You may remember that a few years back Sibelius distributed a software title for a short while here in the US called O-Generator Learning to Compose. For one reason or another it wasn’t around for very long, but I am very pleased to report that it is once again available here in the US along with a brand new exciting title called O-Generator World Music. If you’ve never heard of O-Generator you most certainly will. Made by a company from the UK called O-Music, it is an ingenious way to get students in elementary, middle, and high school composing music in a brand new way.

Check out the videos and demos on each of the software landing pages. I have had both titles for a few months now, and I have to say, it is a blast to make music with. The software employs an ingenious circular display that splits up a measure into sixteenth notes. Each sixteenth note is represented by a small circle (the strong beats have a larger circle). Within each circle students can enter a wide variety of high quality samples, including drums, bass, guitar, vocal, and keyboard loops. Once you have filled up your circle, you can move on to the next one until you have composed a complete song. Students will easily understand how the interface works, and will enjoy creating their own songs in a non-traditional way (no notation, no loop sequencing interface). Both software titles also include teaching materials, supplemental videos that help explain the various concepts in the software. The lessons are also tied to the UK music learning standards - so the programmers were really think about education when they created it. I would strongly recommend adding this title to your software offering. It works wonderfully with both a SmartBoard or digital whiteboard and in a lab setting.

At the upcoming TI:ME National Conference (held in conjunction with NJMEA), Marcel Pusey from O-Music will be making presentations on both titles. If you are coming to this fantastic event, be sure to stop by his sessions. SoundTree will have copies of both titles available for sale in our booth.

SoundTree is very proud to offer both of these titles on our web store (Mac/PC). O-Generator Learning to Compose is priced at $129, and O-Generator World Music (a very unique approach to teaching world music) is priced at $149. As always, lab pricing is available from SoundTree. Contact your local SoundTree Account Manager today to order or shop online!

Online TI:ME Courses - Spring 2010

SoundTree is offering three online TI:ME Courses for graduate credit through a partnership with Five Towns College starting March 1st. The courses will meet completely online, using both weekly live video conferences and Five Towns College’s online course management tool, BlackBoard™. Courses run 12 weeks and cost $750 per course (plus $50 application fee). Upon successful completion of the course, students will receive 3 graduate credits.

The following courses are being offered:

EDU 521, TI:ME 1A: Basic Skills - Electronic Instruments, MIDI Sequencing, and Notation
Instructor: Dr. Thomas Rudolph

EDU 522, TI:ME 1B: Basic Skills in Music Technology: Instructional Software, Communications, and Digital Media
Instructor: Stefani Langol

EDU 523, TI:ME 2A: Music Notation Software (Finale)
Instructor: Dr. Scott Watson

For more information and to register, please visit www.soundtree.com/timecourses or contact us at info@soundtree.com.

Registration deadline is Friday, February 20th. There is a minimum requirement of 9 registered students per course in order for each course to run. In case the course needs to be canceled, you will be notified by February 27th.

I am presenting a one hour workshop on behalf of SoundTree on utilizing SmartBoards/IWBs in the music classroom this upcoming Monday, and I need your help.

The workshop is focused on best practices with SmartBoards/IWBs and will provide lesson plan ideas for general, vocal and instrumental music teachers. I would love to feature some of your ideas in the workshop (and would credit you fully). If you would please take a few moments to share how you are using your IWB (Interactive White Board) with your students; what brand of IWB you have; what are the advantages and disadvantages of using an IWB in your classroom; and any resources that you use to create lessons using software like Notebook for the SmartBoard. By the way - special thanks to my dear friend Liz - the model in the picture above.

I look forward to hearing from you soon. The workshop is on Monday!

This past year I had the pleasure of writing a book titled YouTube in Music Education with my dear friend Tom Rudolph, which has just been published by Hal Leonard. I finally received my copy in the mail yesterday, and I must say that I am proud of the result. Tom and I have hopefully created a resource for music educators that serves a few different needs that we saw.

1. It is a guide to the many different ways that YouTube can be used in the music classroom - across the curriculum. We both believe that YouTube is perhaps the single most important educational resource available on the Internet. So many videos to enhance any aspect of a music curriculum.

2. It provides methods for incorporating the site safely and securely into your teaching, where students can find resources, post comments, and more without the fear of other users having access to the materials and discourse. There are step-by-step directions on how to create a secure YouTube channel for use with students of all ages.

