Why I Teach a Music Technology Class

Article posted September 10, 2006 at 01:45 PM GMT-6 • Reads 29301

When teachers, parents, and students ask what this course is about, the same question usually pops up, either spoken or not: why teach music technology? Implied in that question are all sorts of other questions: Is it musically/educationally valid? Is it a glorified computer play time? Is it a waste of money? What are students learning?



My premise from the beginning of designing this course has been that students already know some music really well--it's the music they listen to everyday on the radio, on CDs, or on their iPods. Students have favorite artists, favorite singers, favorite musicians, and favorite styles of music. Today's students live in a world of music (think of the last time you can honestly say you spent a whole day without listening to some kind of music) and when they think about music, they think about the kind of music they know. They do not think necessarily think about the kind of music that music teachers what them to know.



I would love it if I could have conversations with students and faculty members about favorite composers and pieces of music. I would love it if all I have to do was whistle a famous symphonic theme and students and teachers would shout out it's title and composer, but that's not the world we live in. We live in a musical world which doesn't give much value to any music older than 40 years (Elvis, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones are almost exceptions). Consequently, our students don't know why the music of today exists.



My dream, and my goal for this class, is that students learn how to make the music of today using the tools of today: computers and software. After making the music of today, then you can ask the question, why am I composing this way? How was music composed before today? Then you can start to look at influences and music history.



A huge goal? Yes. Obtainable? Ask me everyday what we learned today and I'l tell you where we're still trying to go. Is music important in student's lives? You bet. I want to teach them how it workd so that they can make the music that they hear inside their heads. Then they can use their music to tell other people who they are and what's important to them.

Why Should Students (and Teachers) Blog?

Article posted September 11, 2006 at 01:58 PM GMT-6 • Reads 321

This summer I was a presenter at the WELS Edutech Conference at UW-Oshkosh on the topic of Music Technology. Besides presenting a two-hour lab on how to make accompaniment CDs for choirs, I also used GarageBand to record Psalms 24, 33, & 100 for the daily devotions.



I also attended the entire conference. I have to say I was very impressed by the two keynote speakers: David Warlick and Dr. David Walsh. Mr. Warlick spoke about using technology in the 21st century to redefine literacy. Dr. Walsh presented brain research on the teenager's mind and why teens do things the way they do (he was much more eloquent than I just wrote). Dr. John Kolander wrapped up the keynotes on the last day by talking about how to implement change at our schools. I was impressed by all the keynote speakers, but most of all with David Warlick.



Mr. Warlick did what a good keynote speaker is supposed to do: he challenged his audience to change their way of thinking. From listening to his presentation:



Telling the New Story - Mr. David Warlick



Most adults base their knowledge of schooling on their education experiences from 20, 30, or 40 years ago. Today's classrooms are modeled after old and outdated stories that are still being told by our culture. Mr. David Warlick, director of the Landmark Project, has a new vision for the classroom that is changing our definitions of teaching, learning, and being educated. "Telling the New Story" promises to be an engaging presentation designed to inspire educators to fashion new stories with visions so irresistible they will wipe out the old images, and we will be able to transform education for the 21st century.

Technorati, Here I Come

Article posted September 11, 2006 at 05:38 PM GMT-6 • Reads 288

Unleash the spiders!

Blogging Basics-Magazines

Article posted September 12, 2006 at 06:42 PM GMT-6 • Reads 224

When reading the trade magazines InTune, Mix, Electronic Musician, or Keyboard (did you try the links on the top of left column?), keep track of what articles and ads catch your eye and are of interest to you. They will become the starting points of your blogging.



What do I write about?

Write about

• what interests you,
• what you have questions about,
• what you want to find out more information about, or
• what you feel strongly about.

You will always write better if you know what you are writing about and you feel very strongly about it, than if you know very little about your topic and don’t care for it very much.



How should I structure my blog articles?



When blogging, you should do the following:

1. Type the name of the magazine in your blog title along with the month, year, volume and issue number.
2. Include the page number(s) of the ad or article as well. You want other people to know where you got your information so they can go read the same article or ad in the same magazine. Search engines will be able to find this information easier than just random thoughts on a general topic.
3. Don’t expect your readers will understand what you are writing about, so explain and define special terminology.
4. Give credit where credit is due. If you didn’t write it, say who did and where you got it from. Link back to the online article. Find the author’s website and link that if applicable.

Blogging about Audacity

Article posted September 14, 2006 at 11:28 AM GMT-6 • Reads 960

Goal: Demonstrate your knowledge of editing audio using Audacity by writing a blog about your three weeks of Dance Projects.

Software needed: Internet browser (Safari, IE, Firefox, etc.)

Website needed: [LINK] (Mr. Witte’s blog)

Due date:

• Block 3: Friday, September 15, 2006



• Block 8: Monday, September 18, 2006

Procedure:Think back to Dance Projects 1, 2 & 3—Think about what new audio editing techniques you learned. Think about what thoughts went through your head as you were learning them. Think about what tips and tricks you figured out on your own. Think about what personal goals you gave yourself when you have to select music for Dance Project 3. Think about what you’d do differently next time. Think about what problems you had to overcome (and did!). Think about how you’d teach someone else to do the same thing.



Write about everything you learned, from counting beats to saving to my drop box. The more you write, the more I’ll know what you learned. The less you write, the less I will have to base my impression of your knowledge.



Blog Title: Use some version of the following words: Audacity, Editing Audio, or Dance Projects



Assessment: I’ll be looking for the following topics in your blog:

1. A description of the whole process used to import, cut/split, edit, apply effects, and save your project using Audacity and iTunes.
2. A description of problems you encountered while working with audio files and how you overcame those problems (this could be as simple as how to import audio into Audacity or as complex as counting beats and aligning two or more different tracks into one smooth song)
3. Your evaluation of Dance Projects 1-3. I wanted you to know how to manipulate audio so you could help the WLA Dance Team, Cheerleaders, and your own classmate prepare music for this year’s Homecoming. Are you prepared? Can you do it? Is there something else you need to know (like how to burn your project to a CD) or could you cut audio now without any help?

Bob Dylan

Article posted September 22, 2006 at 09:39 AM GMT-6 • Reads 394

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a Bob Dylan fan. I didn't grow up listening to him (at least not intentionally), nor do I own any of his albums. But I do know his place in music history is huge:



"His career accomplishments have been recognized with the Polar Music Prize, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Kennedy Center Honors, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters and Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was listed as one of TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of the 20th century. " ([LINK])



Bob Dylan is an artist who defined an era and an age with his lyrics, style, and music. Many modern musicians claim him as one of their influences, and he has garnered an impressive list of awards. As young musicians, we should know something about this influential and successful musician. As an extension of reading the Fond du Lac Reporter article([LINK]) about Bob Dylan's lifelong friend, John Bucklen, your assignment is:



Assignment:

Over the weekend, (1) read the Wikipedia article on Bob Dylan (link in left column of this blog) to get more background on this influential music legend. Then I want you to (2) do some research on one of the following topics:

1. Bob Dylan's new and critically acclaimed album, "Modern Times," debuted this month at No. 1 on the Billboard charts with nearly 192,000 copies sold. It's Dylan's first chart-topping album in 30 years. Which of his albums was the last one to debut at No. 1 30 years ago? Consult his Columbia Records page, and the Billboard website.
2. What are Bob Dylan's most famous songs? List his top ten most popular songs by consulting the iTunes Store. Search for Bob Dylan, look for his top songs, and click on the arrow to see all of them. Then, copy the first ten onto a piece of paper and ask five high school friends and five adults which songs they've heard of (ask them if they can sing or hum any of them). Record your research and draw your own conclusions to which of Bob Dylan's songs are his most famous.

Your final step is (3) to comment to my Bob Dylan blog entry with your findings by Monday, Sep. 25, 9:00 AM. We will read your comments in class on Monday and you will share with the rest of your class what you learned about Bob Dylan.

Blues Project

Article posted October 25, 2006 at 11:22 AM GMT-6 • Reads 243

[LINK]" target="_blank">[LINK]>Click here for the final blues projects from Blocks 3 & 8



Link fixed 11/17/06 (Sorry for the delay!)

MIDI Hymn Projects

Article posted November 21, 2006 at 01:49 PM GMT-6 • Reads 307

What have we been up to lately? We've been learning how to be MIDI musicians for church services by programming hymns into GarageBand. We used hymn 226 from the WELS hymnal Christian Worship

Where Have I Been?

Article posted January 29, 2007 at 03:10 PM GMT-6 • Reads 284

I know it's been over two months since I've either written a blog article or posted any new student music files. SORRY! I've had two majors concerts in the last two months (Christmas and Let's Celebrate), so I've just beginning to breathe again.



The 1st semester Music Tech classes were working on their final projects at the end of December and 1st week of January. I'll be posting them soon for all of you to listen to. Eighth Graders who came to WLA last Friday for 8th Grace Visitation will remember Braden Frederickson's final project. That's be up here soon as well.



The new semester has started and 19 new students are taking Music Technology. They're learned how to cut and splice audio files in Audacity. Today they learned how to write thier 1st blog, and tomorrow they'll be blogging about Dance Project 2.

Final Projects-Semester 1 2006-2007

Article posted January 31, 2007 at 09:22 AM GMT-6 • Reads 203

Last night I got the final projects for Block 3 uploaded to my website. This morning I'm working on getting the Block 8 final projects uploaded as well. You can download the mp3 files to your own computer by going to my website (link on the left of this page) and following the Music Technology links.



The goal of the final project was to use all of the music production techniques that the students learned this past semester in one song/composition. They were to (1) record MIDI, (2) record voice or some other real instrument, (3) use pre-recorded loops, and (4) record a drum loop. A detailed project sheet can be found on my website under Music Tech documents.



As you listen to these songs, you will hear a wide range of musical ideas and abilities. Remember, students in this class range from Freshmen through Seniors and all have different musical gifts and abilities from God. But all have musical gifts and abilities, and they were happy to be taught how to use them and develop them in WLA's Music Technology course.



I would LOVE to hear your comments on the students final projects and so would they! Please feel free to either commment to this blog entry or go to that student's blog (links on the right column of this page) and leave a comment for them.

Embedding a URL in your blog

Article posted February 1, 2007 at 11:28 AM GMT-6 • Reads 266

Let's say you want to make a clickable link in one of your blogs. Maybe you want to point your readers to a particular song you wrote and want to make it easy for them to find. You could just cut and paste the URL (web address) of the link into your blog, like this:

http://homepage.mac.com/WebObjects/FileSharing.woa/55/wo/ZktzGeX6a2uMTWcD.1/2.2.1.2.26.31.97.3.35.0.1.1.1?user=dwitte&fpath=Music%20Technology:Semester%202%2006-07&templatefn=FileSharing19.html

but that's REALLY messy. Wouldn't it be nicer to just have a couple of words you could click on which describes what the link is? Like this: Semester 2 06-07 songs. Here's a trick: just copy and paste a little HTML code into your blog.



I've been using ProBlogger to get my HTML code. Here's the HTML code they use to make a basic clickable link:Basic Link <a href=”url”>link title</a> (where ‘url’ is the page you want to link to and ‘link title’ is the word/s that you want the link to say.
Make sure that you get rid of the quotes around "url"--they'll just mess up the link!

Dance Project 2 Blog (Sem. 2 06-07)

Article posted February 1, 2007 at 03:51 PM GMT-6 • Reads 262

Goal: Demonstrate your knowledge of editing audio using Audacity by writing a blog about your Dance Project 2.

Software needed: Internet browser (Safari, IE, Firefox, etc.)

Website needed: Mr. Witte's Music Tech Blog

Due date:

• Block 3: Friday, Feb. 2, 2007



• Block 8: Monday, Feb. 5, 2007

Procedure:Think back to Dance Projects 1 & 2—Think about what new audio editing techniques you learned. Think about what thoughts went through your head as you were learning them. Think about what tips and tricks you figured out on your own. Think about what personal goals you gave yourself for Dance Project 2. Think about what you’d do differently next time. Think about what problems you had to overcome (and did!). Think about how you’d teach someone else to do the same thing.



Write about everything you learned, from counting beats to saving to my drop box. The more you write, the more I’ll know what you learned. The less you write, the less I will have to base my impression of your knowledge.



Blog Title: Use some version of the following words: Audacity, Editing Audio, or Dance Project 2--make it catchy and interesting!



Assessment: I’ll be looking for the following topics in your blog:

1. A description of the whole process used to import, cut/split, edit, apply effects, and save your project using Audacity and iTunes.
2. A description of problems you encountered while working with audio files and how you overcame those problems (this could be as simple as how to import audio into Audacity or as complex as counting beats and aligning two or more different tracks into one smooth song)
3. Your evaluation of Dance Projects 1 & 2. I wanted you to know how to manipulate audio so you could help the WLA Dance Team, Cheerleaders, and your own classmate prepare music for this year’s Homecoming. Are you prepared? Can you do it? Is there something else you need to know (like how to burn your project to a CD) or could you cut audio now without any help?

The Grammy Project

Article posted February 8, 2007 at 11:44 AM GMT-6 • Reads 268

Right now the Music Tech classes are trying to predict the winners of the 49th Grammyâ„¢ Awards. This project serves as a stepping stone to two other Music Tech projects: (1) composing in a blues style, and (2) what makes (insert any style of music) sound like that style of music?

Blues Blogging Time!

Article posted March 13, 2007 at 11:22 AM GMT-6 • Reads 222

We've just finished our blues project. Students in both sections have made three different blues songs: one that copied my instructions exactly (modeling phase), a second that allowed them to choose their own loops but still fit the 12-bar harmonic form (guided practice), and a third and final blues song which was totally of their own creation, but with one added track: vocals!



Last semester I had every student record their own vocals because I want each student to get a feel in this course what it is like to create and record their own songs. But so many students were freaked out by the notion that they would have to sing in a non-singing music class that I modified the assignment slightly this semester. If they didn't want to record their own vocals, they would have to play "record producer" and find their own vocal talent to record for them. A number of student took me up on this offer and brought in other singers, some former Music Tech students, and some just good friends who sang.



I'll be posting the final blues projects on my website soon. Right now, both blocks of students are blogging about their blues projects. I'm, asking them to write about a number of things in their blogs: (1) describe the blues project so someone who wasn't in this class knows what you did, (2) talk about you song, what you went through to create it, and what you want people to know about it, and (3) write things that you learned about music, technology, or the blues (or anything else you learned!) in the process.

MIDI Hymn Projects (2nd Semester)

Article posted April 24, 2007 at 10:12 AM GMT-6 • Reads 303

I took a little different strategy on the MIDI hymn projects this semester and started out by teaching each student how to play the melody of "Glory Be to Jesus" in the M-Audio Ozone MIDI keyboards. Some of the students in this class have had a good piano background, so this cam easily for them. Some students had never been taught piano, so they probably felt very uncoordinated trying to play in the melody.



Then I showed the class how to click in notes into the track editor. To click a note into the track editor you hold down the Apple key (either left or right of the space bar) and click anywhere int the track editor. The note appears as a quater note, but can be easily shortened or lengthened depending on what note value was needed. This was much easier for the majority of the class for two reasons: (1) they could be very accurate in their note placement, and (2) they could work at their own pace.



One drawback of clicking MIDI notes into the track editor is the mechanical feel of the music. Note velocity can be adjusted to make stresses and beats stand out, but I didn't stress that part of the MIDI experience. I just wanted the students to be able to input a hymn into GarageBand so they could do the same someday for their own home congregations if the situation ever would arise.



The last part of the MIDI hymn project was learning simple instrumentation/orchestration. The first verse was all that needed to be clicked in. The rest of the verses were option-dragged into new tracks. For each new verse we changed the instrumentation: woodwinds, brass, strings. I let the students pick their own combination of instruments for the final verse.



After sending the project to iTunes and making an mp3 file to share on my school website, each student picked another hymn of their choice to follow the exact same procedure.

Programming Your Own Drum Loops

Article posted April 24, 2007 at 10:33 AM GMT-6 • Reads 1021

GarageBand comes with hundreds of drum loops in all sorts of different musical styles. You can even add on more loops using Apple's Jam Pack series or from other third-party vendors. so why would a teacher want to teach their music technology class how to program their own drum loops when there are so many good ones available? Because, to quote Mick Jagger, "You can't always get what you want."



Set drummers come in two breeds: those who can read notation and those who can't. So, we started off with a basic rock beat that I taught the students how to play by ear on the school's drum set: snare on 2 & 4, bass drum dotted quarter, eighth, half. Most students had no problems playing this live on a set, so we went back to the Music Tech lab and played the exact same pattern on our MIDI keyboards: C1=bass drum, D1=snare drum. Then we learned how to clean up the notation in the track editor and aligned the notes to the shortest note value (and eighth note in this case) to make a rock solid drum loop. We even added a constant eighth note hit hat pattern (F#1) to finish off the loop.



