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discussions

A musical signature….

Have you ever wondered what your musical signature is? What about the musical signatures of your students? Why not pose that question to some students and see what they come up with? After trying out Jason Freeman’s itunes signature maker software you can have discussions leading in many different directions. What do the different musical signatures of your students sound like compared to one another? Why do they sound so similar or different? Does the musical signature reflect the identity… Read More »A musical signature….

"To clap or not to clap….. "(the conversation continues)

Before my students perform their compositions in class we always have a conversation about clapping and how the etiquette for clapping is different depending on the musical and social situation. (We also have many conversations on audience etiquette in general including the importance of turning off cell phones when going to concerts — well at least in most situations other than this or more commonly this.) We talk about, for example, how a rock concert has a different set of… Read More »"To clap or not to clap….. "(the conversation continues)

Copyright in (and out) of the classroom……

The issue of copyright came up in class today as it does very often. While I was explaining to a 7th grade general music class how we could apply what we have been learning about pitch, tone color, harmony, melody and rhythm by creating music in FLstudio, a student who had already downloaded the demo version at his house told me he ” inserted the voice of the Southpark character Mr. Garrison into the music” he made at home. I… Read More »Copyright in (and out) of the classroom……

DRM, Payola, and the music industry

Here’s a label that would be interesting to see on CDs in your favorite music store. In case you missed all the news on SONY’s DRM disaster read up here or here. Speaking of the music industry, in NY last year many public school music programs received a box of CDs from the state attorney Elliot Spitzer’s office as a result of a settlement with various music labels for collusion to overcharge for CDs. That’s not the only case of… Read More »DRM, Payola, and the music industry

From Conscious Hip Hop to Racism in the Jazz Age….

How has music education dealt with hip hop culture or rap music let alone issues of race and class when discussing listenership? Baakari Kitwana author of the recent book “Why White Kids Love Hip Hop”wrote a recent article in the Village Voice that looked at the fact that most “conscious” hip hop shows ( non-commercial and politically progressive) are attended predominantly by white youth. Some people might observe that more often than not, there tends to be a disassociation between… Read More »From Conscious Hip Hop to Racism in the Jazz Age….