3. It discusses copyright issues that effect the materials on the site and how you can (and can’t) use them with your students.

4. It provides music educators with a resource to try to convince administrators to unblock the site for use in the classroom.

5. It provides step-by-step tutorials for creating your own videos using both Mac and PC based software.

I hope that you pick up a copy of the book - it’s not that expensive - and let me know what you think. We have created a companion website and a YouTube channel which will hopefully be up and running in the next week or two. Stay tuned!

I welcome your comments, questions, and feedback!

Did you know that SoundTree has been running some very popular online courses that are completely free? That’s right. Every week, SoundTree offers at least two courses online on a wide variety of topics - everything from podcasting to ProTools, wikis to the basics of digital audio. Tonight I will be teaching a course on Podcasting with GarageBand to nearly 20 music teachers from all over the United States. All you need is an internet connection and a phone to join. Calls are toll-free and we use the WebEx Meeting Center to share PowerPoint presentations, documents, applications and even our desktops to help music teachers learn how to use technology to improve instruction. There is also a special website set up where instructors post their materials as well as links to recordings of previous webinars. To learn more and to sign up today, visit: www.soundtree.com/web-training.

There are quite a few courses being planned for early 2010 - let us know what you’d like us to offer and we’ll see what we can do! Hope to see you online!

SoundTree is proud to announce the publication of Alfred’s SoundTree Keyboard Lab Curriculum – Elementary School Level.

This exclusive, in-depth, keyboard-based curriculum includes powerful resources for teaching in the group piano instructional environment. It includes a variety of materials that make it easy to incorporate technology in the music classroom. This curriculum will serve as an integral resource for any music educator who teaches music with pianos or keyboards.

Keyboard Component: The core keyboard component of the curriculum is Alfred’s Basic Piano Library Group Piano Course. The sequential materials from this course included in the SoundTree Keyboard Lab Curriculum include:

* Alfred’s Basic Piano Library Group Piano Course, Books 1-4
* Teacher’s Handbook for Books 1 & 2
* Teacher’s Handbook for Books 3 & 4
* 2-CD sets for Levels 1-4
* 2-GM sets for Levels 1-4
* Reproducible Worksheet Book

The Reproducible Worksheet Book contains Theory and Ear Training worksheets to correlate with each unit of Alfred’s Basic Piano Library Group Piano Course, Books 1-4

General Music Component: In addition to the keyboard materials listed above, The Elementary Curriculum Book includes 60 lesson plans written specifically for the Korg Group Education Controller (GEC) from SoundTree. These lesson plans serve as a guide for incorporating a GEC keyboard lab into the general music classroom setting. Written by experienced teachers who teach in a keyboard lab environment, these classroom-tested lessons include lessons in the following areas:

* Music Fundamentals (Rhythm, Notation, Music Reading)
* Composition
* Ear Training (Melodic and Rhythmic Dictation)
* Improvisation
* Listening Skills
* Notation
* Performance

The lessons are not presented in a specific order, but are intended to give the teacher maximum flexibility to include them in the curriculum based on the needs of students in the individual classes. The musical experiences in each lesson address the National Standards for Music Education. Each individual lesson is organized in the following manner:

* Keyboard Skills Required
* MENC National Standards
* Objectives
* Materials
* Procedure (This step-by-step procedure includes specifics on how to use the GEC)
* Extensions
* Reproducible student handouts (Included with most lessons)

In addition to the print materials included in this book, there will be a companion website that will include the MIDI and audio files mentioned in some of the lesson plans which can be downloaded for use in the lesson. The companion site will be located at the following URL: www.soundtree.com/elemcurric.

Learning musical skills through technology generates tremendous enthusiasm among students. The technology allows students the opportunity to perform, improvise and create music according to their individual tastes. They now move from the realm of music lover to music maker, opening a new world of imagination to students who might never have been involved in the creation of music. The sincere intent of the developers of this curriculum is to make the music learning experience interactive and rewarding for both the students and the instructor. Enjoy!

Click HERE for an overview of the Elementary Curriculum, including National Standards, musical skills, and keyboard proficiency levels.

Click HERE for a sample lesson from the Elementary Curriculum.

The Teachers Edition of the Complete Elementary Curriculum is $299.95 and each Student Edition is $39.95. In addition to the Elementary Level Curriculum, Alfred and Soundtree will publish a Middle School and High School Level Curriculum in early 2010. For more information about this and any product, please contact your local SoundTree Account Manager, or call 1 (800) 963-8733 today.