Then I introduced the students to drum notation using Hip Pockets: The Working Drummer's Groove Dictionary by Sandy Feldstein (Carl Fischer © 2001). I copied 25 of the most common drum patterns that a person would hear (back beat, ballad rock, blues, disco, folk rock, hard rock, heavy metal, hip hop, house, jazzpolka, punk rock, reggae, rock 'n roll 50's style, shuffle, and a couple more) for each student and the drum key of how to read the notation.



I taught them how to read the notation but first of all notating the basic rock beat that they played on the drum set in the band room. I showed them how the instruments each had their own space or line on the staff (bass drum=bottom space, snare drum=middle space, closed hi hat=x notation on top of the staff) and notated the pattern in Sibleius, my music notation program of choice.



Then we did a new drum loop together from the Hip Pockets guide. Then I turned them loose. Their goal was to finish 25 drum loops in five days (5 a day). They started out slowly, but asked a lot of good questions and gradually didn't need me anymore to explain how to do the work.



What impressed me the most about this project was that notation and duration became very important to each student. I could tell that they wanted to know how long a dotted eighth note was so they could program a loop correctly. It bcame very important to them that they knew where on the staff every instruments of the drum set was so they could tell what MIDI notes they had to program.

What's Next?

Article posted April 24, 2007 at 11:45 AM GMT-6 • Reads 303

I've had a couple of ideas lately:



1. Sometime in the future I think I'm going to have teach a guitar unit. So much of the music we listen to uses guitars that it would be helpful (I think) for each student to be able to play a couple of chords (a basic I, IV, V).



2. The final project is looming. When I used to teach Music Theory and the final project was to write an original hymn, the final project was never the first hymn that we wrote. It was usually the 2nd or 3rd. So looking at a final project in Music Tech which incorporates all the techniques we've learned so far this semester, it looks like we're going to be writing a song. So in the final month we're going to be taking a look at song writing. More info will be posted later.

Song Writing-Ideas

Article posted May 1, 2007 at 11:13 AM GMT-6 • Reads 245

Copy (open apple-C) and paste (open apple-v) the following questions into your blog and type your answers so I know what you are thinking about your first song:



1. What music style are you composing in? (think Grammy categories)

2. If your song would be played on a radio station, what station would play it? (call letters and frequency)

3. What music artist/band would perform your song?

4. What ideas do you have right now about how you're going to start writing?

Song Writing Ideas (my answers)

Article posted May 1, 2007 at 02:32 PM GMT-6 • Reads 242

1. What music style are you composing in? (think Grammy categories) Christian Contemporary

2. If your song would be played on a radio station, what station would play it? (call letters and frequency) 102.9

3. What music artist/band would perform your song? Michael W. Smith

4. What ideas do you have right now about how you're going to start writing? It all started with the words "Open my eyes" but soon changed into "Open my heart" because that's what the Holy Spirit does first.

Academy Kids State Solo/Ensemble Part 1

Article posted May 3, 2007 at 09:20 PM GMT-6 • Reads 263

Academy Kids State Solo/Ensemble Part 2

Article posted May 3, 2007 at 09:51 PM GMT-6 • Reads 256

Final Project-Sem 2, 06-07

Article posted May 21, 2007 at 11:18 AM GMT-6 • Reads 310

Here are the questions I would like you to answer about your final projects:



1. How did you write your song? What did you do to get it done? Does it have a title?



2. What do you like about it? What would you change if you had the chance or the time?



3. What part of the song did you record? (green MIDI tracks, purple real instrument tracks)



4. What parts of the song came from GarageBand loops?



After you hand in your GarageBand file, I'll make an mp3 file of your song and post it to my website. Then you can make a link in your blog to your song. I'm also considering having you vote for the best song once everyone's are handed in. Watch for it!



NEW: Read Bryanna's & Jory's blogs--they're REALLY GOOD!

Who is reading my blog?

Article posted May 21, 2007 at 12:32 PM GMT-6 • Reads 831

12th Annual USA Songwriting Competition

Article posted May 21, 2007 at 01:39 PM GMT-6 • Reads 258

Submission Information

Opened: Jan 5, 2007

Deadline: May 31, 2007

Status Notification: Nov 15, 2007



Opportunity Information

Genres Accepted: All Genres Accepted



The USA Songwriting Competition®, the world's leading international songwriting event honors songwriters, composers, bands and recording artists everywhere. Winners are selected by a Blue Ribbon committee of music industry judges including record label publishers, producers from Sony Music, Universal Music, Warner Music and more.



This is a chance to be discovered by the biggest names in the music business and a shot at the big time for songwriters, original solo artists and bands everywhere. The USA Songwriting Competition is a contest that might just open the right doors, make the right connections and get your songs heard. This is not American Idol, this is a songwriting competition that gives you the clout it takes to make it!



Entries for the 12th Annual USA Songwriting Competition are currently being accepted. Selected songs will receive airplay on a nationally syndicated radio program serving over 60 cities in North America and Canada (Acoustic Cafe) and XM Radio. This airplay gives deserving bands and songwriters the recognition and exposure they deserve.



The Grand Prize is over US$50,000 in cash, merchandise and more. Judges include A&R from Sony/BMG Music, Warner, EMI and Universal Music.



Sponsors include: Sony, New Music Weekly, Keyboard Magazine, Audio-Technica, Ibanez Guitars, D'Addario Strings, Sam Ash Music Stores, IK Multimedia, Hear Techologies, Mi7.com, Indie Bible, Garritan Music Software, Acoustic Café Radio Progam, Livewire Contacts, AirplayOnly.com, Loggins Promotion, Superdups.com, Sonicbids.com and XM Radio.



FREE EARLY BONUS: First 1,000 entrants of the 12th Annual USA Songwriting Competition will each receive a free subscripton to Keyboard magazine, so hurry!



Opportunity Website: The USA Songwriting Competition®

What Did You Learn in Music Tech Class?

Article posted May 22, 2007 at 11:09 AM GMT-6 • Reads 240

People want to know--is music taught in a Music Technology class? What can you do in music now that you couldn't 4.5 months ago? What did you learn this semester: how to run software or how to make music?



In you final blog for this class I want you to tackle that topic head on. I want you to look back at your blogs and my blogs to remember eveything that you did in Music Tech class and write about what you learned this semester. The more you write, the more I know about you and you new music knowledge.



If you have any other ideas for what you would like to learn more about in Music Tech class (how to write music for video game soundtracks, how to score music for film, etc.) fee free to write about that as well.

John Lennon Songwriting Contest

Article posted May 22, 2007 at 11:21 AM GMT-6 • Reads 265

About the Contest



The John Lennon Songwriting Contest is an international songwriting contest that began in 1997. The Contest is open to amateur and professional songwriters who submit entries in any one of 12 categories. The JLSC is open year-round and features two Sessions -- with 72 Finalists, 24 Grand Prize Winners, 12 Lennon Award Winners and 1 Maxell Song of the Year.



You don't need a professional recording. Entries will be judged on originality, melody, composition, and lyrics (when applicable). Your songs may be entered in any of the following categories: Rock, Country, Jazz, Pop, World, Rhythm & Blues, Hip Hop, Gospel/Inspirational, Latin, Electronic, Folk, and Children's. Instrumental compositions are encouraged.



D12, Al Jarreau, Bob Weir, Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, Jesse Harris, Teairra Mari, The Black Eyed Peas, The Bacon Brothers, Ken Komisar, The Veronicas and John Legend are some of the members on our Executive Committee of Judges.

MEET THE JUDGES



Winners will receive EMI Publishing Contracts, Studio Equipment from, Roland, Edirol by Roland, Audio-Technica, Propellerhead, Ableton and Sibelius, plus 1,000 CDs in full color with premium 6-panel Digipaks courtesy of Disc Makers, an Apple iPod Shuffle and gift certificates from Musiciansfriend.com. One entrant will be chosen to TOUR and PERFORM for one week on Warped Tour '08. One (1) Lennon Award winning song will receive an Apple Power Mac G5, Cinema Display, Logic Pro software, and $20,000 for the "Song of the Year" courtesy of Maxell.



Click HERE for a complete list of PRIZES.



Each entry requires the following elements:

One song five (5) minutes or less (mp3, CD or cassette)

A lyric sheet -- no lyrics necessary for instrumental compositions

A payment -- $30.00 per song

A completed application

Read the Rules & Regulations carefully before entering.



2007 Rules & Regulations

Vote for Your Favorite Final Project

Article posted May 24, 2007 at 01:40 PM GMT-6 • Reads 250

The premise for the final project was simple: write a song that sounds like something you'd listen to on the radio. Completing that project meant each student needed to think on many different levels: melody, harmony, rhythm, lyrics, volume, effects, verses, chorus, bridge, tempo, etc. Many students were very successful writing their first song, others found out how much work goes into song writing!



Some songs you might expect to someday hear on the radio and some you would not, but the point is that these students were able to apply their knowledge of music using recording software such as Apple's GarageBand (and sometimes their friend's musical expertise) to get their musical ideas out of their heads and into our ears.



You can find all of the semester two final projects HERE . Follow the Music Technology links to the 2006-2007 final projects. Make sure that you read the blogs of each student so you understand why they wrote their songs like they did and what hurdles they had to overcome to finish their songs. Then after listening and reading, you are welcome to vote for your favorite song by commenting to this blog entry.

A New Year Has Begin

Article posted August 30, 2007 at 10:14 AM GMT-6 • Reads 254

Whoa. Time flies. I just deleted the classes from the last three semesters to get ready for this year's new Music Tech class, and it got me thinking about all the cool songs that kids had composed in Music Tech class: Braden's electronica "I Like Music Tech Class" or Ja Kyoung's Korean Blues about being hungry. It's been really fun seeing how creative students have been and how music has become important and accessible to them.



Now a new school year has begun. As always, there are a couple of changes: (1)I finally got around to painting the new projection wall so there wouldn't be a glare on the screen during class, and (2) there is only one section of Music Tech this semester, probably because of dipping enrollments. But, in the few days we've met this week, I'm already excited by the computer knowledge of these new students and one student in particular who has used her class lessons on cutting music in Audacity to cut two songs already for the WLA dance team. (Way to go, Michaela!)

Dance Project 1

Article posted August 31, 2007 at 11:44 AM GMT-6 • Reads 229

One week in and man is this class smart! They follow along, they're not afraid around a computer (even Macs!) and they work ahead! Who could ask for anything more?



This week we've been learning how to cut music in Audacity. I start with this project because (1) Audacity is a free, cross platform program, and (2) it enables the students to know how to cut music for dance teams, cheerleaders, homecoming skits, etc.



Students, as you write your first blog, I want you to describe the following:

1. Describe what you did this week in Music Tech class with Audacity (or even what you learned about the difference between Macs and PCs), and



2. What, specifically you did in the Dance Project 1 assignment.

Remember, click on "Request Publishing" before saving your blog, or I won't get it!



DUE DATE: Monday, Sep. 3, 2007

Dance Project 1-Application

Article posted September 5, 2007 at 11:48 AM GMT-6 • Reads 227

Today the students started making cuts on their own songs to show that they understood Dance Project 1. They were asked to bring in one or two songs of their own that they would like to shorten and make their own arrangement of in Audacity. The process is as follows:

1. Import the song from the CD into iTunes as a WAV file (Check the file format for importing in the preferences for iTunes: iTunes>Preferences>Advanced>Importing) by dragging it from the CD listing in iTunes to the Music Library. Rename the track before you import it if its name didn't come up automatically, otherwise you'll have a lot of songs in your music library called "Track 1".



2. Reveal where that song file is on your hard drive by clicking on the title in the iTunes music library and pressing open apple-R on your keyboard. Click the column view button to show the nested folders and trace the path back to your music folder.



3. Open Audacity, select "New Project" if one doesn't open automatically, and select "Import Audio" from under the Project menu. Follow the path of the nested iTunes you discovered in step 2 to find your song file. The path should look something like Music>iTunes>iTunes Music>Unknown Artist>Unknown Album>songtitle.wav



4. If you have another song that you want to combine with your first one, you can import it using the same steps in #1-3.



5. Be creative as you make your splits, cuts, edits, and decisions. The goal of this project is to (a) show your knowledge of splitting and combining audio, by (b) applying it so songs you already know.



6. Cut carefully around beats. Make sure you make your splits go right up to the next beat (the tallest waves) so that there are no "hiccoughs" in your music.



7. Save your project often!



8. Export the final file as a WAV and drag it into iTunes.



I'll explain more about the end process of handing in your files to me in class.

Handing in Your Songs

Article posted September 7, 2007 at 11:41 AM GMT-6 • Reads 267

When I have listened to your song and have told you you are ready to hand it in, then do the following:

1. Export your project as a WAV file into your documents folder.

2. Go to your documents folder and make a new folder (shift-open apple-N).

3. Put all related audacity files (data, .bak, and .aup) in that folder along with your WAV file.

4. Rename the folder (click once on "untitled folder" and wait until it lets you type) with your name and the title of your song

5. Drag your folder onto my drop box (my laptop has to be open for your do to that).

6. Blog about your song


a. what songs you used

b. why you used those songs

c. what your goal was for your project

d. what decisions you had to make along the way

e. anything else which would help me or anyone else understand why you did what you did


DUE DATE: by the end of class on Monday, Sep. 10, 2007

Sometimes Students Are Smarter Than Teachers

Article posted September 11, 2007 at 02:05 PM GMT-6 • Reads 294

I think this is funny.



I've been teaching this Music Technology course since January 2006. One of my goals has always been to share the music that my students are writing with anyone who would like to listen. After all, what is music if no one listens to it?



So, I've been maintaining a website to house the music and this blog for my Music Tech class to write about their music. There have been two problems trying to link the two together:

1. Teaching kids the html code for how to embed the link in the student blog, and
   
   
2. Keeping a static link to my website.

Yesterday we were starting to blog about the student's application of knowledge from Dance Project 1 when one student, Ashley, said , "Mr. Witte? Is this Podcast URL field where we put the link to our song?" My jaw dropped as the light bulb went on.



You see, last year, to link to my website, I'd have to tell the kids how to embed a link in their blog using HTML code(< A > HREF ="http://www.yourdomain.com/"> site < /A> ). It was messy and involved and not as easy as some blogging sites like Google's Blogger. But we got it done.



Today, Ryan and I played around with Ashley's observation and got it to work (well, sort of). Check out Ryan O's blog and you'll see at the bottom of his latest entry "Podcast Play" and "Podcast Download".



I'll describe what we are doing so you can understand the process.

1. The student puts their completed song in my drop box (as a WAV, AIFF, or MP3).
   
   
2. I put the song file on my website under this semester's Music Technology Folder.
   
   
3. The student writes their blog and
   
   
4. opens a new tab (apple-T) in their browser, goes to my website, and finds their song in this semester's Music Tech folder, and
   
   
5. control-clicks on the download arrow to the right of their song to copy the link location so that they can
   
   
6. paste that link location into the "podcast URL" field on their own blog page that they are writing, and finally
   
   
7. click "request publishing" and "save".

At this point I'll approve the blog and the student should see two links underneath their blog entry: Podcast Play and Podcast Download.



UPDATE (9/13) All students have completed the linking of their songs to their blog. Check them out by clicking on any of the student's names to this right under "My Classes and Students" Try both "Podcast Play" and "Podcast Download". The first should stream the song directly through your browser. The second Should download the song as an MP3 file to your computer for you to listen to at your leisure or to put in your iPod.



PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WITH THIS PROCESS. JUST LEAVE A COMMENT TO THIS BLOG ENTRY. THANKS!

Help Find Steve Fossett

Article posted September 14, 2007 at 05:28 PM GMT-6 • Reads 278

Every Saturday morning I like to listen to the Kim Komando radio show on KFIZ 1450 AM, Fond du Lac, WI. Even though I am a Mac addict, I like to hear what is going on in the digital world on the PC side (I know, the "dark side"!) and frequently pick up tips that I never knew.



Today, I got an email from the Kim Komando show (copied below) which listed their cool site of the day, but this is more urgent than cool. Kim's Cool Site of the Day is Amazon's Mechanical Turk. I had never heard of it before, but quickly realized its importance in helping find this veteran aviation adventurer. If you have the time and the ability, you might help either save his life, or help his family find him and his plane wreckage.



Email from Kim Komando:

If you read the news, you know about the search for Steve Fossett. The adventurer and his aircraft disappeared about two weeks ago.

Fossett did not file a flight plan. So rescuers are unsure where to look for him. But he is believed to be in southwestern Nevada.

Fossett’s friends and family are asking for your help. No, they don’t need you to fly to Nevada for a ground search.

Rather, they’re asking that you help review satellite images. Google has gathered recent images. Hopefully, Fossett’s plane will appear in one.

To get involved, visit Amazon’s Mechanical Turk site. It will present you with images to review. If you see something, simply flag the image and leave a comment.

You’ll need to register in order to help out.

Help Find Steve Fossett

Beginning GarageBand

Article posted September 18, 2007 at 04:22 PM GMT-6 • Reads 228

For the past two days the Music Tech students have been dipping their toes into Apple's GarageBand program. At first, I think they were a little frustrated with it because they had gotten the hang of using Audacity for sound editing. But they will find out GarageBand is a monster music program with such a slick user interface that it belies all the power hidden below the surface.



