I am thrilled to announce that we have been working very hard over the past few months at SoundTree to create a unique new education online store that offers educators the absolute BEST prices on all aspects of music technology. The SoundTree Online Store has over 200 “Classroom Tested, Teacher Approved” products that have been hand-selected with the educator in mind. Aside from our guaranteed lowest prices, we are also the only online store to offer free shipping on all orders (except outside of the continental US). No minimum purchase required!

I know that this seems like a shameless commercial, but I can’t tell you how happy I am with this new resource for educators. I urge you to log on to the store today to check it out. Everything is in stock and ready to be shipped - including Kaossilators! If you would like to subscribe to SoundWAVES - the free email newsletter from SoundTree - click HERE and you’ll receive monthly notices about product specials. We’ve got a wonderful podcasting bundle for Mac & PC users!

Start shopping today!

I received an email yesterday from Bill Bauer to join a group on the Apple Learning Interchange network called Music and the Macintosh. There are already 35 members, and the group includes a wonderful collection of experts.

If you use a Mac to make any type of music, I strongly urge you to join the group as well. It is free and only takes a few moments to set up an account. There are also quite a few other group on the ALI that you might be interested in as well. As my friend Rob always says, See you on the circuits!

ProTools is the industry standard digital audio workstation software - every major recording studio in the country runs it. Every ProTools users know that when Apple upgraded their operating system to Leopard, their favorite software was left out in the cold. For the past few months, many Mac-based ProTools users I know have asked me when the Leopard update would be coming. It’s been frustrating to not have an answer for them. Frustrating, until now. Digidesign announced on Friday that their ProTools fix for the Leopard Mac OS is now available for download on their site. While not the final version, it will get you up and running. I am sure that you heard thousands of audio engineers cheer last week when the announcement was made. Log on to the Digidesign support site today and download the update. Special thanks to Marc Schonbrun for bringing this to my attention!

A few weeks ago I mentioned that the Detroit Symphony Orchestra would be conducted by a robot named Asimo on an upcoming concert. Asimo, a Honda spokes”robot” conducted “The Impossible Dream” as a part of a multi-million dollar sponsorship from Honda. Well, he did it - and he wasn’t half bad.

A video posted on YouTube shows the entire event. I have to admit that it was truly eerie to watch this robot walk on stage, interact with the audience and the orchestra, and then start conducting. It is truly strange to see a robot “alive”. It will never get old to me. Once he began conducting the initial reaction by the audience seems to be a slight chuckle. Soon thereafter you forget that this thing is a robot. It actually portrays emotion while conducting and it does a really nice job of conveying tempo and even cues for the musicians. Whoever programmed Asimo did a wonderful job. Will it ever replace a live human? Of course not. But it is a wonderful display of technology (and the fact that orchestras must go through publicity stunts like this to remain in business).

I urge you to share this video with your students and get their reaction. What do they think about it? I’d love to hear from you.

Yesterday I came across a wonderful opportunity for students of all ages who are creating music and digital media with computers. The International Competition for Young Media Creatives is a European competition but it is open to any student worldwide. It is sponsored by the SAE Institute in Frankfurt, Germany.

There are a number of different categories. They include: Music Production, Multimedia, Short Film, 3D FX/Animation, and Creativity First. The prize in each category is pretty impressive: an iMac and 3,000 Euros. For more information, visit their “>website. Please pass this on to anyone who you think might have students who would be interested in entering the competition. Good Luck!

A few years ago I was interviewed for an article written by Scott Watson in Music Education Technology Magazine that asked music educators what three pieces of technology would they choose to have if they were stranded on a desert island. My answers at the time were: the Korg GEC3 Group Education Controller, GarageBand, and Sibelius. There were two other teachers interviewed, and I find reading the article very interesting. Different teachers gravitate to different technologies - none of us had the same response. I recommend reading the article to see how educators use technology in their music programs.