By now you have probably heard of the incredible online notation software called Noteflight. If you haven’t, stop reading this, log on to their site, create a free account, and start composing. I mean it.

I have been a long-time fan of what the folks at Noteflight have been doing - facilitating free online composition for students and musicians with a powerful notation program that lives entirely online. Now they have created an incredible resource for teachers called Noteflight Learning Edition which affords teachers the ability to create online learning environments for their students. One of the only drawbacks with using Noteflight with your students the way it currently works is that the students have to either print out their scores at home, or log into their account at school and then export their work in order to turn it in for assessment. While the software is free and you can make it work, in the long run it will become cumbersome when trying to assess large groups of students.

Noteflight Learning Edition allows you to share your musical scores with your students, as well as post activities and assignments for your students to complete and turn in for assessment online. This system makes it easy to create and post materials that are accessible from any computer with internet access the moment they’re created. Your students will be able to access and work on their assignments from anywhere - including home. Noteflight has teamed up with Haiku to create a fully functioning LMS - Learning Management System - so you’ll even be able to facilitate an entire assortment of other online course interactions.

From the Noteflight website:

Foster a musical community.

Students and teachers have a private, secure online space for all their scores and teaching materials, separate from the public Noteflight.com site. It’s perfect for group composition activities and informal sharing.

Manage online assignments.

When you create an assignment, Learning Edition automatically gives each student their own copy to work on. You can review individual students’ work and provide feedback directly in their scores. You can even see how a piece has evolved by looking at previously saved versions.

Create online courses.

Embed scores directly in online courseware. Students can play back all of a score or just a few measures, and can listen to individual parts and notes as a cursor follows the playback.

I see Noteflight Learning Edition as a perfect solution for any K-12 or college level music courses that are looking to integrate composition, music theory study, and online assessment. SoundTree is a proud reseller of the Noteflight Learning Edition. Pricing is extremely affordable and the service is available on a monthly or yearly subscription. If you are interested in learning more about implementing, please contact us and we will provide you with more information, including pricing.

Are you using Notelfight? How about the Learning Edition? I’d love to hear about the kinds of things you are doing with it in your music program!

Leave it to Radiohead to once again blaze a trail in the new digital music revolution. I just bought what could be the first commercially available song that has been broken down into individual tracks - Reckoner from the new Radiohead album In Rainbows. The group is encouraging their fans to download all of the tracks (sold as an iTunes Plus Album for 99 cents) and then creating their own remixes and mash ups using sequencing software such as Logic, ProTools, Sonar, GarageBand and others. You can then upload your remix to a special website that the band created just for this song. The only restriction is that you can’t commercially release your remix without the permission of the band.

I am heading down to the ATMI Conference in Atlanta this afternoon and I am looking forward to remixing the tracks in Logic on the plane. I feel sorry for the person sitting next to me as I will probably be tapping my feet and bopping my head. Look for my remix in the next week or so.

This is an incredible tool for middle school/high school music programs that have a music technology component. Students will love everything about this project. They probably like the band already and they will love that they can legally remix and mash up the song and then post their work on the band’s website where others can listen to it and comment on it. This is a real life situation that teachers should most certainly take advantage of. I know that if I was still in the classroom this would be my very next lesson plan!

I welcome your comments and questions.

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.

The current issue of Music Education Technology Magazine features a lesson plan that I wrote entitled “Film Scoring in the Music Classroom“. The lesson plan discusses ways of incorporating film scoring in the general music curriculum using a variety of software and hardware, including GarageBand ‘08 and Sibelius. One software title that I neglected to mention was Finale which also has a fantastic film scoring interface. The lesson plan includes links to websites containing copyright- and royalty-free film clips that you can use with your students, as well as two short film clips that will be posted on the MET Magazine website. While the online version is not yet available, I hope that you have subscribed to MET Magazine to see the print version.

Sadly, this will be the very last issue of MET Magazine and I am sorry to see this fantastic publication disappear. I have thoroughly enjoyed writing for the magazine and I believe it is one of the best resources for music educators who are interested in technology. Steve Oppenheimer has done a wonderful job editing the magazine and is a strong supporter of music technology in the schools. Thanks Steve!

I welcome your comments and suggestions.