The Association for Technology in Music Instruction (ATMI) - whose new website looks fantastic by the way - is holding it’s national conference in conjunction with the College Music Society (CMS) from September 25-28 in Atlanta, GA at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel in downtown Atlanta. I am personally most excited about the Keynote Speaker for the conference, composer Pauline Oliveros, who is one of the most influential composers of our time (in my humble opinion). The conference schedule is posted, and there are many great presenters and sessions scheduled. I will be presenting a session titled New Trends in Music Technology which is one of my favorites. Other presenters include Tom Rudolph, Jay Dorfman, Rick Dammers, Gina Greher, Richard Sussman, Evan Tobias, Marc Jacoby, Scott Lipscomb, Sandi MacLeod, Rick Schmunk, Mike Nord, Raymond Riley, David Williams, Peter Webster, Fred Rees, and George Litterst (among many other fine presenters). It is a veritable “who’s who” of music technology experts!

SoundTree is sponsoring the hands-on lab at the conference as well as the Pre-Conference, which is titled Delivering Music Instruction with Web 2.0 Social Computing Tools. ATMI is one of my favorite events of the year and I am really excited to be there again this year (albeit in a new role).

I welcome your questions and comments.

The ASK Video Series offers viewers a wonderful method of learning various software programs, including GarageBand, Ableton Live, ProTools, Reason 4.0, and Sibelius. The videos take viewers on a step-by-step guide through all of the various features of the software. I have personally viewed both the ProTools and the GarageBand videos and I highly recommend them. If you don’t have time to take a course or the money to pay someone for private instruction, these videos are the perfect resource for any music educator. The prices are pretty affordable - ranging from $19.49 for Ableton Live to $90.99 for a bundle of three videos on ProTools. Visit the SoundTree Online Store today to get your copy!

I welcome your questions and comments.

Most software titles today employ a variety of keyboard shortcuts (Command P = print) that help users save time, however keeping all of those shortcuts in your brain may not always be the easiest thing to do. KB Covers offers a fantastic solution for Apple users. These keyboard covers are lightweight, thin rubber covers that include shortcuts to many of the most popular music software titles available, including GarageBand, Sibelius, ProTools, and Logic. Prices range from $29.95 and $39.95, so they are quite affordable and might be the perfect tool for you! Visit the SoundTree Online Store to get yours today!

I welcome your questions and comments.

Well you knew that it was just a matter of time before some company came up with a virtual synthesizer for the iPhone. Last week I received quite a few emails from my music technology friends pointing me to an amazing video on YouTube that features the Noise.io iPhone Synth - an application that turns the iPhone touch screen into a “Korg Kaossilator-like” synthesizer. Here are the features listed on the site:

3 Generators, 1 Filter, 2 LFO, Trancegate, FX: chorus, phaser, flanger, stereo delay
9 Preset Banks, 9 presets in each (total 81 presets)
Impressive set of factory presets that will allow immediate insanity!
Intellectual Randomize preset function for those who are lazy

Friendly user interface
Making your own noises is easy and fun
Control Surface allows real-time noise playing
3 Control Axis: Up/Down (Y), Left/Right (X), In/Between (distance between fingers during Multi-Touch)

Any synth parameter can be assigned to Control axis
Extensive use of the iPhone interface advantages (finger sliding,
multitouch, etc.)

The application will cost $6.99 and will be available on the iTunes App Store beginning August 25th. This is one of MANY reasons why I’d love an iPhone. Perhaps this will convince me to get one.

I welcome your questions and comments.

For those of you who know the Animusic DVDs, they are amazing. Very cool animation and very cool music. Last fall I was contacted by the creators of Animusic to write the teachers guide for Animusic 2. I loved working on the project and now the guide is available on their website. Please check it out and let me know what you think. It offers suggested activities for each scene and highlights the various musical concepts that can be focused on.

To buy your own copy of the video, visit the Animusic Online Store.

I welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions.