Music Technology in Education

Announcing The Grand Opening of the New SoundTree Online Store

jamesfrankel — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:51:59 +0000

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!

The New Nano Series from Korg

jamesfrankel — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 12:18:47 +0000

Korg has done it again. A truly remarkable new product was unveiled this past week at the LIMS Show in London (the equivalent of the NAMM Show here is the US). The Nano Series from Korg is a collection of three highly portable USB Controllers that I truly believe will make an important impact on mobile music making. The first controller is the nanoKEY: a two-octave keyboard (with mini keys of course) that is a perfect companion to a laptop. Exactly the same width and height of my MacBook Pro. The other controllers include nanoPAD: an pad controller with twelve pads and an X/Y touch pad - perfect for creating expressive drum patterns, and the nanoKONTROL: a mappable control surface with a transport controls, sliders and knobs that are a perfect compliment to all DAW software packages.

I have had the pleasure of beta testing all three of the controllers and they are AWESOME! I am not sure at all (scout’s honor) what the pricing is and when Korg plans on releasing them here in the US. I strongly recommend Googling Korg Nano Series and reading some of the many blog postings from the UK. It is quite evident that they received a very enthusiastic welcome at LIMS and I am sure that they will be a hit here in the US. Imagine having three great controllers that can easily be carried in your standard laptop bag. I am thrilled that Korg is bringing these to the market - and that they are the first company to do so.

Strike Up The Band on the New iPhone

jamesfrankel — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:08:07 +0000

Like many other people I know, I have been staring through the window at the iPhone since it first hit the shelves last year. Although almost every one of my friends and both of my siblings have one, and sadly I do not. First it was because I had a two-year contract with Verizon, then it was because my job required that I have a Windows compatible smart phone. This made it even more difficult for me to read about the new iPhone on the Wired Magazine website, and perhaps more importantly, the fact that Moo Cow Music is releasing an application for the iPhone called simply “Band“. This is the from the Wired story:

All instruments will be usable in the same song, while a multi-touch interface will allow up to five notes or samples to be played at the same time. Animated keys and strings will appear to move when activated, and any part can be edited, erased or overdubbed. An included metronome keeps the beat to keep each part on time.

The application looks really cool, and very user friendly. I can just imagine what this will do for home music making and the students that we teach. Check out their video on YouTube.

What do you think? Will there come a day when we will ask our students to pull out their iPhones in our music classes to make music?

Double the Fun with the Korg Kaossilator and Get One Soon!

jamesfrankel — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:38:44 +0000

Korg recently announced that there is a way to double the loop length on the Korg Kaossilator to four measures with a hidden code. Here is the skinny from the Korg Kaossilator website:

KAOSSILATOR “Easter Egg” Lets You Record Four Measure Patterns
KAOSSILATOR does double duty! Yes, those uber-clever designers snuck in a way to record FOUR measure phrases! You can access this capability by holding down the TAP/BPM and LOOP REC/PLAY buttons while turning on your KAOSSILATOR. Once you see “DLY” on the screen, let go. The KAOSSILATOR then allocates its undo memory to recording memory. Once you see program “L.00”, hold those buttons again to enter the length mode, and turn the dial clockwise to select a length of “16” steps instead of the previous maximum of “8”.

Voila! Four measure patterns for twice the enjoyment!

This has some pretty big implications for educators as well all know that four measure phrases are the building blocks of almost all music. If you have a Kaossilator, I urge you to check this out. I tried it mine this morning and it worked perfectly. The only feature that you lose when you try this is the ability to undo the previous loop - a small price to pay if you ask me.

Don’t have a Kaossilator? Don’t worry. SoundTree will be receiving a large shipment of them very soon! Give Eric Davis a call at 1 (800) 963-8733 x6674 and order yours today. The price is $199.99 and we’ll even throw in free shipping!!!

New User Group: Music and the Macintosh

jamesfrankel — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:07:12 +0000

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!

Leopard Users Rejoice - the ProTools Update is Here!

jamesfrankel — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:18:57 +0000

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!

Asimo Conducts the Detroit Symphony Orchestra

jamesfrankel — Fri, 30 May 2008 12:17:11 +0000

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.

New Kaossilator Website

jamesfrankel — Sat, 24 May 2008 11:22:59 +0000

Korg recently launched a new microsite for the Kaossilator - my favorite piece of gear for 2008. Check it out. There is a great demo video that shows all of the functions of the device, as well as a very cool rollover diagram of the device where you can learn all about what each of the buttons does. There is also a place for you to submit your own videos of yourself playing the Kaossilator. I will finish editing a video that I made of my former students playing Kaossilators (the Kaossilator Orkestra) by the end of next week.

If you’ve been interested in checking out this great new device from Korg, I highly recommend checking out the site. Let me know what you think!

Virtual MIDI Keyboard Controller from Tanager: Meet Chirp

jamesfrankel — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:50:53 +0000

Have you ever wanted to have a virtual keyboard to try out some sounds using one of your VSTs or DAWs while you are waiting around? Sure, GarageBand has one that can be controlled with your QWERTY keyboard, but what if you are a PC user, or want to use Reason or one of your virtual synths? Sure, a hardware based USB MIDI keyboard controller should always be your first choice, but what if you’re on a plane or just forgot it? Meet Chirp, a new virtual MIDI keyboard controller for Windows XP/Vista or your Mac OSX from Tanager Audioworks. At a great price of $39.95, Chirp offers users a two octave keyboard with “full size” keys that correlate to letters on the QWERTY keyboard. There are also 10 assignable pad controllers, a pitch bend, and a modulation wheel. Chirp works with any DAW or VST - which makes it very different from the built in keyboard that comes with GarageBand. For a cool little video that demonstrates who Chirp works, click HERE.

I welcome your comments and suggestions.

International Competition for Young Media Creatives

jamesfrankel — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:50:24 +0000

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!