Initially, I demonstrated how to do Dance Project 1 on GarageBand, just like I demonstrated how to do it on Audacity. Essentially, we are still using GarageBand to "cut music" like they used to do in the old days with magnetic tape and a razor blade. The purpose of starting the year this was has been to give the students the knowledge they need to cut music for Homecoming skits, lip syncs, dance team and cheerleading routines, and athletic game warmups.



Today I finished demonstrating how to use GarageBand to finish Dance Project 1. Some of the new abilities we learned today we how to option-drag a region to copy it, how to align the beginnings and endings of region using the playhead, and how to join regions together.



The students will apply their knowledge of GarageBand to replicating their 2nd Audacity project on GarageBand. This will allow them to work with material that they are familiar with, while applying their new found knowledge of GarageBand.

Garageband vs. Audacity

Article posted September 20, 2007 at 11:32 AM GMT-6 • Reads 261

My Music Tech students has just recreated their first two Audacity projects in Garageband. The reasons for doing the same project in Garageband as in Audacity were

1. so they would know the music & the cuts they wanted to make, and
2. so they could learn the differences and advantages of working in one program over the other.

Look for their blogs soon describing the differences between working in the two programs.



Students, your assignment is:

1. export dance projects 1 & 2 from Garageband to iTunes (click "Share>Send song to iTunes" on the menu bar in Garageband)
2. convert your two dance projects to mp3 files (90% smaller, compressed audio files) from AIFF files (Apple's uncompressed version of Microsoft's WAV file format)
3. rename your two dance projects by adding your name or initials to their titles
4. drop both MP3 files in my drop box (reveal in iTunes with open apple-R)
5. blog about the similarities and differences between working in Audacity and Garageband on the same project.
6. add the URL for your 2nd Garageband dance project to the Podcast URL of your blog. It may take me a day to get your songs on my website, so check back tonight.
7. Go back into Garageband, click on the loop browser (it looks like an eyeball) then click on the "All Drums" button in the loop browser. Click once on each drum loop (green is MIDI, blue is audio) and just get to know the tools at your disposal.

Calling All Film Makers!

Article posted September 27, 2007 at 08:29 PM GMT-6 • Reads 247

Apple announced their Insomnia Film Festival today. WLA owns all the necessary equipment to do this!



Tell your friends. I want to use the Music Tech lab for this!

Beginning the Blues

Article posted October 3, 2007 at 09:33 AM GMT-6 • Reads 304

In the last couple of days we have been learning about the chord progressions of 12-bar blues. Here is the progression listed in four different ways:



12 Bar Blues



Numbers: 1, 1, 1, 1, 4, 4, 1, 1, 5, 4, 1, 5

Chords: I, I, I, I, IV, IV, I, I, V, IV, I, V

Notes:C, C, C, C, F, F, C, C, G, F, C, G

Region Pitch: 0, 0, 0, 0, 5, 5, 0, 0, 7, 5, 0, 7



Each number corresponds to a note in a major scale. So the number "1" refers to the first note of a major scale, "4" refers to the 4th note, and "5" to the 5th note.



Translated to chords, each note of a scale can be used as the bottom note (or root) of a triad. A triad is



We have learned how to play a 12-bar blues bass line progression on our M-Audio Ozone MIDI keyboards using just three fingers of our right hand: 1 (thumb), 4, and 5 (pinky)

Antares Auto Tune 5

Article posted October 12, 2007 at 11:48 AM GMT-6 • Reads 208

Okay, sometimes cool things just happen.



Yesterday two students in my Music Tech class told me about a musician named T-Pain who they said doesn't sing his own vocals, but makes a computer sing for him. They played me a track off his off iTunes and I realized what they were talking about sounded like old vocoder tricks. So I explained to them about vocoders.



But then they asked me if they could show me a YouTube video where a guy, not T-Pain, demonstrates how T-Pain "sings" even though he can't sing at all. (Really what the YouTube demonstrator means is that he can't sing on pitch--or what Paula Abdul or Randy Jackson would call "a little pitchy").



The YouTube demonstrator uses pitch correction hardware to produce the same effect. So, I downloaded a demo of Antares Auto Tune 5 to my computer and used it as an Audio Units plugin in GarageBand to produce the same effect.

Final Blues Project-UPDATED 10/19/07

Article posted October 15, 2007 at 11:32 AM GMT-6 • Reads 216

We are at the point of handing in an mp3 file of our classroom blues demonstration songs and are ready to start composing a blues song of our own choice.



Things which you should include in your final blues project:

1. bass line which follows the 12-bar blues pattern

2. guitar (or other harmony track) which also follows the 12-bar blues chord progression set up in your bass track

3. drums

4. drum fills in bars 4, 8, and 12

5. a solo vocal line, recorded by yourself or by "hired talent" (record into verse 2). You may use "Mary Had a Little Lamb" but we've already used that on your first project, so surprise me! Show your creativity by either adapting another nursery rhyme, or writing your own lyrics.

6. pan each track to its own location in the stereo field

Your final blues project should be three verses long. The first verse should act as the intro, the second should contain your lyrics, and the 3rd verse should act as the outro. You may fade out the 3rd verse or figure out some satisfying way of finishing your song so it sounds done, not just "stopped".



Above all, BE CREATIVE! Don't give me what you think I want to hear, compose music that appeals to you (just follow the blues progression).



DUE DATE: Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Vote for Dion's Movie!!!

Article posted October 22, 2007 at 11:29 AM GMT-6 • Reads 289

The Music Technology lab was used last weekend by a group of WLA students (and one friend from Manitowoc Lutheran HS!) to write, shoot, edit, and upload a 3 minute movie for the Apple Insomnia Film Festival .



To vote for Dion's movie, go to Only A Dream, sign up for an Apple ID, login, give the movie a rating, and leave a comment for Dion, Dan, Tony, Andrew, Jordan (and Taylor's camera!).



How does this fit into Music Technology class? (1) The Music Tech lab has all the necessary equipment (except the video camera) to make the movie, (2) the soundtrack was composed by Andrew H., a music student from Manitowoc Lutheran HS, (3) it's an application of digital music creation--adding soundtracks to movies.

DIGITAL COMPOSITIONS WANTED (and you can win stuff!)

Article posted October 23, 2007 at 11:12 PM GMT-6 • Reads 261

MENC and the National School Board Association (NSBA) announce the 2008 Electronic Music Composition Competition. This competition recognizes outstanding compositions and is held annually to help influence school administrators to include or improve music technology in their schools’ curriculum. Winning students will be honored at the NSBA’s 2008 T+L Conference, October 28-30, 2008 in Seattle, Washington, and will receive prizes from Sibelius and MagicScore Music Software. Visit the MENC contest web site for more information, an application (PDF), and to learn about past winners. APPLICATION DEADLINE: April 14, 2008.

Enjoy Your Vacation!!!

Article posted October 24, 2007 at 11:43 AM GMT-6 • Reads 224

But before you leave, make sure you have done the following:

1. Export your final blues project to iTunes, make and mp3 file of it, and drop it in my dropbox.

2. Blog about your final blues project. Tell me (and the rest of the world) what to listen for and why you did what you did (whether following my guidelines or getting creative).

3. Take home your October 2007 issue of [LINK]InTune Monthly magazine and finish reading it. Watch this blog for a reading guide and questions about the articles.

4. Think about other things you would like to learn about in Music Tech class. After the break I plan on teaching a MIDI project, showing you how to make an accompaniment CD for a choir, singer, or instrumentalist in your school or home congregation. But if there are other digital music topics you'd like to learn more about (like Gary & Ryan's interest in Antares Auto Tune), just drop me a line!



Happy Quarter Break!

In Tune - October 2007

Article posted October 30, 2007 at 11:48 AM GMT-6 • Reads 306

For the last week the Music Tech students have been furiously making Powerpoint presentations of a topic they learned about in the October 2007 of InTune Monthly. This music magazine is written for the high school music student and covers a wide range of music styles, artists, and techniques.



After reading the October 2007 issue, each student took a comprehension quiz (which most did very well on!) and picked one person or topic from that quiz that they wanted to know more about. Their Powerpoint presentations will include pictures, music, and at least three things that any music student should know about their person or topic.



During the week of Nov. 5-9, 2007 the student will make their presentations to the class:



Monday (Nov. 5):

Ryan Otto-Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Ashley Petrack-Jordin Sparks

Tuesday (Nov. 6):

Michaela Rabenhorst-Plain White T's

Erin Skaer-Linkin Park

Wednesday (Nov. 7):

Bekah Ludwig-Juilliard

Amanda Reible-Stephane Grappelli

Thursday (Nov. 8):

Katie Isaksson-Johnta Austin

Jessica VanKooy-Dave Kerzner

Friday (Nov. 9):

Jordan Gray: Illegal Music Downloads

Garrett Mildebrandt-Peavey

Powerpoint Questions

Article posted November 5, 2007 at 11:19 AM GMT-6 • Reads 283

As you listen to each other's presentations this week, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What did I learn?

2. What did I like?

3. What do I want to know more about?

After each presentation, write down you thoughts on these questions on a stickie note on your computer. After the presenter has written a blog entry about their presentation, you should comment to their blog with the answers to the above three questions.



Presenters: After your presentation, put your Powerpoint file in my drop box and write a blog about your presentation. Tell me in your blog:

1. Why did you pick your topic?

2. What three things did you want the class to know about your topic?

3. If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?

I'll put your Powerpoint file on my website after you put it in my drop box. You should then link it to your blog.



DUE DATE: By the day after each presentation.

Adding Links to Your Blogs

Article posted November 6, 2007 at 07:16 PM GMT-6 • Reads 240

I've noticed that the links that Ashley posted to her Powerpoint presentation don't work. I think this is because her Powerpoint presentation is not an audio file and Class Blogmeister thinks that a podcast link is going to take you to an audio file, not a Powerpoint file. So, here is how to add any link to any blog.



Click to read a post I wrote last year on this topic

The Flat Classroom

Article posted November 9, 2007 at 01:07 PM GMT-6 • Reads 241

Today was a fun day. I got to video chat with my Music Tech class while I was away in Milwaukee, WI with my show choir, the Academy Kids, at a WELS National Choral Festival. I figured why let my sub have all the fun? I've got technology. I can do this!



Yesterday we tested the setup. I video conferenced with three of my students while still at WLA. I went in the choir room, band room, and my office and watched presentations over iChat. I got AIM address for a number of students in class (just in case one didn't work), got cell phone numbers just in case the chat didn't go through (which also helped at the beginning of the video conference so my students and I could communicate). Everything was set and ready to go.



Well,the best laid plans of mice and men...



The video didn't work. The high school that was hosting the choral festival didn't have an open network, so I went to a local coffee shop to iChat, but they must be blocking the ports needed to video conference. So we made do. While the Powerpoint presentations were going on in class (the whole reason I wanted to video conference in the first place was to watch the last two presentations!) I asked one of my students (thanks Bekah and Ashely!) to videotape using iMovie and the built-in camera on our iMacs. They sent me a video clip of Gary's Peavey presentation before class was done! :D



Since watching a Powerpoint presentation over a remote connection isn't very clear, I asked my students who were presenting today to email me their presentations before they started so I could follow along. (Thanks, Ryan, for your help!).



So, I'm still sitting at Caribou Coffee finishing this blog, making links, and uploading files. But this makes all the sense in the world. If you've got the technology, USE IT! Now back to Choralfest–and lunch, I'm hungry :).



By the way, thanks David Warlick! Your ideas about educational blogging and the flat classroom continue to inspire me every day!

The MIDI Unit Begins

Article posted November 18, 2007 at 12:23 PM GMT-6 • Reads 324

Last week we started our MIDI unit, learning how MIDI is not like audio, but is more like a computer language (on/off). We started the unit by just recording "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" into GarageBand. Most students were able to remember enough from their piano lessons of long ago to play the round in C Major, but I threw them a curve by demonstrating it in 4/4 time instead of in 3/4 time like most people are used to hearing and singing it.



The recording of the round served a couple of purposes:

1.It demonstrated how to use a MIDI keyboard to record MIDI events into a sequencer.

2. It taught us that recording MIDI is very forgiveable. If you make a mistake, you can fix it later (pitch and rhythm! Just try that with audio!)

3. It showed us that you only have to record a melody or part once if it repeated later on in a piece. Option-dragging recorded regions allows you to save time and not re-record the same part over and over again.

I demonstrated three different ways of inputting notes into green software instrument regions of GarageBand:

1. Playing on their MIDI keyboards (like piano lessons).

2. Clicking notes into an empty green region in graphical view.

3. Clicking notes onto the staff in notation view.

The trick to the second and third method is to create an empty green region (think of it as a container for MIDI events) first. To do this, just hit the record button and plunk out a few notes on your MIDI keyboard. Then stop the recording and double-click the green region that you just recorded to open up the track editor. Select the notes you just recorded either by boxing them with your mouse or Open Apple-A (Select All) and delete them. Then you have an empty green region that you can drag to what ever length you need for your recording.

Glory Be to Jesus

Article posted November 18, 2007 at 03:19 PM GMT-6 • Reads 385

Part of the reason I teach a MIDI unit in Music Tech class is because we are training fewer and fewer church organists in the Wisconsin Synod. For some reason there are fewer qualified church organists in our churches these days than when I was growing up, and some churches have to worship using a computer program like HymnSoft.



So, when writing the curriculum for my Music Tech course, I wanted to include a project in the MIDI unit to teach students how to program a computer to play hymns and make accompaniment CDs for their home congregations.



We started laying down tracks last Friday on the hymn Glory Be to Jesus. I showed the class how to not only play in each voice into a separate track, but also how to click in the notes into either the notation or graphical view. Some students finished all four voices (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) in one class period. Others only got a couple tracks in. So the purpose of this blog entry is to describe the rest of the MIDI Hymn Project.



When entering a hymn, or music with distinct voices or melodic lines, it is best to record a single vocal part (e.g. soprano) into a single track. This will make for easier troubleshooting and give the option of option-dragging that part into another track to change instruments or just copying it so it can be used somewhere else in the same piece of music. Use the power of the computer to your advantage–do things once and copy them later.



Procedure:

1. Record each voice (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) separately into four different software instrument tracks (green).



2. Align the notes of each track to the smallest note value for that voice. The shortest note value for all four voices in Glory Be to Jesus is the quarter note. Set the alignment to 1/4 note in the upper right corner of the track editor before clicking on "Align to 1/4 note" button to the left of the track editor.



3. Play each track separately and together with other tracks to listen for pitch or rhythm mistakes. Correct them before duplicating the track for another verse. This will save you making the same corrections over and over. Listen also for overlapped notes–if two notes are on the same pitch and the first overlaps the second, the MIDI command for turning the note on and off will get messed up (the 1st note's "off" will come after the 2nd note's "on" resulting in a clipped note).



4. Once you have all four parts recorded or clicked into four tracks, have checked for mistakes, and aligned each track to its smallest notes value, then create four more tracks for every new verse. Glory Be to Jesus has six verses, so create 20 new tracks.



5. Select the green regions of the first four tracks and option-drag them into the next four tracks, placing them after the previous verse ends (start on m. 9 for verse 2, m. 18 for v. 3, etc.). Do this to make six total verses.



6. Change the instruments for each verse as follows:


Verse 1–Organ

Verse 2–Brass Quartet

Verse 3–Woodwind Quartet

Verse 4-String Quartet

Verse 5–Organ, Woodwinds, and Strings

Verse 6-Organ, Woodwinds, Strings, and Brass

Use the following guidelines to set the voices for each verse:

1. Use instruments that play in the same range as the voice part you have recorded. For instance, use a trumpet on the soprano line, rather than a tuba, which is better suited to play the bass line
2. Think like an instrumentalist: group together instruments which normally play together.
3. Adjust attack, pan, and volume so that you can hear each instrument clearly.

Traditional Instrument Quartets:

Voice	Brass	Woodwind	String
Soprano	Trumpet 1	Flute	Violin 1
Alto	Trumpet 2	Oboe	Violin 2
Tenor	Trombone	Clarinet	Viola
Bass	Tuba	Bassoon	Cello

MIDI Hymn Project-The Next Step

Article posted November 22, 2007 at 11:30 AM GMT-6 • Reads 297

After completing 6 verses of Glory Be to Jesus, students should pick another hymn to input into GarageBand. Before starting your next hymn, make sure you set up your project correctly:

1. Check the key signature of your hymn and set it on the GarageBand project.

2. Check the meter of your hymn and set the same meter in Garageband.

3. Don't worry about tempo now, you can always change that later.

Enter your hymn in the same way you did Glory Be to Jesus: every voice in its own track. Fix mistakes before option-dragging multiple verses. Set instruments for each verse like we did for Glory Be-groups of church instruments: brass, woodwind, string, whether by themselves of grouped together.



Questions? Leave me a comment. Happy Thanksgiving!

