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?

Yesterday I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Robert Brannan, known as elderbob, for a very interesting project being run on a website called Musicbridges.  Here is a brief description of what Musicbridges is trying to do:

The site is a webcasting network of musicians and music educators dedicated to helping those involved in music and technology explore, discuss, and collaborate covering topics on music gear, music in education, ways to successfully create global recordings, and music lessons. Musicbridges is part of Worldbridges. They are also the ­home of the 2008 EVO  -  Music in Education Course.

My interview, part of their music education course titled “I Got Rhythm - Music in the Classroom”, has been posted, and although the beginning is pretty rough (we recorded the entire interview over Skype and there were some network problems) I think there are some interesting points.  While I was being interviewed there were a number of participants in a web chat who were interacting with me at the same time.  They have their own Yahoo Discussion Group, which I have joined, and I am looking forward to seeing what happens with this.  It was a great experience, and I urge other music educators to look into what these visionary people are doing.

I welcome your comments and suggestions.

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Kelly Heyboer from the Star Ledger, a newspaper distributed throughout New Jersey. She discovered me after visiting my podcasting site and listening to some of my student work.  I was interviewed over the phone, and a few days later a photographer came and took photos while two of my students and I created the most recent edition of “This Week in Music” - a weekly show that I do with my students.

The article, entitled “Pods Casting a Spell as the Medium of the Masses” was published in the education section of the December 16th Sunday paper. It was wonderful to be recognized for my work with podcasting, and the students got a big thrill out of having a photographer come to our classroom. I strongly urge you to try podcasting with your students as well - maybe your program will be featured too!

I welcome your comments and suggestions.

I was recently interviewed by Keith Mason for his podcasting site, Music Tech for ME.  The episode that I was interviewed for covered a wide variety of topics - everything from how I got started with music technology to my work with the Connect With Music Project.  It was an honor to be interviewed by Keith who really has a great site going.  I urge you to check out his site.  If you’d like to leave any comments about the interview, please do so on Keith’s site.  Happy listening!

My good friend and fellow TI:ME Board Member Dr. Scott Watson has just started a new podcasting site called “What Music Means to Me“.  You might know Scott as a composer (my 6th Grade Band is currently working on one of his pieces), or as the creator of the incredible Home Practice Online.  He also serves as the Chair of the TI:ME Publications Committee.

What Music Means to Me already has six well produced podcasts that contain Scott’s thoughts on a wide variety of topics relating to music, technology and education.  I strongly recommend checking the site out, and I am thrilled that Scott has joined the world of podcasting.  Subscribe to his feed today!

I welcome your comments and suggestions.

I know that it might seem like shameless self-promotion, but I just saw that my homepage was featured in the Web Sitings Column of the September/October 2007 Music Education Technology Magazine (page 38).  The article specifically mentions the many podcasts that I have posted on my podcasting site.  Special thanks to Karen Garrett and Steven Estrella for thinking of my site.  It certainly is something that I spend a great deal of time on, and it’s nice to see that it has been recognized.

Although my school year doesn’t start until Sept. 5th, I’ve already begun preparations for the coming year.  The first thing that I did was create a Welcome Back Podcast for my instrumental music students that outlines the entire program for the incoming 6th graders and their parents, and provides information for my returning students.  It was a lot of fun writing and recording the podcast, and I believe that the podcasting format is a perfect vehicle for this type of information.  I’ve included many graphics that accompany the podcast including some pictures, website addresses, titles, my email address, and more.  Give it a listen and let me know what you think.  Perhaps you can create your own “Back-To-School” podcast for your students.  Have a great year!

I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Yesterday, students in my Teaching Music With GarageBand 3.0: Applications Across The Curriculum course at the CCSU Summer Music Institute created podcasting projects. These projects fell into two categories: teacher-created podcasts (ones not intended to be completed by their students) and students-created podcasts. As it was a double class session, we spent close to 8 hours creating and publishing their podcasts, using the fantastic website PodOmatic. I was extremely impressed by the creativity of the students and the attention to details in their work. I have provided links to their work below. Please visit their new pages, give their work a listen, and let them know what you think. I am very proud of their efforts.

• Band Recruitment Podcast
• Medieval/Renaissance Podcast
• Practice Tips for Beginning Band Students
• Recorder Warm-Up for B. C. D
• John Cage Biography
• Mozart Sym. 40 Listening Guide
• World Music Presentation
• Elements of Music

I welcome your comments and suggestions.

If you’re looking for an excellent example of student-created podcasts, you have to check out Radio WillowWeb.  While there aren’t any music education podcasts on the site yet, there are many fantastic podcasts from students in grades K through 5 on topics ranging from poetry to science.  Radio WillowWeb was one of the very first school districts to adopt podcasting as an assessment, and I first found out about it at an Apple Podcasting seminar last spring.  There are also quite a few other technology-oriented projects and resources on the district site, including blogs, tech tips, and webcams.  Just click on the WillowWeb pull down menu in the upper right hand corner.  WillowWeb is a wonderful example of how technology can be used to teach students and parents.

I welcome your comments and suggestions.

There is a great website located at www.jazzvideopodcasts.com that hosts well produced, in depth podcasts about various icons of jazz. Each month there is a new artist featured, and this month it is the legendary Sonny Rollins. The site not only features a video podcast that you can download and play for your students, there are also links to other resources about Sonny including links to merchandise, free audio and video files, reflections by other artists about Sonny, his upcoming itinerary, a guestbook, and links to other relevant sites. If you’re looking for a great free resource about jazz, I strongly suggest visiting the site and subscribing to the podcast today.

There is another great jazz podcast site called the Night Passage Jazz Podcast Page that hosts more frequent podcasts about jazz by a jazz fan from Italy.  There are many great resources on the site as well.  I have a bunch of other jazz links on my website, including some other podcast sites if you’re looking for other online jazz resources.

I welcome your comments and suggestions.