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music education

Rocking the Canon (no not that Canon)….

Chances are that if you have any students who play the electric guitar either at school or at home they have secretly or maybe even publicly tried their chops out in their own version of Guitar Canon Rock. The viral video phenomenon that has grown since Youtube and Google Video has made it as easy as a click of a button to share a video clip has some pretty interesting implications for the field of music education. Take the guitar… Read More »Rocking the Canon (no not that Canon)….

Orchestra websites as a resource in the classroom?

[Links updated 7/24/18] Drew McManus over at Adaptistration has been evaluating orchestra websites based on a list of criteria that includes education as a sub-category. Starting with the post on Sept. 18th there are several very informative entries related to these evaluations. Some orchestra websites can serve as great resources in the classroom. Many of my students, for example, enjoyed working with the San Francisco Symphony’s Fun With Music website in class last year due to it’s very interactive design.… Read More »Orchestra websites as a resource in the classroom?

Pitch Shifting Pop Songs….

Both digital and analog pitch shifting have been used for years by musicians to alter the sound of original musical material. Be it Ross Bagdasarian’s recordings of “The Chipmunks” , DJs using pitch shifting on a turntable to speed up or slow down a record in order to make it sync up with another record, or someone composing on a computer using digital pitch shifting software, the technique is widely used across musical genres. One recent application of pitch shifting… Read More »Pitch Shifting Pop Songs….

Online instrumental mentors?

The potential for collaborating with others is one of the most exciting and powerful aspects of the internet. Initiatives such as collective music education blogs, the Vermont Midi Project, The Mayday discussion forums are some different ways of collaborating online. Recently Owen Bradley over at The Digital Music Educator posted about the potential to have students mentored online through distance learning via the internet. The Music Educators Network could easily support an initiative such as this if people are interested.… Read More »Online instrumental mentors?