Hymn Introductions and Breathing

Article posted November 28, 2007 at 11:40 AM GMT-6 • Reads 242

When an organist plays a hymn in church for congregational singing, they usually do some counting and thinking that goes unnoticed by most worshipers. They count in between verses to keep the "big beat" going and they modify the length of the last note of a hymn to give the congregation a spot to breathe. Let me illustrate:



Take the famous Easter hymn I Know that My Redeemer Lives for example. If you play it exactly as the hymnal notates it, the last note of the verse is a whole note. If you hold the last note for four counts and then go right into the second verse, it sounds like this:



I Know that My Redeemer Lives (played exactly as notated)



If you play a hymn this way, it doesn't give the congregation a place to breathe or a cue that one verse is ending and another is beginning. So what the organist does is to count "1...2...3...4..." in between verses, holding the last note until they say "4", and then they lift their hands off the keys to cue the congregation to breathe (because there is no sound!). That sounds like this:



I Know that My Redeemer Lives (counting to 4 in between verses, lifting on 4)



Now that you've figured out how long to hold the end of the verse and when to breathe, then split off just enough of the end of the hymn to use as an introduction to cue the congregation which hymn is about to be played. In the case of this hymn, the last four bars will suffice:



I Know that My Redeemer Lives (introduction)



Now you are ready to start assembling the parts of your MIDI hymn!

Final Project 2007, Sem. 1

Article posted January 4, 2008 at 10:27 AM GMT-6 • Reads 382

Copy the following list into your final blog entry and check off every technique that you used from this semester in your final project. Describe where in your final project you used these techniques.



Dance Project

• cutting audio (in Audacity and Garageband)
  
  
• splicing together audio
  
  
• aligning beats
  
  
• 8 counts
  
  
• adding effects (in Audacity or Garageband)
  
  

Blues Project

• chord progressions
  
  
• playing in a Bass line
  
  
• transposing loops (region pitch)
  
  
• adding guitar and drum loops
  
  
• recording audio (vocals) via M-Audio Ozone
  
  
• panning tracks across the stereo field
  
  
• posting podcast links on your blog
  
  
• converting WAV & AIFF files to MP3 files

MIDI Hymn Project

• recording MIDI
  
  
• editing/fixing MIDI recordings
  
  
• inputting MIDI notes by clicking
  
  
• aligning notes
  
  
• changing track instruments
  
  
• setting up the meter and key of a Garageband project
  
  
• introductions and breathing between verses

Build Your Own Drum Loops

• cycle recording
  
  
• reading drum set notation
  
  
• recording MIDI bass, snare, and high hat
  
  
• matching drum set instruments to rhythm styles

Crafting Colbie (Jan. 2008, p. 34)

Article posted January 21, 2008 at 11:07 AM GMT-6 • Reads 423

BLOG DUE: 1/22 Blk. 5

Colbie Caillat is a young singer-songwriter who seems to be an overnight success, but the truth is that she's been working on her career since childhood. As the daughter of an industry insider (Fleetwood Mac producer Ken Caillat), she's had an opportunity to learn some fundamentals of the music business. Read the article "Crafting Colbie" from InTune Monthly magazine, Jan. 2008, pp. 34-40 to learn how she has applied these lessons and how they can apply to upcoming singer-songwriters.



Blogging Questions:



Q1. Why did Colbie's father tell her that in addition to singing, she should write songs?



Q2. Caillat said she didn't like performing. What steps did she take to overcome her discomfort on stage?



Q3. How has collaboration helped Caillat develop her songwriting?



Suggested Listening (Colbie's influences)

Links will open the iTunes Music Store

John Mayer: Room for Squares

Bob Marley: Legend

The Fugees: The Score



Suggested Reading

All You Need to Know About the Music Business by Donald Passman (Free Press)

Chip Tunes (Jan. 08, p. 42)

Article posted January 21, 2008 at 08:42 PM GMT-6 • Reads 350

BLOG DUE: 1/23 Blk. 6

Musicians who go by the names of Bacalao, Glomag, Nullsleep, Covox, and many others have created a new electronic music subgenre using parts from old video games to make new musical instruments. In addition to describing this music, this article highlights the way people employ "alternative" objects for musical uses, and it also discusses recording techniques like sequencing.



Q1. How are electronic games adapted into musical instruments?



Q2. How are the musicians in the 8-bit subgenre like the early pioneers of electronic music?



Q3. How does a sequencer work?



Suggested Listening:

Various Artists: 8-bit Operators: The Music of Kraftwerk Performed on Vintage 8-bit Video Game Systems (Astralwerks)

Kraftwerk: Autobahn (Philips)

Anamanaguchi: Power Supply (8-bit Peoples)



Websites:

micromusic.net (just let this music play in the background as you work)

Little Sound DJ How to turn a GameBoy into a musical instrument

Little Sound DJ Artists on the Web

Little Sound DJ Workshop

Nanoloop Real-time sound editor for Game Boy

8bitcollective.org Online Chiptune Media Sharing

8-Bit Operators interview on National Public Radio

8-Bit Operators

Let it Slide (Jan. 08, p. 46)

Article posted January 22, 2008 at 07:35 PM GMT-6 • Reads 364

BLOG DUE: 1/24 Blk. 7

A slide transforms a guitar by allowing for continuous pitch changes between notes. Slides are typically made of metal or glass. They can be worn on the finger or held in the hand. Guitarists often tune to open chords when playing slide.



How many different ways can you tune a guitar? Big City String Company Guitar Tunings



Q1. How does a slide work?



Q2. What is dampening and why is it important?



Q3. What are open tunings, and why are they used for slide?



Suggested Reading:

Blues Guitar for Dummies by Jon Chappell (For Dummies, 2006)

Warren Hayes: Guide to Slide Guitar by Mike Levine and Warren Hayes (Cherry Lane Music, 2005)



Suggested Listening: (iTunes Music Store)

Johnny Winter: Highway 61

Elmore James: Dust My Broom

The Allman Brothers: One Way Out

The Rolling Stones: No Expectations

Muddy Waters: Can't Be Satisfied

Keb' Mo': Am I Wrong

Rocco DeLuca & the Burden: Colorful

Son House: Country Farm Blues



Slide Masters–Ten Names to Know (YouTube Videos)

Jerry Douglas: Wild Rumpus

Bonnie Raitt: Thing Called Love

Ben Harper: When It's Good

Duane Allman: Statesboro Blues

Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes: Old Friend

Ry Cooder: Vigilante Man

Johnny Winter: Highway 61 Revisited

Sonny Landreth: Next to Kindred Spirit

Elmore James: The Sky Is Crying played by Stevie Ray Vaughan

Cutting Music in Audacity

Article posted January 23, 2008 at 01:46 PM GMT-6 • Reads 273

Each semester I start with a project in which we take a full length song and cut it down to around 30 seconds. The program that we use to do this at first is Audacity, which is a free (emphasis on FREE!), cross-platform audio editor and recorder. The reason I teach my students how to use Audacity is because they can download the same program on their home computers and either do class work at home or they can use it for other audio projects.



One of my students told me yesterday that he was going to be out for a couple of days while his wisdom teeth were pulled. So, I told him I'd write a blog about our Audacity project so he'd be able to keep up on his Music Tech work while recovering at home. Erik, this one's for you!

1. Download and install Audacity.
2. Download JV CWCC Camp Music.aif and Dance Project 1.doc from my website.
3. Follow the instructions on the Dance Project 1 document starting at #3.
4. After finishing the project and exporting the file as a WAV, email it to me so I can check your work.

Why do I teach this lesson? It started out as a way to lighten my work load around homecoming time. Many times the dance team or the cheerleaders would come to me asking for my help in putting the music together for their homecoming routines. I'd spend many hours doing this work, sometimes changing the cuts ten or more times right up until the performance. So, I wanted my Music Tech students to know how to manipulate audio so they could do this work for me.



Now that I've taught this lesson for a couple of years, I'm starting to see other applications of cutting audio. Listen to the background music in commercials. Many times you will recognize the piece of music, but it has been cut down to 30 seconds or less to fit the time slot of the commercial. That's going to be the next adaptation of this lesson: Cutting Music for Commercials.

Soul's Story (Jan. 08, p. 50)

Article posted January 23, 2008 at 11:02 PM GMT-6 • Reads 287

BLOG DUE: Mon. 1/28 Blk. 1

African-American musicians developed a form of pop music that combined gospel, blues, and jazz which later became known as soul. Different regions of the country developed signature sounds, in part because of the house bands working in these very important music centers.



Q1. How did soul music develop?

As African-Americans moved to cities after WWII, they updated and combined the gospel, blues and jazz styles they'd been previously playing. The Atlantic Records label concentrated on what would be called Rhythm & Blues (R & B) and helped promote its first stars. R&B then mixed with Gospel and Rock & Roll to form Soul.



Q2. What cities were significant in the development of R&B and soul?

Memphis, Detroit and Philadelphia were among the most important cities in early Soul music. The scenes were usually centered around specific studios or record labels: Memphis' Stax Records; Detroit's Motown; Philadelphia's Cameo-Parkway

Q3.What are some of the differences between the Memphis and Motown sounds?

According to Atlantic executive Jerry Wexler, the Memphis sound had a sparser, "funkier" groove. The Motown sound had a straighter rhythm more akin to pop and rock music.



Q4. How did early soul music play a role in hip-hop?

DJ's took "break beats" from old soul records (especially those by James Brown) to create rhythmic loops. This led to the loop sampling techniques used today



Suggested Listening:

Various Artists: Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration (Stax)

Various Artists: Cameo Parkway 1957-1967 (Abkco)

Various Artists: Hitsville U.S.A.: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 (Motown)

Various Artists: Atlantic Rhythm & Blues 1947-1974 (Atlantic/WEA)



Suggested Reading:

Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm & Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom by Peter Guralnick (HarperCollins)

Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records by Rob Bowman (Schirmer Trade Books)



Record Labels:

Atlantic Records (vintage), Stax Records, Motown (classic), Florence Alabama Music Enterprises (FAME), Sigma Sound Studios, Muscle Shoals Sound Studios



Atlantic Artists:

Little Richard, Sam Cooke "King of Soul", Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Solomon Burke, Booker T. and the MG's, Wilson Pickett, Eddie Floyd, Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, Al Green



Motown Artists:

Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops, the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye



Funk Artists:

James Brown "Godfather of Soul", Sly & the Family Stone, Parliament Funkadelic, Kool & the Gang; Earth, Wind, and Fire; Tower of Power

Cutting Music for Commercials

Article posted January 28, 2008 at 02:28 AM GMT-6 • Reads 1508

How long is a commercial? 30 seconds? 60? Listen to commercials on tv and you will hear a lot of familiar music. One that caught my ear recently is the new Gatorade commercial with "that music from the Olympics" in it. (psst....it's called O Fortuna. It's by the composer Carl Orff. It's the first movement in his major work Carmina Burana). I don't know why, but the sports world seems to love that piece of music. (Countless others do too. Just check out all the remixes and concert performances of O Fortuna on YouTube.)







That commercial and others like it got me thinking about a new project for Music Tech class: cutting music for commercials. If you listen to the Gatorade commercial and to the original song, you can hear how much of the piece was cut and which parts were used in the commercial. It's enough to get the feel of the piece and yet it still delivers the emotional impact. (I love how the hits of the music and the hits of the video match!)



The first part of this project is to identify commercials which use cut music. Try to find two or three. Then comment to this blog entry with links to those commercials so that the whole class can look and listen to them. If you can, identify the piece of music in the commercials you pick and who the artist is.



The second part of the project is to pick one of those commercials and a new piece of music to cut to the same commercial. Try to match hits in the music with hits in the video. You'll do the cutting in Audacity. You'll supply your own piece of music. We'll use iMovie to combine the video and your new audio.

Vote for your favorite John Williams tune!

Article posted February 8, 2008 at 08:53 AM GMT-6 • Reads 627

My favorite composer of all times, John Williams, is celebrating his 76th birthday today (he was born Feb. 8, 1932 in Floral Park, New York). Williams has composed many of the most famous film scores in history, including those for Jaws, Star Wars, Superman, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, The Towering Inferno, Schindler's List, and Harry Potter. In addition, he has composed theme music for four Olympic Games, numerous television series and concert pieces. He served as the principal conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra from 1980 to 1993, and is now the orchestra's laureate conductor.



Below are a few links (coming soon!) to some of his most famous film score themes. Which one is your favorite?

Vote by commenting to this blog by Monday, Feb. 11 (click "comment" below this blog)

I'll post the results when the votes are tabulated. Happy listening, happy voting, and Happy Birthday, John Williams!



Theme (From "Jurassic Park")

Main Theme (From "The Sugarland Express")

Main Theme (From "Jaws")

Suite (From "Close Encounters of the Third Kind")

March (From "Raiders of the Lost Ark")

The Map Room / Dawn (From "Raiders of the Lost Ark")

Adventures On Earth (From "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial")

Mine Car Chase (From "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom")

End Credits (From "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom")

Exsultate Justi (From "Empire of the Sun")

Indy's First Adventure (From "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade")

End Credits (From "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade")

Follow Me / Dorinda's Solo Flight (From "Always")

Main Themes (From "Hook")

Main Themes (From "Jurassic Park")

Main Themes (From "Schindler's List")

Dry Your Tears Afrika (From "Amistad")

Hymn to the Fallen (From "Saving Private Ryan")

Where Dreams Are Made (From "A.I Artificial Intelligence")

Minority Report (From "Minority Report")

Catch Me If You Can (From "Catch Me If You Can")

Suite (From "The Rare Breed")

The Jane Eyre Theme (From "Jane Eyre")

To Thornfield (From "Jane Eyre")

Restoration (From "Jane Eyre")

Overture (From "The Cowboys")

Prelude (From "The Poseidon Adventure")

Main Titles (From "The Towering Inferno")

End Titles (From "Family Plot")

Main Titles (From "The Fury")

Main Theme (From "Superman")

Main Titles & Storm (From "Dracula")

Main Theme & Love Theme (From "The River")

Dance of the Witches (From "The Witches of Eastwick")

End Credits (From "Born On the Fourth of July")

End Titles (From "Presumed Innocent")

Arlington / End Titles (From "JFK")

Hedwig's Theme (From "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone")

Fawkes the Phoenix (From "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets")

Main Theme (From "Episode IV: A New Hope")

Han Solo & the Princess (From "Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back")

The Imperial March (From "Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back")

Anakin's Theme (From "Episode I: The Phantom Menace")

The Flag Parade (From "Episode I: The Phantom Menace")

Across the Stars (From "Episode II: Attack of the Clones")

Duel of the Fates (From "Episode I: The Phantom Menace")

Sampling the Past

Article posted February 11, 2008 at 11:44 AM GMT-6 • Reads 307

I'm looking for old songs which have been quoted in new songs, like Sing for the Moment by Eminem.



This technique is called sampling and has been a hotly debated topic in the music industry since the early 80's. This Wikipedia article discusses "Sing for the Moment".



Sampling (music) article from Wikipedia

Comment to this blog with a sampled song by class tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008

Guitar Tunings

Article posted February 12, 2008 at 05:12 PM GMT-6 • Reads 343

I was rereading my student's blogs on the InTune Monthly Magazine article "Let It Slide" and realized that we hadn't talked about all the different ways you can tune a guitar.



Compare the difference between "Standard" and "Open G" guitar tuning:



(low to high)

Standard Tuning: E A D G B E

Open G Tuning: D G D G B D



Standard tuning produces an unsettled, unresolved chord when strummed. Open G tuning produces a pleasing G major chord when strummed. That's why it and other open tunings are used while playing slide guitar. For more tunings, go to Big City String Company's Guitar Tunings

Get Ready/Here I Come (Day 1)

Article posted February 20, 2008 at 10:04 AM GMT-6 • Reads 240

Today we started deconstructing Fergie's "Here I Come" to try to find out what parts of the original Temptations song "Get Ready" she (or her song writers/record producers) sampled for use in her song.



We also started using a new audio program today on our Macs called GarageBand. GarageBand is like Audacity in that it can record and edit audio. But one of the ways it is different than Audacity is in the way it handles cuts, splits, and other audio edits in a non-destructive manner. Simply put: you never lose your original audio material if you make a split!



We discovered that in Fergie's intro to "Here I Come" that she sampled the bass riff from first bar of the Tempatations "Get Ready" and looped that bass riff out four times before using the drum fill that the Temptations used only after two bars.



So, after importing both songs into GarageBand and listening first to the Temptations and then to Fergie, we split the Temptations opening bar using Cmd-T. We duplicated the "Get Ready Track" and dragged the rest of the "Get Ready" file that we didn't need to the duplicated track to have looping space for the first bar.



We trimmed the beginning silence from the opening bar by dragging the lower left corner of the orange region to the right until it was at the very beginning of the first beat. The resulting split and trim of the Tempatations bass riff looks like this in the track editor:







After trimming the bass riff loop, then we pulled out the loop to see if our edits were successful. If you drag the upper right hand corner of the orange trimmed region to the right, you get successive copies (i.e. "loops") of the original region. The notches in the top and bottom of the newly created orange region indicate where the loop repeats.