Now that I am officially out of the classroom, my choices have changed a bit. My top three technology choices now are: the MicroTrack II from M-Audio, my Korg microKONTROL, and my Korg Kaossilator (surprise, surprise). The MicroTrack II is the most convenient hand-held MP3 recorder, and I literally have it with me at all times. Whenever I am presenting a session, or want to record audio, I pull the MicroTrack II out of my bag and press record. It is literally that easy. My other two choices may seem skewed (as Korg is my employer) but I have had my micrKONTROL for five years and many who know me usually see me with it slung over my shoulder. It is the perfect USB controller - 16 pads, a great control surface, and 37 mini keys. Portable and powerful, it is always on my desk or in my bag. Finally, it should come as no surprise that the Kaossilator rounds out my top three. I have never had so much fun with a piece of gear before. Everyone that I show it to does not want to give it back. Sibelius and GarageBand still are at the top of my list, but since leaving th classroom, I have been using them a little bit less. Reason 4.0, the Blue Snowball USB microphone, and ProTools would round out my top 8 picks.

So now it is your turn. What would you take with you to a desert island? You have to choose only 3 things (I know it is difficult). I’d love to get a big response on this so please pass it on to your friends and colleagues.

I read on Wired.com today about a very interesting upcoming event in Detroit, MI. The story is about how Asimo, one of the most well known robots (which is made by Honda), will conduct the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on an upcoming concert. The concert is more of a kick-off commercial for a long-term partnership between the orchestra and the car manufacturer who has donated $1 million dollars to the “Power of Dreams” education fund.

Honda will film the event, which takes place on Tuesday, May 13th. Attendees will include students from the Detroit School of the Arts. When the film is posted on their site, I will post a link to it here.

So what do you think? Shameless commercial? Interesting idea? Can a robot actually conduct a professional orchestra? What genius is programming it? Will the musicians actually follow it? Is this good for classical music? Has the Detroit Symphony “jumped the shark”? I’d love to hear from you.

I justed posted a podcast containing two compositions that we recorded yesterday with the Kaossilator Orkestra at the Franklin Avenue Middle School in Franklin Lakes, NJ.

The structure of the first piece is based on Morse Code. After giving the students a drum loop, they spelled words using the Kaossilator from Korg. This is the third time we have rehearsed together as a group and I am finding that having a system like Morse Code (giving the students a tactile direction) is more successful than some of the other pieces that I have written out for them.

The second piece is based on Braille. We chose the word “Rainbow” because there were 7 students yesterday. Each student was assigned a letter from the word and then given direction on how to create each letter using Braille.

I was very pleased with the results as the pieces are more controlled than some of the ones we tried in earlier rehearsals. The concept of the Kaossilator Orkestra is becoming clearer as we move forward. Personally, I am thrilled by the possibilities for this type of group in the school setting. What do you think? Could you see an ensemble like this in your school?

Before reading any further, if you haven’t already seen the video, take a moment and watch a great video on YouTube called iBand. They have a few other videos as well that you might be interested in.

What do you think?

I believe that this is another example of how music is changing and how it is the students that we teach that will reshape the way music educators approach performance ensembles in the future. That might seem like a bold statement, but I am a firm believer that the technology shown in the video makes music making very inviting for students. While the tune might not be the best composition ever created, it shows how innovative kids can be. Take two iPhones and a Nintendo DS and Voila! you’ve got a band. Instead of fearing that traditional performing ensembles will die because of technology (a huge over reaction) I believe that music educators have an opportunity to bring performance experiences to many more students than those who are currently a member of a performing ensemble at school. Ask yourself how many students (what percentage) in your school are members of the band, chorus, or orchestra? 10%? 20%? 30%? Even the best music programs in America would be fortunate to have more than a 50% participation rate? What about the vast amount of students who will never have an opportunity to perform? Sure, you might have a Battle of the Bands once a year to showcase some of the millions of kids who play guitar, bass, drums or keyboard. I’ll bet that many of the students who are not performers at school are closet performers at home, using the same technology that the iBand uses. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have every student performing? Do you think that technology could make that happen? Websites that offer free software downloads that contain music making opportunities level the playing field in terms of socioeconomic status. Are the iBand members musical even if they are not playing “instruments”?

I’d love to hear from you and your students. Perhaps you could show the students the video and get their reactions. Have them post their comments here! Are you an iBand fan?

In an effort to promote a bit more discourse on my blog, I have posted the following question that I believe should generate quite a few comments: Which notation program do you prefer: Sibelius or Finale and why? I will remain neutral on this one. The point of this entry is to investigate why people prefer one program over the other to see if any themes emerge. So…it’s your turn! Please take a moment to post your opinion on this question, or post a reaction to something that has already been posted. I look forward to hearing from you!