are many things I can say to promote smart phones, but there are some detriments. A young girl in the video we watched said that her phone was her second hand. This, to me, is unsettling. It is just a phone. We have become so reliant on our phones that we spend more time texting than speaking, and value our headphones and Pandora Radio more than good conversation and the music of life.

Overall, while communication technology influences our lives in many very positive ways, such as creating pathways for learning and knowledge, they sometimes hinder our ability to be humans. As one of the girls in the video said, “I am a person, not a computer.” Technology is a gift- we should not allow it to consume us, but rather should learn to use it in a way that is beneficial while still living our lives.