Music Performance, Technology, and Audacity

    Music performance often takes the majority of my class time (certainly in ensemble-based classes). It would stand to reason that finding ways to incorporate technology in performance might be the best way to integrate technology for my situation. 

Of the many ways to do this, I found using video modeling and SmartMusic to be the most useful. 

           Providing exemplars for students to see on youtube or other video sources might help students develop their own ability to perform with "characteristic tone and posture. I truly want my students to know the end goal when we work on performance skills. Therefore, they need to hear professionals at the top of their game as a reference for future achievement striving. How will my bass players know what's possible on their instrument until they hear the full range of the instrument?

In addition, recordings can provide students the opportunity for responding to music. Hearing their own performances recorded on a device like the Zoom Q3 that we have in our district might help students better critically assess their own performance (Bauer, 2014, p. 87). Feedback and the ability to self-assess can be bolstered by these and other technologies. 

SmartMusic seems to be the most often mentioned piece of music software for education. Of course, this is not without reason. Use of SmartMusic can make practicing more fun and add important harmonic information that could improve students' development of tonality (Bauer, 2014, p.83). My district has used SmartMusic in the past and it did improve student engagement in practice and lessons. I think  features that can help teach improvisation and tuning may also be helpful (though we never used them). Hopefully, my district can revisit the incorporation of SmartMusic into our curriculum because the seems like the easiest way to swiftly integrate technology in a way that speak to content and pedagogy. 

I also crated a remix of Mah nah Mah nah with audacity. Here are my thoughts:

          

      I enjoyed making this project except for trying to remove jagged edges. It was difficult to make transitions seamless particularly when I used only audio clips that were provided. I decided to make an ABA piece that focused on one of the stranger “grunts” from the song. I used the swing beat primarily in the A section. The sample size shrunk in the B section as it built back to the recap. I would enjoy spending more time refining this project. However, that can become very time consuming as audio is difficult to make “perfect.”

With students, I have used this to make “mashups.” For example, I had my technology class compete to make the best mashup of “moon” songs (“Moon River”, “How High the Moon”, etc.) The best creation would be used in the marching band “pre-show.” This was a fairly successful project, but I’m not certain students would be motivated without the competitive aspect. I would consider having students manipulate audio tracks to “enhance” them or remove unwanted sounds in podcasts. Student’s could also use Audacity much like other DAW’s but it lacks the user-friendly features of regular DAWs.