Get Ready/Here I Come (Day 2)

Article posted February 21, 2008 at 11:39 AM GMT-6 • Reads 244

After catching up two students who missed yesterday's class (a good chance to review for the rest of the class!), we continued to listen to the Tempatations "Get Ready" and Fergie's sampled remake "Here I Come" to try to discover how an old R&B song can be chopped up and used as the groundwork for a new hip hop song.



Today we added one new sample (the drum lead-in) and learned how to record the rapping "yeah" of Fergie's intro.



The first step was to find the drum lead-in that Fergie used at the end of the fourth loop of the bass riff in the original Tempatations song. It turns out that the Fergie sampled the drums at the end of the second loop of the Tempations "Get Ready" and moved them to the fourth loop of her intro to "Here I Come"



In GarageBand we looped the bass riff four time in one track and split out the drum lead-in into another track. We used a new technique for splitting tracks today. Yesterday we chose "Spilt Track" (Cmd-T) from the GarageBand Edit menu after placing the playhead where we wanted a split to be made. Today we double-clicked on the "Get Ready" orange region to bring up the track editor on the bottom half of the screen. In the track editor (after playing the track to identify where the drum lead-in was) we clicked and dragged the mouse to highlight the waves of the drum lead-in (they turned blue!) and then clicked on the highlighting again to split that portion.

Then up above in the track regions we used the playhead to help us align the drum lead-in. We placed the playhead at the end of the fourth bass riff loop (turn off "Snap to Grid" under the Control Menu for smooth sliding accuracy!) to give a visual alignment point to slide the drum lead-in up to.

Get Ready/Here I Come (adding Hip-Hop beats)

Article posted February 28, 2008 at 02:25 PM GMT-6 • Reads 224

To review, what we've done so far is deconstructed Fergie's intro to Here I Come and recreated her intro using the Tempation's Get Ready for material, while recording ourselves saying "yeah". Now comes the fun part: the construction of the Hip-Hop beat for the majority of the song.



As you listen to Fergie's version, after the intro, there is a new drum beat laid on top of the bass riff which we already looped out. Using GarageBand, it's easy to add the hip hop drums. Here's how:



1. Loop out the bass riff at least 8 more times after the first four loops of the intro.



2. Create a new software instrument track (green) from the menu bar Track>NewTrack...>Software Instrument Track. If the original green "Grand Piano" track is still at the top of your track window, you can use that track instead of creating a new software instrument track.



3. Double Click on the track header to the right of the "Grand Piano" name to open the Track Info sidebar.



4. Select "GarageBand" under the drop down list of available loop libraries. Then select "Drum Kits" from the available instrument families in the left column and "Hip Hop Kit" from the voice list on the right. The name and sound of the green software instrument track header back in the track window should now say "Hip Hop Kit" and show a new icon.



5. Hook up and turn your MIDI keyboard if you've got one. If not, you can use the Window>Musical Typing to play the Hip Hop Kit.



Then interesting thing about MIDI drums kits is that every key on the keyboard plays a different percussion instrument. The bass drum is usually C1 and a snare drum is usually d1. The handclap is Eb1.



6. Using either a MIDI keyboard or the Musical Typing, record a handclap (E flat 1) on beats 2 and 4 in the green Hip Hop Kit track you just created. Solo out the Hip Hop Kit track you are recording into and the Bass Riff Loop track (press the headphones button in each track header) so you have something to act as your metronome. Turn off GarageBand's metronome (Control>Metronome) so it won't conflict with the beat of the Temptations bass riff. Start the recording during the introduction to get the feel of the tempo and beat . The handclaps should start on beat two after the four bars of the introduction have played. Record at least 8 handclaps–16 might be better.



7. The bass drum is C1 on the MIDI keyboard. It is played on beat 1, the and of 2 and the and of 4. Record four bars of bass drum.

Beat Slicing

Article posted March 5, 2008 at 07:40 PM GMT-6 • Reads 278

Today I turned the kids loose on their own hip-hop sampling projects. They have to come up with an original old song to sample and use as the basis for a hip-hop version. I have no idea how this will turn out, but I know that it will be a discovery process for each student.



One topic I've been meaning to research is beat slicing. Tonight as I read my emails I opened one from Electronic Musician and saw that they had featured a Windows-based beat slicer as their download of the month. It's called LiveSlice and is from LiveLab.



I did a little surfing and found some other beat slicers:



pHATmatik PRO GURU Devine Machine Suppatrigga Slifty Glitch



Ableton Live

Remix Magazine's Ableton Live Tips and Tricks

Nothing to do over Spring Break? Write the next American Idol song!

Article posted March 20, 2008 at 06:07 AM GMT-6 • Reads 312

Idol on iTunes Songwriter Workshop Saturday, March 22 at 2 p.m. and Monday, March 24 at 6 p.m.



You don't have to know how to play an instrument, write a song, or even sing in tune. With GarageBand and a little inspiration from the Apple Store expert staff, you'll learn everything you need to write, compose, and record your first hit song.



This free one-hour workshop covers music-making basics and gives you songwriting tips from the pros. You'll learn about song structure, chord progression, lyrics, and just what makes a great song great. You'll also get to explore GarageBand hands-on and see how fun and easy it is to create music.



You'll leave the workshop with the knowledge, ideas, and inspiration to compose a masterpiece to enter into the American Idol Songwriting Competition. And who knows, if you win, you'll hear your song performed live on American Idol.

MIDI Hymn Project

Article posted April 7, 2008 at 01:48 PM GMT-6 • Reads 327

For a full description of this project, please read the article I wrote last semester entitled "Glory Be to Jesus".



One thing I'm doing differently this semester is teaching my students how to click notes into the notation view of GarageBand's track editor. This is beneficial for those students who aren't proficient at playing piano. It also is more accurate than recording MIDI because when you click note into the track editor, they are aligned to the beginning of the beat and they take up full beat spaces.



To click notes into GarageBand's track editor, you must first record some MIDI events into an empty green track. Select a green track and either press "R" on your computer keyboard or press the red record button in GarageBand to begin recording. Then play anything on your MIDI keyboard, but not very much. Press the space bar to stop recording. Double-click the resulting green region to open up the track editor. Drag a box around all notes in the track editor and delete them to create an empty green region. Drag the right end of this empty region out at least eight full bars (4/4 time in F Major) to have enough space to hold "Glory Be to Jesus"



Select the correct note value (quarter note, eight note, etc.) from the note value palette in the track editor. Press the notation button in the track editor (it looks like an eighth note) to show the empty grand staff. Hold down the Command Key (open Apple) while mousing over the lines and spaces of the staff and you will see a ghost note. Click on the staff where you want to place your note. After clicking the note in, you can drag it up and down to fix incorrect accidentals.



You can also drag notes left and right to place them on the correct beat. If you click on a note, a green bar will appear starting at the note head and extending to the right, showing the length of the note. You can drag the right end of this bar left or right

Blog Assignment: Instrumental Quartets

Article posted April 8, 2008 at 11:06 AM GMT-6 • Reads 287

For our MIDI hymn project we'll want to use commonly accepted instrument groups to change up the orchestration for each verse. Google the following three instrumental groups and write a blog article with links to your sources:



1. Woodwind Quartet

2. String Quartet

3. Brass Quartet



Identify in each group what the soprano, alto, tenor, and bass instruments are. Extra points for multiple combinations!



Due Date: Wednesday, April 9, 2008

How to make HTML links

Article posted April 8, 2008 at 11:08 AM GMT-6 • Reads 284

Here's how to embed a link in a blog article:



1. First you need to know the address, URL, etc. of the link. ([LINK])



2. Then you need to type some HTML code around your link:

Type an open caret "<" followed by "a", hit the spacebar once, and type "href" followed by and equal sign "="

Then copy and paste your link address (aka, the URL) right after the equal sign

After your URL, type a closed caret ">" followed by the description of the link. These are the words people will see highlighted in blue that they will click on to get to your link.

Following the link description, type these four characters one right after another: open caret "<", forward slash"/", the letter "a", and closed caret ">" to finish the HTML code

Glory Be to Jesus (Sem 2 07-08)

Article posted April 11, 2008 at 09:17 AM GMT-6 • Reads 440

Morning everyone!



I got four of your mp3s yesterday (Taylor, Will, Aaron, & Erik). I've posted them to my website for you to link your blogs to. Do that right away today. I'll approve them tonight. The rest of you need to email me your mp3s of Glory Be to Jesus today so I can get them on my website and you can finish your blog articles.



Nobody has told me what new hymn you are doing. I'm assuming you took care of that yesterday. Please comment to this article and tell me what your new hymn is, who you are doing it for, and when it will be used in chapel.



Keep up the good work! Mr. W

MIDI Hymn Project - Hymn Schedule

Article posted April 23, 2008 at 02:58 PM GMT-6 • Reads 273

Date	Student	Hymn	CW	Speaker
Thu., Apr. 24	Tyler W.	Beautiful Savior	369	Mr. Hoffmann
Fri. Apr. 25	Amanda S.	His Battle Ended There	146	Pastor Zietlow, Montello
Mon. Apr. 28	Erik W.	I Hear the Savior Calling	560	Principal Gregorius
Tue. Apr. 29	Dion M.	Baptized in Water	297	Principal Gregorius
May 5	Brian L.	Though I May Speak with Bravest Fire	498	Pastor Zahn
May 6	Aaron M.	Built on the Rock	529	Pastor Zahn
May 15	Will B.	Holy Spirit, Light Divine	183	Mr. Berg
May 19	Taylor K.	Onward, Christian Soldiers	537	Pastor Wright
May 20	Mike L.	Go, My Children, with My Blessing	332	Pastor Wright
May 26-27	Nathan R.	God Loved the World	391	Pastor Haag
May 29	Steph K.	I Am Jesus' Little Lamb	432	Mr. Bilitz

For Mike and Erik - Guitar Tuning 102

Article posted May 2, 2008 at 10:36 AM GMT-6 • Reads 244

[LINK]" target="_blank">[LINK]>Guitar Tuning 102

Final Project Brainstorming

Article posted May 2, 2008 at 11:48 AM GMT-6 • Reads 311

If you were asked to write a piece of music, what would it sound like? If you could write any kind of music what would it be? What kind of music inspires you? Who are you favorite artists? If you could sing like anyone, who would it be? If you could play an instrument like anyone, who would it be? What intrigued you about using GarageBand and Audacity to make music? How would you play with either program to make music?



Don't write what you think I want to hear. Listen to your heart. Listen to the music in your head––the music you hear when you are walking down the hallway, the music you hear when you are all alone, the music you hear when no one else is listening.



Write a blog entry and brainstorm answers to these questions, or make a list of pieces you want to write, or techniques you want to use, or artists you want to sound like, or composers you admire, or ideas for compositions you've had, or little things that just caught your fancy (bleu cheese?). I will not post them and make them live, but we will have the conversation together. I will not critique or ridicule any idea. All your musical ideas are valid.



THIS BLOG ENTRY IS DUE BY THE END OF CLASS TODAY! (Friday, May 2, 2008)

I Just Got Interviewed!

Article posted May 12, 2008 at 09:44 AM GMT-6 • Reads 742

Phew! NOW my heart races...



I just got done giving an interview to the Chief Technology Officer of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) about what WLA teaches in its Music Technology class. (Full disclosure notice: he's also my brother-in-law!) Even so, I was nervous but excited to share what we are doing in Music Technology at WLA and give some ideas for how technology can be used as a tool in grade school music, high school music, and in worship.



The interview will be aired as a podcast on the WELSTech Podcast website sometime in the future. I'll post the date and the link here and on my choir blog when I know it will be aired.



It was fun to use technology to do the interview. No, I didn't drive to Synod Headquarters in Milwaukee. No, the Chief Technology Officer of the WELS didn't come to my office at WLA to sit down with me. No, we didn't just do a phone call. We used Skype to call each other and the whole interview was recorded on his computer.



See...Macs and PCs can get along!

WELSTech Podcast 020 – May 21, 2008

Article posted May 27, 2008 at 03:51 PM GMT-6 • Reads 294

http://welstech.wels.net/wpmu/2008/05/21/episode-020-may-21-2008/

Wow! That's all I can say...WOW!

Article posted August 1, 2008 at 05:27 PM GMT-6 • Reads 254

EastWest/Quantum Leap Symphonic Choirs

Overcoming Technology Barriers: How to Innovate Without Extra Money or Support

Article posted August 7, 2008 at 10:18 AM GMT-6 • Reads 1983

Step 1: Innovate with the Tools You Already Have

Step 2: Seek Out Free, Easy-to-Use Digital Resources

Step 3: Overcome Your Fear of the Unknown

Step 4: Start with Small, Fast Projects That Enhance Learning

Step 5: Learn with Your Students

from Edutopia Photo Credit: Wesley Bedrosian

Free Samples!

Article posted August 7, 2008 at 04:24 PM GMT-6 • Reads 275

The University of Iowa Electronic Music Studios are offering free access to their Musical Instrument Samples Database courtesy of Electronic Musician

2008 International Songwriting Competition

Article posted August 20, 2008 at 10:16 PM GMT-6 • Reads 263

Are you a talented songwriter looking to gain international exposure? Would you welcome a chance to have your songs heard by the most influential decision-makers in the music industry—and win thousands in cash and gear prizes? If so, check out the 2008 International Songwriter Competition. Now in its sixth year, the annual ISC provides both aspiring and established songwriters with an opportunity to have their songs heard in a professional, international arena. To choose the winners, ISC has gathered the most prestigious panel of judges ever assembled for a songwriting competition—including industry luminaries Tom Waits, Chaka Khan, Jerry Lee Lewis, Robert Smith, Black Francis, James Cotton, Natalie Grant, Paul Van Dyk, Amy Doyle, Steve Lillywhite, Renee Bell, Peter Strickland and many more.



Participating songwriters will have a chance to win a grand prize consisting of $25,000 cash, plus a gear package that features the M-Audio ProKeys Sono 88 digital piano and Studiophile® BX5a Deluxe studio monitors. In addition, first, second, and third place winners will be chosen in each of the 20 musical categories.



Entries must be postmarked on or before October 15th, 2008. For more information, visit songwritingcompetition.com.

My First Blog Entry (Blk. 3)

Article posted August 27, 2008 at 11:26 AM GMT-6 • Reads 359

We are in the third day of school this year and are learning how to blog in Mr. Witte's Music Technology class. This is cool=http://

My First Blog Entry (Blk. 8)

Article posted August 28, 2008 at 11:22 AM GMT-6 • Reads 606

This is just practicing the method of blogging we will do in class this semester. Mr. Witte told us today we'll be blogging for different reasons: 1. To remember what we did in class, and 2. To show all the decisions and thoughts we go through when writing music.

Graphical Entry

Article posted August 28, 2008 at 11:33 AM GMT-6 • Reads 362

If you want to get creative on your blog, click "Graphical" before writing your article.  You will have at your disposal buttons to bold, underline, change fonts, colors, insert links, add pictures like this:, and even more.  Try it!

My Choir Blog

Don't forget!!

Article posted September 2, 2008 at 09:50 PM GMT-6 • Reads 346

Remember...you are supposed to write a blog entry describing what you have been doing in Music Tech class.  And Hether...I'll remind you tomorrow why I am teaching you how to cut audio with Audacity!

What's the big dif? An explanation of common audio file formats

Article posted September 4, 2008 at 08:13 PM GMT-6 • Reads 575

Wav, mp3, aif, aac, mp4... What are they? What's the difference between them?



Most people don't have to think about this topic, let alone these questions, but electronic musicians have to think about audio file formats every time they rip a CD to their hard drive, sync their iPod, or play streaming audio over the internet. I'll explain each one of these file formats separately under three categories: "Uncompressed", "Lossless" and "Lossy".



UNCOMPRESSED AUDIO FORMATS



These two audio formats are what you would use if you want to preserve the highest quality of a digital recording. Neither one of these two formats compresses the audio in any way, but the tradeoff is a big file size: 9-10x bigger than and mp3 file size of the same song!



AIFF – short for Audio Interchange File Format (.aif), developed by Apple in 1988



WAV – short for Waveform Audio (.wav), developed by Microsoft in 1992.



LOSSLESS AUDIO FORMATS



Lossless data compression is a class of data compression algorithms that allows the exact original data to be reconstructed from the compressed data. The term lossless is in contrast to lossy data compression, which only allows an approximation of the original data to be reconstructed, in exchange for better compression rates.



Apple Lossless - (.m4a) introduced by Apple Corporation in 1994



LOSSY AUDIO FORMATS



Lossy compression is a data compression method which yields small file sizes, but from which the original data can never be totally reconstructed. Lossy compression will always results in generation loss: repeatedly compressing and decompressing a file will cause it to progressively lose quality.



MP3 - short for Motion Pictures Expert Group (MPEG-1) Audio Layer 3, developed in 1995



AAC - stands for Advanced Audio Coding

Pros: Designed to fix "serious performance flaws" in the MP3 format

Cons: some would view it as a proprietary format, only useable on iPods, iPhones, and other Apple Computer software, such as iTunes, but AAC files are compatible with Creative Zen Portable, Microsoft Zune, Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP), other portable media players, and mobile phones



WMA - stands for Windows Media Audio, developed by Microsoft in 1999

Dance Project 1

Article posted September 5, 2008 at 11:54 AM GMT-6 • Reads 908

My students are done with Dance Project 1.  It's taken two weeks, but their brains have been packed with lots of information and instruction on how to use Audacity, a free, open-source, cross-platform, audio recording and editing program to shorten an existing audio file.



Why do I do this project? I owe a lot of my audio editing knowledge to the WLA Dance Team who has asked me over the years to do audio cutting and editing for them. I learned how to splice audio files, line up beats, think and count in 8-counts, and speed up files so they were easier to do a kick line to. So this project started because I wanted to teach the WLA students who took this class how to do these same things, not just for the dance team, but also for the cheerleaders and any audio editing needs which might be necessary for WLA annual Homecoming skit night (skits or lip syncs).



But in the process of teaching kids how to do audio editing, they learn the larger musical ideas of beats and song form. What seems like a project which teaches how to use a specific piece of software (Audacity) to do a specific job (shorten a audio file) becomes a real-world application for teaching the mundane (steady beats) or the complex (how does a song start?).



Specifically, students learned to use Audacity to:

1. Import an audio file into a project (I Like That by Houston),
   
   
2. Use transport controls to playback, pause, stop,
   
   
3. Zoom in to thousandth-of-a-second resolution,
   
   
4. Select a portion of an audio file,
   
   
5. Adjust the beginning and ending of a selection,
   
   
6. Split a selection of an audio file into a new track,
   
   
7. Rename a track,
   
   
8. Fit the project in the screen to see all tracks from beginning to end,
   
   
9. Time shift a split selection
   
   
10. Move a track up or down in the project window,
    
    
11. Align the final beat of one split to the starting beat of another split,
    
    
12. Delete or slilence unwanted material,
    
    
13. Apply effects (e.g. fade out) to a selection,
    
    
14. Visually identify and align beats between tracks, and
    
    
15. Export the cut audio as a WAV file.

In addition, students were also taught:

1. The size and audio quality differences between WAV and MP3 files,
   
   
2. How to convert WAV files to MP3 files,
   
   
3. How to rename their projects,
   
   
4. How to hand in their projects electronically into my drop box,
   
   
5. How to write blog articles and submit them for publication,
   
   
6. How to comment to someone else's blog article,
   
   
7. How to link the MP3 file of their project to their blog, and
   
   
8. How to maintain a safe internet presence on their blogs.

What's the next step? Each student will be bringing their own music to cut tomorrow for class. They will apply what they learned in this project and do the same thing to another piece of music. However, they will have to make more decisions:

• What music do I choose?
  
  
• What cuts do I want to make?
  
  
• Why do I want to make those cuts?
  
  
• How can I still make my cut song sound like it has a beginning, a middle, and an end?

Stay tuned to this blog to see if the guided learning phase is as successful as the modeling phase was!



Just a note: I learn along with my students. If there is something they don't know, I help them. If there is something I don't know, they help me. One thing I need help with is figuring out why the "Play in Browser" button below doesn't work properly. I think it is because when I put files onto my iDisk they are compressed (zipped) automatically (why this happens, I don't know). When I drop in an MP3 file, the extension gets changed to ".mp3-zip.zip" When you click on the "Play in Browser" button below, your browser assumes that it can play an MP3 file, but it doesn't know what to do with a zipped file, except to download it to your computer and unzip it. So, please bear with me until I find out how to make the top button work properly.

In Tune's Best Music Schools 2009

Article posted September 6, 2008 at 02:24 PM GMT-6 • Reads 382

I don't normally cross-post articles between my two blogs (Composing My Thoughts is my choir blog), but this topic applies to both of them...


(Jon Koepsell, this article is for you, and for all my music students at WLA, and their parents, and my kids, and for anyone else who needs to know how to start selecting a music school.)


More than 1,200 schools in the US and Canada offer some form of music education. In Tune Monthly magazine picked the best of them in their October 2008 issue. You can view their college list here. The article acknowledges that many "traditional" music schools are now updating their technology and contemporary music offerings because the way music is created, composed, performed, recorded, and produced is constantly changing.


One nearby music school was mentioned in this article:

"McNally Smith, in St. Paul, MN is a contemporary music school that offers degrees in Music Performance, Music Business, Recording Technology, and Composition. The school is beginning a new Bachelor of Science in Music Production program for music producers this fall. Students oversee and album production form start to finish and are required to study music theory, composition, arranging and performance, technology and business, and general liberal arts subjects designed to round out their educations."

Sites with links to music schools:

Bridge to Music - THIS IS AN AMAZING SITE!

Do Something

College Bound


Other Resources:

Great Jobs for Music Majors by Jan Goldberg

Schools that Rock: The Rolling Stone College Guide by Jenny Eliscu

The Student's Guide to College Music Programs by Hal Leonard Corp.

Fiske Guide to Colleges 2009 by Edward Fiske

Your assignment this weekend is...

Article posted September 12, 2008 at 02:08 PM GMT-6 • Reads 241

Type two blog entries by Sunday night (9/14)

1. Describe what you got done on your project today and what the next thing is that you need to do on Monday so that you can remember over the weekend what you were thinking today, and



2. Read In Tune, October 2008, "In Tune's Best Music Schools 2009" pp. 34-52 and pick one music school that you would like to go to for college.  In your blog entry, write about
   
   
   
   
   
   1. the name of the school (link the name to that school's music page)
   
   
   
   2. what program or degree you are interested in at that school
   
   
   
   3. why you picked that school
   
   
   
   
   
   

How to hand in your projects

Article posted September 16, 2008 at 02:25 PM GMT-6 • Reads 330

1. Export your Audacity project as a WAV file (Audacity: File>Export as WAV) and save it to your Music folder on your Macintosh HD.



2. Import that WAV file into iTunes (iTunes 8: File>Add to Library... or press -O).



3. Select it in the Music Library by clicking on it once.



4. Convert it to an MP3 file (iTunes 8: Advanced>Create MP3 version...).  If it doesn't give that option under the Advanced menu, then go the iTunes' preferences (iTunes>Preferences... or press -,) and under the General tab select the "Import Settings..." button.  Select "MP3 Encoder" after "Import Using", click "OK" on that page and the General Preferences page to get back to the Music Library.  Select the WAV file you want to convert and choose "Create MP3 version" from the Advanced menu.



5. Find the newly created MP3 file in the music library.  It has the same name as the WAV file, just a different file type.  If you can't see the file type, turn on the Kind button under the View Options (View>View Options... or press -J) and look for the Kind column to appear in the Music Library.  You may have to scroll the screen  to see the newly created column.  Drag the column header to the left so you can see it in the main screen without scrolling.



6. Select the MP3 file you just created and REVEAL where it is on the Macintosh HD by pressing -R at the same time. A window will open up showing that file.



7. Hide or move open windows (-H hides applications) so that you can drag the MP3 file you revealed into the Drop Box on your desktop.



8. Start writing your blog article about your project.  I know you have been doing this little by little, so make this article a summarization of everything that is important about your song that you want your listeners to know about it.



9. While you are doing that, I'm uploading your files to my website so that you can link your song to your blog article.



10. Navigate your way to my website and drill down through the folders to find your song (from the Music Tech Blog: Related Links>My Website>Downloads>Music Technology>Semester 1 08-09>Dance Project 1>Dance Project 1.1).



11. Control-click on the download arrow to bring up a contextual menu.  Select "Copy Link Location" from that list.



12. Go back to your blog article edit page.  Click in the Podcast URL field and paste (-V) the link into the field.  If you are done writing, select "Request Publishing" and send it off to me for approval.

Assignment for Friday 9.26.08

Article posted September 25, 2008 at 01:39 PM GMT-6 • Reads 393

Over the past two days, you've gotten used to listening for eight-counts, counting them out loud, and splitting them out of "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey.  Now, I challenge you to split the following examples out of "Don't Stop Believin'":

Two separate splits that meet the following counts:

1. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 --> 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8



2. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 --> 8, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8



3. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 --> 7, 8, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8



4. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 --> 6, 7, 8, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8



5. 1, 2, 3, 4 --> 5, 6, 7, 8, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

You can do all your work in your current Garageband project.  You do not have to had in your project, just save it to your computer.  If you have any questions, feel free to email me or send me a message.

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Article posted October 1, 2008 at 10:02 AM GMT-6 • Reads 352

3 2 1 2 3 3 3 - (Mary had a little lamb)

2 2 2 - 3 5 5 - (Little lamb, little lamb)

3 2 1 2 3 3 3 3 (Mary had a little lamb its)

2 2 3 2 1 - - - (fleece was white as snow)

What makes a scale major?

Article posted October 7, 2008 at 11:51 AM GMT-6 • Reads 415

The Major Scale: W W H W W W H

What does this mean?

This is the pattern of whole and half steps that makes up a major scale. In other words, if you want to make a major scale starting on C, you'd have to calculate whole and half steps up from C on a piano keyboard, like this:

Start on C. The next note needs to be a WHOLE STEP up. A whole step on a piano keyboard always has another note (either black or white) in between. So, a whole step up from C is D (the next white key) because there is a black key (C#/Db) in between. Whole steps ALWAYS have a note in between.

From D, go up one more WHOLE STEP (remember to skip a note in between!). The third note of the C Major scale is E (because D#/Eb is in between).

From E, go up a HALF STEP. A half step on a piano keyboard is any two adjacent notes (in other words, any two keys which touch each other are adjacent). Therefore, F is a half step up from E.

Going up from F you need another WHOLE STEP. Skipping F#/Gb in between you get G, then A (another WHOLE STEP), then B (another WHOLE STEP). Finally, the major scale is topped off with one more HALF STEP. That's from B to C (there's no other note in between). So, the pattern of whole and half steps for ANY major scale is: W W H W W W H.

Need more practice?  Go to Ricci Adam's musictheory.net for lessons on Steps and Accidentals and the Major Scale, and a cool Scale Ear Trainer (click off everything except natural minor and major to start easily).

By the way, some people think of the pattern of whole and half steps in the major scale in a different way, numbering each note in the scale 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.  Then they just think "Where are the half steps?"  The answer is "Between 3 & 4 and 7 & 8".  It's less to remember!!!

What makes a scale minor?

Article posted October 8, 2008 at 11:38 AM GMT-6 • Reads 295

The Minor Scale: W H W W H W W

What does this mean?

This is the pattern of whole and half steps that makes up a major scale. BUT i have never memorized it this way.  I always remember it with numbers: the half steps are between 2 & 3 and 5 & 6.  If your minor scale starts on A and ends on A (using all white keys) then the half steps are between B & C (that's 2 & 3) and E & F (that's 5 & 6).

Instrument Families

Article posted October 13, 2008 at 11:46 AM GMT-6 • Reads 632

As you work on your first hymn (Glory Be to Jesus), you will be learning about three different instrument families: woodwinds, strings, and brass (Garageband calls them horns).  We will be changing instrumentation on each verse of the hymn so our recordings don't sound boring when the same instrumention is played for multiple verses.  The instrument familiy descriptions are taken from Wikipedia:

A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against an edge of, or opening in, the instrument, causing the air to vibrate within a resonator. Most commonly, the player blows against a thin piece of wood called a reed. Most of these instruments were originally made of wood, but some, such as the saxophone and some flutes, are now commonly made of other materials such as metals or plastics.  List of woodwind instruments

A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones. The most common string instruments in the string family are violin, cello, viola, double bass, guitar, and harp. For a full list, see List of string instruments.

A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose tone is produced by vibration of the lips as the player blows into a tubular resonator. They are also called labrosones, literally meaning "lip-vibrated instruments" (Baines, 1993).

There are two factors in changing the pitch on a valved brass instrument: pressing the valves to change the length of the tubing, and changing the player's lip aperture or "embouchure", which determines the frequency of the vibration into the instrument.

The view of most scholars (see organology) is that the term "brass instrument" should be defined by the way the sound is made, as above, and not by whether the instrument is actually made of brass. Thus, as exceptional cases one finds brass instruments made of wood like the alphorn, the cornett, and the serpent, while some woodwind instruments are made of brass, like the saxophone.

Panning

Article posted October 21, 2008 at 11:49 AM GMT-6 • Reads 382

Have you ever been to a concert?  From where you were in the audience, where was the drummer?  The lead singer?  Which side of the stage was the bass player on?  Where was the lead guitar?  On which side of the stage was the rhythm guitar?  Were there backup singers?  Where they on the right or the left?  How 'bout a horn or string section?  Maybe a keyboardist?

If you can picture where all these instrumentalists played on stage at a concert you attended or saw on TV, you can understand part of the use of panning.  Think of panning as placing the instruments around the stage.

 

Handing in Glory Be to Jesus

Article posted October 23, 2008 at 11:43 AM GMT-6 • Reads 304

Make sure you've completed the following things in Glory Be to Jesus:

• Six verses total
• In the first three verses one is all woodwinds (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone), one is all strings (violin, viola, cello, double bass) and one is all brass (trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba)
• The last three verses can be any combination of instruments
• All notes aligned to quarter notes
• All instrument families panned across the stereo field verse-by-verse
• Write a blog entry describing what you did in your hymn: (a) what instruments you used on which verses, (b) why you chose those instruments, (c) other creative things that you did that you want your listener to make sure they hear
• Share your hymn to iTunes, create an MP3 version of it, rename it "Glory Be to Jesus (My Name), and drop it in my drop box

Your completed Garageband project might look something like this:

Grab the link to your own project files here. Click on the podcast links below to hear my version of the hymn that you see in the picture above.

The Scary Part of Teaching–Learning Something New

Article posted October 28, 2008 at 06:21 PM GMT-6 • Reads 290

I've known for a couple of years that I needed to teach a guitar unit in Music Tech.  Why?  Turn on the radio.  Listen to any song on any Top 40, Country, Pop, Rap, R&B, or Rock & Roll station (do they even have those anymore in this age of corporate-owned stations?) and you will hear guitar in almost every song (drums too, but that's another story...and another unit).  In my desire to teach kids how music works, I want to teach them how "normal" music works, i.e. (id est, Latin for "that is...") how the music they listen to every day is made:  what instruments play it, how those instruments are played, how the instruments work together, how a song is structured, etc.

There are other reasons for a guitar unit: playing guitar is a lifelong pursuit (so is playing piano). So many people own guitars or know someone who owns a guitar that they are readily available.  I can't count the number of times I've heard an adult say, "I wish I learned how to play (piano or guitar)," or "I wish I kept going with my (piano or guitar) lessons."  And then there's my lofty goal: I want to help kids learn how to heard chord progressions in the Garageband loops they will use to construct their final project.  What better way to hear chord progression that to learn how to play a simple chord progression?

So, I started a guitar unit this quarter.  I've got a number of students who play guitar already who are my ace-in-the-hole helpers and part-time teachers.  They answer my questions when I need to understand how a guitarist thinks.  I asked every student to borrow a guitar from someone (or bring their own).  The majority have acoustics.  Some have electrics.  The electrics are cool because we can plug them right into our M-Audio Ozone keyboards and play the guitar amp simulators in Garageband.  The acoustics are a blessing because they DON'T have to be plugged into Garageband to work.

The main goal of the guitar unit is learning how to play three chords: G, C, and D.  Learning these three little chords can open up about 1,000 songs to a guitarist.  It's been slow going.  Those of use who don't play guitar are amazed at how much our fingertips and hands can hurt after trying to stretch our fingers into abnormal positions to put our fingers onto the right strings and correct frets.  It has reminded me a lot of the first lesosns in playing violin when my piano fingertips got sore from pressing on the strings hard enough to produce a good tone.

We have learned the G and C chords so far using two resources: a book/DVD combo and a book/CD combo.  That and three three boys who know how to play already (thanks Mitch, Jon, and Adam!)

A Great Guitar Chord Site!

Article posted November 6, 2008 at 01:12 PM GMT-6 • Reads 275

I've been having fun teaching (and learning) how to play three chords on the guitar: G, C, and D.  This morning I was going to post a couple of guitar chord sites for my students when I stumbled across Chordbook.com.  I had so much fun playing with this site that I didn't even get to any other site!  It has a great tuner and a very easy-to-read chord calculator.  It even lets you save chords which you make up yourself (like Jon's version of G and Cadd9!).

A Couple of Guitar Songs We Can Play with G, C, and D

Article posted November 7, 2008 at 11:48 AM GMT-6 • Reads 324

1. Wild Thing: G C D C

2. Sweet Child o' Mine: D C G D

3. Jesus Loves Me:

(G) Jesus loves me, this I know,(C) For the Bible (G) tells me so

(G) Little ones to him belong (C) They are (G) weak, but (D) He is (G) strong.

REFRAIN: (G) Yes, Jesus, (C) loves me (G) Yes, Jesus (D) loves me

(G) Yes, Jesus (C) loves me, the(G) Bible (D) tells me (G) so.

4. Every Rose Has Its Thorn G Cadd9 (Jon's versions) G Cadd9 G D C G Cadd9

5. Silent Night G D7 G C G C G D7 G D7 G

6. O Holy Night (G) O Holy night, the (C) stars are brightly (G) shining, it is the night of our (D) dear Savior's (G) birth.

(G) Long lay the world, in (C) sin and error (G) pining, till he ap- (

7. So Long Goodbye (Sum 41) G Cadd9 (Jon's versions) D G

Guitar Secrets!!!

Article posted November 11, 2008 at 11:44 PM GMT-6 • Reads 271

Here's a great article at GuitarGnome.com on how to read guitar TAB.

And for Michaela, here's the site to tune up a bass guitar: www.tunemybass.com

Hymns for Chapel

Article posted November 12, 2008 at 11:26 AM GMT-6 • Reads 568

Students have signed up to program GarageBand to play the hymns for chapel on the following dates: (hymn numbers are from Christian Worship)



Jaymee B., Mon. Nov. 10 (Pastor Haag) Hymn 207 The Day is Surely Drawing Near

Mitch S., Wed., Nov. 19 (Pastor Zahn) Hymn 204 O God, Our Lord, Your Holy Word

Rachel C., Thu., Nov. 20 (Mr. Strusz) Hymn 451 Precious Lord, Take My Hand

Alex H., Mon., Dec. 1 (Mr. RJ Westphal) Hymn 23 Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel

Lucas Q., Tue., Dec. 2 (Mr. RJ Westphal) Hymn 9 Jesus, Your Church with Longing Eyes

Alex P., Mon., Dec. 8 (Pastor Wright) Hymn 12 Hark the Glad Sound! The Savior Comes

Jon K., Tue., Dec. 9 (Pastor Wright) Hymn 23 Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel

Adam C., Thu., Dec. 11 (Mr. Riley Westphal)

Cassie M., Mon. Dec. 15 (Mr. Bilitz?) Hymn 12 Hark the Glad Sound

Cody K., Tue., Dec. 16 (Pastor Haag) Hymn 183 Holy Spirit, Light Divine?

Michaela T., Thu., Dec. 18 (Mr. Bilitz) Hymn 54 Where Shepherds Lately Knelt

Rachel D., Tue., Dec 23 (Pastor Zahn) Hymn 399 To God Be the Glory?

Quinton S., Tue., Jan. 6 (Principal Gregorius) Hymn 96 Oh Wondrous Type, O Vision Fair

Heather B., Thu., Jan 8. (Mr. Kerr) Hymn 92 Brightest and Best of the Stars

Ben B., Mon., Jan 5 (Principal Gregorius) Hymn 93 Hail to the Lord's Anointed

Steph H. Wed., Jan 7 (Pastor Zahn)

Iron Man & Smoke on the Water

Article posted November 18, 2008 at 11:35 AM GMT-6 • Reads 342

There have been two songs that all of the Music Tech students have been either playing by ear or teaching each other:



Iron Man



and



Smoke on the Water

Musical Roads

Article posted November 21, 2008 at 12:51 PM GMT-6 • Reads 497

Engineers at Honda Corporation turned a quarter-mile stretch of road in Lancaster, California into a musical instrument by carving special grooves into the pavement.  When a car drives over it, the interaction between the tires and the tarmac plays the theme from "The William Tell Overture".  You can view the six-part video series at http://automobiles.honda.com/civic-si-sedan/videos.aspx

After watching all six parts, I find myself dumbfounded and disappointed.  Even though everyone who sang the theme of the William Tell Overture in these videos sang it correctly, when the engineers finally drove across the length of road they had cut with grooves calculated to generate the correct tones at a constant speed, the resulting notes were incorrect. 

Listen for yourself in this video:

Below is the correct version. Notice the key signature is for E flat major and the first interval of a perfect fourth up from Bb to Eb.

This is not the first musical road. According to Wikipedia, one was constructed in Denmark in October 1995, three in Japan (one in Gunma playing Memories of Summer, another in the Wakayama Prefecture, and a third in...) , and one in South Korea playing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" before the idea came to the states.

Hi-Fi Hymnbook

Article posted November 22, 2008 at 06:35 PM GMT-6 • Reads 261

One of the projects we do in Music Tech class is learn how to program hymns on Garageband so that they can be used to play in WLA chapel to lead singing.  With fewer and fewer congregations having either decents musical instruments or talented keyboardists, this project always seems to be timely.

Today I stumbled across a website which seems to be giving away organ and piano recordings of hymns.  The website is http://hifihymnbook.com/.  They are reporting that all their hymns will be free as on January 2009.  Check them out.  This may be another great resource for congregations who are lacking talented organists and piano players.

Many of their hymns are posted on Youtube, incuding this one:

Final Projects - Sem. 1 08-09

Article posted January 5, 2009 at 03:49 PM GMT-6 • Reads 284

For their final projects for the first semester of Music Technology, students are to create their own music using the productions techniques which were learned in this semester.  These techniques include:

Cutting Audio (Dance Project 1)

Inputting MIDI  (Hymn Project 1)

Using Software Instruments (Chapel Hymn)

Playing Guitar (G, D, & C)

Playing Drumset  & Recording MIDI Drums

In Tune – Feb 09

Article posted January 19, 2009 at 10:24 AM GMT-6 • Reads 345

The first blogging assignment of the semester is to write about one article that caught your attention from the February 2009 issue of

In Tune

magazine. Read the full assignment and blogging points under "Teacher Assignments" in the left-hand column of this blog.

We the Kings

Article posted January 19, 2009 at 11:49 AM GMT-6 • Reads 384

Their top song is " Check Yes Juliet"

Summer Music Camps

Article posted January 19, 2009 at 02:12 PM GMT-6 • Reads 661

I was really excited to see a whole article in the Feb 2009 In Tune magazine devoted to the topic of summer music camps because I remembered how well they wrote an article in the Oct 2008 issue about their picks for Best Music Schools 2008.



But as I read the article, my excitement turned cold.



I was hoping to learn about summer music camps in the upper midwest, close to where I live and teach.  I was hoping to learn about summer music camps which helped my choir and music tech have an outlet to go and grow in their love of music.  But what I read about was quite different than what I expected.



"Summer Music" (pp. 30-36) was divided into Jazz, Orchestra, Piano, Rock & Pop, Voice, Music & the Arts, and Marching Band camps.  So, naturally I headed to the section that I teach the most, Voice.  Here are the summer music camps In Tune magazine listed (p. 34):

• Heartland Vocal Camp
• Summit Choral Society
• Wolverine Vocal Music Camp
• Berklee Vocal Summit
• Hollywood Pop Academy

The first three are either in Ohio or Michigan.  The last two aren't even identified where they are.  You's have to go to their websites for more information.  You mean there aren't any summer music camps in Wisconsin for choir students?



Not true, I know that that.  But this article left me a little disappointed.  I was hoping to get some great ideas about where to send my students this summer, but, as is with all things in life, you get out of something what you put into it.  I now know that I need to read up on the five vocal camps listed above, Google "summer music camp wisconsin", and look for the expanded camp directory that the "Music Camp Survival Guide" lists on p. 36 at the end of the article.  Maybe my excitement will get warmer then.

Final Project Sneak Peek!

Article posted January 22, 2009 at 08:56 AM GMT-6 • Reads 526

Go to YouTube and search for any of these Beatles songs.  Start listening to them and ask yourself "which ones could I perform myself? (either on the computer, live, or a combination).  Comment to this article which songs you would like to see the complete scores for and I'll get them to you.  The number after each song is the page number of that song in the book The Beatles Complete Scores published by Hal Leonard.

The following songs are the ones that I thought were some of the easier ones to cover. Some are harder than others. You may want to cover a song that is not listed here. Check with me to see if I have it and to see its score.



Act Naturally 18, All Together Now 33, All You Need is Love 39, And I Love Her 44, Blackbird 122, Can’t Buy Me Love 137, Day Tripper 176, Eleanor Rigby 243, Fixing a Hole 270, Fool on the Hill 282, Getting Better 308, Goodnight 342, Got to Get You Into My Life 347, Hello Goodbye 365, Here Comes the Sun 385, Hey Jude 403, I Am the Walrus 425, If I Fell 449, I’ll Follow the Sun 467, I’m a Loser 475, I Want to Hold Your Hand 565, Let It Be 603, The Long and Winding Road 614, Love Me Do 635, Michelle 679, Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da 725, Paperback Writer 762, Penny Lane 767, P.S. I Love You 791, Rock and Roll Music 824, She Loves You 868, She’s Leaving Home 884, Twist and Shout 973, We Can Work It Out 988, When I’m Sixty Four 1009, With a Little Help From My Friends 1030, Yellow Submarine 1057, Yesterday 1074, You Can’t Do That 1077, You Won’t See Me 1124

8th Graders Visit Music Technology!

Article posted January 30, 2009 at 12:34 PM GMT-6 • Reads 220

WLA was off of school on Friday, Jan. 30, 2009 so that 117 8th grade students from the WLA Association could come and vist classes and see what it would be like to be a high school student at WLA.

I Just Got an Idea...

Article posted February 8, 2009 at 11:12 PM GMT-6 • Reads 353

I was watching the 51st Grammy Awards tonight and heard a Bo Diddley song (called, of all things, "Bo Diddley!") played by B.B. King, John Mayer, Keith Urban, and some other guitarist I should know (Buddy Guy - thanks Twitter/TheGRAMMYs).  But while I was listening to them play and sing the song, I kept hearing The Who's "Magic Bus" in my head.  So I looked up Bo Diddley on Wikipedia and, sure enough, found a list of artists who have used Bo Diddley's beat in their own tunes. Then the idea struck: mix together a number of these covers/tributes with the original Bo Diddley tune.

• Buddy Holly "Not Fade Away"
• The Rolling Stones "I'm Alright" and "Please Go Home"
• The Who "Magic Bus"
• Elvis Presley "His Latest Flame"
• Bruce Springsteen "She's the One"
• U2 "Desire"
• Stevie Ray Vaughan "Willie the Wimp"
• The Smiths "How Soon Is Now?"
• Roxette "Harleys and Indians (Riders in the Sky)"
• Dee Clark, a former member of the Hambone Kids (see above) "Hey Little Girl"
• Johnny Otis "Willie and the Hand Jive"
• George Michael "Faith"
• Normaal "Kearl van Stoahl"
• Elton John "Billy Bones and the White Bird"
• The Strangeloves "I Want Candy"
• Ace Frehley "New York Groove"
• KT Tunstall "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree"
• Primal Scream "Movin' on Up"
• Tom Petty "A Mind with a Heart of Its Own
• David Bowie "Panic in Detroit"
• The Pretenders "Cuban Slide"
• The Police "Deathwish"
• The Guess Who "Follow Your Daughter Home"
• Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders "The Game of Love"
• The Supremes "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes"
• Jefferson Airplane "She Has Funny Cars"
• The White Stripes "Screwdriver"
• The Byrds "Don't Doubt Yourself, Babe"
• Medicine Show "Lucy, Go Lightly"
• The Stooges "1969"
• "Weird Al" Yankovic "Party at the Leper Colony"
• Guns N' Roses "Mr Brownstone"
• Green Day "Castaway"
• Pat Benatar "Love Is a Battlefield"
• Sha Na Na "Born to Hand Jive" (from the soundtrack of the musical Grease)

MIDI Drumming

Article posted February 9, 2009 at 10:05 AM GMT-6 • Reads 337

On the long and winding road to covering a Beatles song for our final project of the semester, we are going to start by learning a thing or two about the drums.  Specifically, we are going to learn

1. how to play a simple pattern on the drum set
2. how to read drum set notation, and
3. how to program MIDI drums in Garageband.

I wrote an article about this topic back on April 24, 2007 called "Programming Your Own Drum Loops" which explained the basics of this project.  We are going to follow a smiliar path to learning how to read set notation, but the end result will be learning how to read the drum parts for our Beatles songs



Resources:

How to Read Drum Lesson Sheet Music

General MIDI Drum Key Map

Class Work for Monday, Feb. 16, 2009

Article posted February 15, 2009 at 04:33 PM GMT-6 • Reads 315

Read this assignment (I modified it since Friday) and program the five drum loops indicated. Just so you can check your work, you can listen to my versions of those loops below. Each was made using the Rock Kit and played back at 121 beats per minute (bpm).



Ballad Rock 3 | Ballad Rock 4

Disco 1 | Disco 2

Heavy Metal 5



The drum loop we learned how to play in the drum set is linked below in the podcast buttons.

Funkytown

Article posted February 18, 2009 at 11:18 AM GMT-6 • Reads 774

Try playing this tune with your drum loops for Disco 1 or 2:



C C B-flat C G G C F E C



Make a new green track (MIDI/Software Instrument) and change the instrument to a synthesizer that sounds like the original Funkytown or the Alvin & the Chipmunks version.

Beatles Songs

Article posted February 25, 2009 at 11:19 AM GMT-6 • Reads 515

Block 3

Desire: We Can Work it Out

Meghan: Hello, Goodbye

Anna:

Nick: Let it Be

Casey: Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da

Ben: Please Mr. Postman

Mike: Hello, Goodbye

Welcome to the New Year!

Article posted September 15, 2009 at 03:33 PM GMT-6 • Reads 262

Well, new school year, that is...:)



This semester I have one Music Tech class of seven really smart students who have been catching on very quickly to the first project: cutting audio. For Dance Project 1 I supplied them with a piece of music ("I Like That" by Houston) and lead them through a series of steps using the free, cross-platform (meaning it works on both Macs and PCs) sound editor Audacity to cut the music from it's original length of 3:57 to 0:39.



Dance Project 2 was a similar idea, but the students got to choose their own piece of music to cut instead of me supplying them with one of mine.  The goal of Dance Project 2 was to listen more carefully to the beat of the music and to make cuts which still allowed for a steady beat.  We learned to listen for eight-counts, admittedly an idea brought over form the WLA Spirit Dance Team, to help us count beats and know where to split the music and rejoin it to make for smooth transitions.



Dance Project 3 is the final step.  The goal of this project is to take and existing commercial and to replace its soundtrack with new music, cut down from a longer song.  Once again, students selected their own commercials and music and showed them to me for approval before working on their cuts. The new part of this project is picking music which fits the content of the commercial in some way.  Students will use iMovie to put their music, which they cut in Audacity, into the commercial.

Saving a YouTube Video

Article posted September 18, 2009 at 09:58 AM GMT-6 • Reads 300

To complete Dance Project 3, you need to be able to synchronize an existing commercial with a mainly music soundtrack to your new soundtrack which you edited in Audacity. Here are the steps to completing The Commercial Soundtrack Project:



1. Find an existing commercial on Youtube which has very few, if any spoken tracks or other sound effects. The soundtrack should be an existing popular song or some other music.



2. Copy the URL of the commercial (either in the address bar or in the information section).



3. Go to www.keepvid.com and paste in the URL of the commercial you'd like to download from YouTube. Click Download and choose the video.mp4 option. The file will download to your downloads folder. Rename it to identify your commercial.



4. Work on your new soundtrack in Audacity. Note the length of your commercial and cut you music to that length. Make sure there is some logical, intelligent reason you chose your new music.



5. Double-clicking on your commercial will play it as a separate Quicktime movie. Until your music is fully cut and edited, play your commercial separately from Audacity, turning the sound down in the video and listening to your new soundtrack simultaneously in Audacity.



6. When you think your new soundtrack is cut and ready to be overlaid into the commercial you chose, then open iMovie and perform the following steps:



7. Import your commercial into iMovie (File>Import>Movies>Downloads) Click on "Create New Event" in the Import window and give your commercial project a unique name. Click "import". The commercial will show up in your iMovie event library.



8. Click the "+" button to add a new project. Name your commercial, choose the same aspect ratio as your original commercial was and select "none" for the theme. Click "Create" to make your commercial show up in your iMovie project library.



9. Click on the down triangle at the beginning of the clip and select "audio adjustments". Drag the slider bar for the audio volume all the way to the left until it reads 0%. Click "Done" to exit. Play your video. The existing soundtrack should be silent.



10.

Commercial Project

Article posted September 22, 2009 at 12:32 PM GMT-6 • Reads 612

Give a short description (a paragraph) of this project. Write in such a way that somebody who does not know anything about this class understands what you had to do. A Paragraph is at least three sentences.



Then go to YouTube and grab the embed code for both the original video and your newly created soundtrack video. Paste both into the article box.

Dance Project 1

Article posted September 24, 2009 at 03:00 PM GMT-6 • Reads 273

This is from my Skydrive account



[LINK]

Beginning Podcasting

Article posted September 30, 2009 at 09:43 AM GMT-6 • Reads 396

I've been kicking this idea around for a couple years: can the Music Tech class produce a WLA podcast? That's a "yes" or "no" question! I know the answer is "yes", but then there are all sorts of other questions.



First of all, what is a podcast? I asked my Music Tech class this question yesterday and was surprised that very few of them knew the answer or listened to podcasts regularly. I suppose the reason might be (a) not having iTunes or some other podcast source and (b) not having an iPod or some other listening device to take the podcast off the computer and listen at your own leisure. I suppose then you could think of a podcast like a radio show that you can time shift, kind of like having a DVR while watching a football game and rewinding the last couple of plays because you were out of the room when the big play happened. But a podcast can also be mobile. You don't have to be at your computer to listen to one if you have an mp3 player like an iPod.



We started brainstorming yesterday about the following questions: 1. What would the podcast be about? 2. What things happen regularly at WLA that could be reported on? 3. What kind of a podcast would the students want to listen to? 4. What kind of podcast would parents want to listen to? Some of the ideas of what could be podcast were chapel, WLA sports, and, the one I think could be absolutely hilarious, lunch! But it's hard to envision creating something new if you aren't sure what you are creating, so the first thing to do is listen to existing podcasts.



iTunes has thousands of podcasts: all for free! Some of the more popular ones are This American Life, NPR: Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!, and Stuff You Should Know, but there are podcasts of all shapes and sizes. Just go check out the podcasts section of iTunes and listen for free! Still not sure about how to use, listen to, or find podcasts on iTunes? Read Tips for Podcast Fans. Want to know the clinical definition? Read Wikipedia's Podcast article. What if you don't have iTunes on your computer? Either download it and have access to not only podcasts but the every growing library of songs, movies, and TV shows, or visit sites like podcast.com or Podcast Alley.

Three Chord Guitar Songs

Article posted November 3, 2009 at 04:24 PM GMT-6 • Reads 311

Last school year I decided to start teaching guitar to my music tech students because I wanted to help them hear chord progressions and changes.  You see, we had been making songs in Garageband using the loops and layering bass and guitar and keyboard loops together, but if the loops had incompatible chord changes, the resulting song was a mishmash of harmony.  I wanted to help my students understand how to put Garageband loops together and to listen for the chord changes in the loops by having hem actually play chords.  Guitar was the perfect instrument

The first semester's goal was simple: learn three chords (G, C, and D).  Since I was a beginning guitar player, I wasn't able to teach my students very much.  Luckily, they were beginners too and we got along just fine on three chords for a semester.

In the second semester last year I was blessed to have a student who was a natural guitar player. He taught me some of the "tricks" of playing guitar and changing from one chord to another.

This year, I am blessed with four really good guitar players who took Music Tech just to play guitar! There are three other students who are beginning players, so I adopted an aerobics mentality to teaching the chords this year: low impact (simplified chords), middle impact (G, C & D), and high impact (added minor and 7th chords) 

Here's just one of many sites that lists songs that can be played with just three chords on the guitar.

http://www.4shelties.com/banjos/3chrdsongs.htm

The Drumset

Article posted November 17, 2009 at 01:54 PM GMT-6 • Reads 455

MIDI Drum Map

Article posted November 20, 2009 at 12:25 PM GMT-6 • Reads 301

This MIDI Drum Map gives you the names of the instruments that are available in Garageband when you call up a Rock Kit.  Each key on your MIDI keyboard plays a different percussion instrument.

Battle Over Bionic Vocals (via WSJ.com)

Article posted January 15, 2010 at 09:10 AM GMT-6 • Reads 272

By JOHN JURGENSEN

(See Correction & Amplifcation below.)

A major battle is unfolding in the most divisive conflict the music world has seen in years: the Auto-Tune war.

A brand of software invented to make sure singers hit the right notes in the recording studio, Auto-Tune has been repurposed by many acts to transform their voices into a robotic warble. This trend, which began in rap and spread into rock, country and other genres, has won Auto-Tune more fans—and critics, who see it as a symbol of all things artificial in pop music. Everyone from top-selling pop artists to bedroom musicians and casual music fans are taking sides.

This week, the chief cheerleader of the Auto-Tune warble, a rapper named T-Pain, released an iPhone application that allows users to mimic his sound. At $2.99, the app I Am T-Pain is essentially a sophisticated toy, but it's given mainstream users their first access to a studio tool that sells for up to $500. The app rapidly hit No. 1 at the iTunes store, selling about 30,000 copies in the first day of release, according to T-Pain. A multiplatinum artist whose songs celebrating drinking and partying have been among the top-selling singles of recent years, T-Pain primarily launched the new app to spread his brand. But he's pleased to give users a break from unadorned singing, which he's dabbled with but rejected as "just a boring old voice. They've been doing that for centuries. Now everyone wants to be a Transformer."

Dance Project Quiz

Article posted January 27, 2010 at 11:10 AM GMT-6 • Reads 456

Music Tech students, take this quiz to see how much you remember from the Dance Project Unit! Hit the "Submit" button at the bottom of the quiz when you are done.

Starting a New Semester

Article posted January 29, 2010 at 02:47 PM GMT-6 • Reads 233

It's almost a month in and both Music Tech blocks have been learning all the ins and outs of cutting audio using Audacity. They've complete two projects already, which we've called "Dance Projects" because the impetus for them was the Dance Team's need for music to be cut for their routines. So I teach students how to shorten and edit songs and how to make smooth transitions from one section of a song to another so it is very difficult to hear that a cut was made in the music.

Blues Listening & Reading List

Article posted March 15, 2010 at 10:26 AM GMT-6 • Reads 318

It's hard to know how to write music in a certain style if you haven't listened to much of that style. Said another way, you will compose music like all the music that you have ever listened to.  So, in order to understand how to compose music in the style of the Blues in GarageBand or on a guitar, it's important to have listened to a lot of different Blues songs.  That's the purpose of the iTunes Essentials Blues 101 list. It contains 30 second clips of 75 blues classics that will give you a good feel for where the Blues have come from.  The Wikipedia Blues article is a good overview of what the musical style of "The Blues" is all about.  It is essential reading for any Blues musician. Acclaimed film director Martin Scorsese directed a seven-part film series on The Blues for PBS in 2003 which rivals Ken Burns' documentaries on Jazz, The Civil War, and Baseball.  Some of Scorsese's Blues clips can be found on YouTube.



Berklee School of Music has a number of online music courses, one of which is for playing Blues Guitar.  Instead of paying $1000 to take the course, check out one of their guitar instructors on YouTube as he teaches Essential Blues Guitar Practice Tips.  Finally, to understand how to program GarageBand to play a blues bass line, watch Youtube musician mrslideshow play 12 Bar Blues on Bass Guitar.  It's a great demonstration of how a simple bass line can be expanded into a walking bass line in 12 bar blues.

iTunes Essentials Blues 101

Wikipedia: Blues

PBS: Martin Scorsese presents The Blues

PBS: Understanding the 12-Bar Blues

Scales: The Blues Scale

Berklee School of Music: Essential Blues Guitar Practice Tips

mrslideshow: 12 Bar Blues on Bass

The Music Tech Blues

Article posted March 31, 2010 at 11:40 AM GMT-6 • Reads 319

Block 3:

Megan Tews, Amanda Wellens, Kaela Kucera, Yoanna Lee, Tessa Kogler, Tyler Babler, Tony Rosenfeldt, Ian Zahn, Tom Knuth

Block 8:

Brandon Schumacher, Jacob Rhode, Jarrad Huey, Jared Wachholz, Hojae Choi, Chad Skaer, Jessie McTrusty, Blake Wachholz

Dance Project 2 Files

Article posted September 14, 2010 at 11:19 AM GMT-6 • Reads 257

Open this folder to find your Dance Project 2 files.

Commercial Project

Article posted September 16, 2010 at 11:02 AM GMT-6 • Reads 276

Here's my video. I changed the original soundtrack music ("Take California" by the Propellerheads) to Black Eyed Peas "Rockin to the Beat"

Dance Projects 1 & 2

Article posted September 28, 2010 at 09:14 AM GMT-6 • Reads 294

Three Chord Guitar Songs

Article posted October 24, 2010 at 02:48 PM GMT-6 • Reads 305

There are countless songs in almost all genres, that use only three chords. Learning three-chord songs is an important step to becoming a good chord player. In this lesson we will look at some easy 3 chord songs and how they are built. I will go in to some theory and how to change the key of the songs. If you think it's too much at once, just skip the theory bit and just start out playing these songs. I've also made a list of other 3 chord songs for you to find out for yourselves.

When practicing these songs, don't focus on strumming, just keep a steady pulse and play downstrokes. It is better to practice strumming separately and focus on the chords and switching between them, for now.

The first song is Twist and Shout by The Beatles. It is built on the 1st, 4th 5th chord in the key of D, that is D, G and A. It is extremely common that songs are built on these three chords, I, IV and V in different keys. I will explain this theory in more detail later but in short, it means that D is the first chord, G is the 4th and A is the 5th chord in this key. Here it is:

Twist and shout

D          G           A          A

 

 

D          G           A          A

                             well shake it up

                            

D          G           A          A

baby, now (shake it up baby),     twist and 

 

D          G           A               A 

shout     (twist  and  shout) c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon

 

D          G           A               A

baby, now (c ' mon ,   baby) c'mon and work it on

 

D          G           A          A

out       (work it on  out) Well, work it on 

 

D          G          A                 A

ou--t     (work it on out) You know you look so

 

D          G          A                  A

good      (look  so   good) You know you got me

 

D          G          A                    A

goin'now  (got  me    goin') Just like you knew you

 

D             G        A            

would (like I knew you wooould)

 

The next 3-chord song in this lesson is My Bonnie, an old traditional song (also played by The Beatles). Let's start out playing this song in the same key, with the same chords as Twist and shout (though in different order I, IV, I, I, I, V and so on):

My Bonnie

   D       G     D         D       D        A

My Bonnie lies over the ocean, my Bonnie lies over the sea,

 

   D       G     D        G           A         D

My Bonnie lies over the ocean, O bring back my Bonnie to me. 

 

Chorus: 

D           G             A                       D

Bring back, bring back, O bring back my Bonnie to me, to me:

 

D           G             A                       D

Bring back, bring back, O bring back my Bonnie to me.

 

If we were to play this song in another easy key, let's say G, then it would look like this:

   G       C     G         G       G        D

My Bonnie lies over the ocean, my Bonnie lies over the sea,

 

   G       C     G        C           D         G

My Bonnie lies over the ocean, O bring back my Bonnie to me. 

 

Chorus: 

G           C             D                       G

Bring back, bring back, O bring back my Bonnie to me, to me:

 

G           C             D                       G

Bring back, bring back, O bring back my Bonnie to me.

 

It's still the I, IV, V-chords, the same relation between the chords, but in the key of G instead of D. It's great to practice playing these simple songs in different keys, to get to know the I, IV, V-chords better

Let's try one more song using the I, IV, V chords, Bad moon rising, by Creedence also in the key of D:

Bad Moon Rising

D       A   G    D

I see A bad moon rising

 

D     A       G      D 

I see trouble on the way

 

D     A     G          D

I see earth quakes and lightning

 

D     A   G       D

I see bad times today

 

(chorus)

G

Don't go around tonight, its

 

D

bound to take your life

 

A        G               D

Theres a bad moon on the rise

(repeat)

 

In the verse of this song the chords come in the order I, V, IV, instead of I, IV, V that we saw in Twist and Shout. Now try and see if you can play Bad moon rising in the key of G.

 

More theory

For anyone who didn't get the whole I IV V theory bit, here comes a more detailed explanation. Here is a D major scale:

    D   E   F#  G   A   B   C#

These are all the notes in the key of D. These are also the roots of all the chords in this key. So if we make all these notes into chords (triad chords), it will look like this:

    D   Em  F#m G   A   Bm  C#dim

    1   2   3   4   5   6   7

    

So the 1st 4th and 5th chords in the key of D are D, G and A. The first chord is allways the same as the key your in, D in this case. The 5th chord (in this case A) is also called the dominant and it's very common to add a 7 to this chord, making it an A7.

Now try to figure out the I,IV, V chords in the key of C. Here is the scale:

    C    D    E    F    G    A    B

and the chords:

    C    Dm   Em   F    G(7) Am   Bdim

    1    2    3    4    5    6    7

The first chord is of course C, the 4th is F and the 5th is G or G7.





Now try to practice playing the 1st 4th and 5th chords (I IV V) in different keys. For the more "unusual" guitar keys, you will need to play more barre chords. Once you've learned barre chords though, it's very easy to change the key.

On the next page you will find a list of more 3-chord songs. Many of them are built on the I, IV, V chords so see if you can use your ears to figure out how to play them. Have fun!

More 3-chord songs

Here is a list of more three-chord songs for you to try out. Try to play these songs by ear first and then you can search for them on guitar tab sites to see if you where right (hoping that the tabs are correct). Of course there are different versions of the songs and sometimes they use more then three chords but all of the songs work great using only three chords. When learning these songs, you will notice how common the I IV V chords are. Have fun!

 

Achey Breaky Heart

All along the watchtower

All shook up

All the small things (Blink 182)

Amazing grace

Back in black

Bad moon rising

Be-bop-a-lula

Blowing in the wind

Blue suede shoes

Breakfast at tiffanys

Brown eyed girl

Clementine

Eency Weency Spider

Folsom Prison blues

For he's a jolly good fellow

Free falling (Tom Petty)

Get back

God save the queen (Sex pistols)

Great balls of fire

Guantanamera

Hand in my pocket (Alanis Morisette)

Happy birthday

Hava Nagilah

Have I told you lately that I love you

He's got the whole world in his hand

Hound dog

In the sweet bye and bye

Johnny Be Good

Jolene

Kum Ba Yah My Lord

La Bamba

La Cucaracha

London Bridge

Louie Louie

Michael row the boat

My Bonnie

M.T.A.

Nobody knows the trouble

Oh Susanna

Old MacDonald

Old Time religion

O sole mio

Ring of fire

Row row row your boat

Rock around the clock

She'll be coming round the mountain

Should I stay or should I go

Shook me all night long

Still haven't found what I'm looking for

Sunday bloody sunday

Surfin USA

Sweater song - Weezer

Sweet home alabama

The tide is high

The star spangled banner

Tutti frutti

Twist and shout

Walk of life

What shall we do with the drunken sailor

Wild Thing

When the saints

Whole lotta love (Led Zeppelin)

Wild thing

You are my sunshine

Blues Presentations

Article posted November 19, 2010 at 11:28 AM GMT-6 • Reads 461

We've been studying the 12-bar blues progression for the past couple of weeks, learning how to play it on the guitar and learning how to program GarageBand to play it as well using bass, rhythm and lead guitar, and drum set.  Each student in Music Tech has crafted their own 12-bar blues band in GarageBand, each in their own unique musical style: disco, big-hair  80's rock, country, new age space music, etc.  It's been really fun to hear all the different blues progressions in all the unique styles!

But the Blues have such a unique style all their own that we needed to go back and do some intense listening to what makes the Blues "The Blues".  Each student is currently working on a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation on one of 13 radio shows that were originally aired in 2003 during the Year of the Blues by PRI, Public Radio International.  

Their assignment? Listen to the hour-long radio show, determine the main point of the show, and develop a PowerPoint presentation to help teach the rest of their class what that radio spot was all about, complete with pictures and music and possibly video.

Episode 1: "The Birth of the Blues"

Episode 2: "Goin' Up the Country"

Episode 3: "Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do"

Episode 4: "Standin' at the Crossroads"

Episode 5: "Mystery Train"

Episode 6: "Sweet Home Chicago"

Episode 7: "Key to the Highway"

Episode 8: "Blues Power"

Episode 9 "Bring It on Home"

Episode 10: "Gimme Back My Wig"

Episode 11: "Texas Flood"

Episode 12: "When Love Comes to Town"

Episode 13: "Future Blues"

 

Dance Project Lessons

Article posted January 19, 2011 at 11:33 AM GMT-6 • Reads 495

WLA Music Department Teacher Appreciation Week 2008

Article posted February 14, 2011 at 11:53 AM GMT-6 • Reads 284

National Anthem at Diamondback Stadium

Article posted February 15, 2011 at 11:31 AM GMT-6 • Reads 439

This is the combined choir from the National WELS Choralfest Spring 2010 at Arizona Lutheran Academy, Phoenix, AZ.

This is the combined choir from the National WELS Choralfest Spring 2010 at Arizona Lutheran Academy, Phoenix, AZ.

MIDI Unit

Article posted February 23, 2011 at 10:34 AM GMT-6 • Reads 629

Day 1 - Introduction to MIDI and Reading Garageband's Track Editor



What is MIDI? What does MIDI stand for? How many parameters does MIDI control? What color is a MIDI track in GarageBand?



Importing a MIDI piano loop

1. Start a New Project (Piano). Call it "MIDI Practice"

2. Click on the eyeball button (lower right corner of project window) to call up the loop browser.

3. Click on the Piano button.

4. Drag the first green loop (70's Ballad Piano 01) to the empty Grand Piano track.



Understanding the Track Editor & Viewing MIDI Events

5. Double-click on the green region/loop to call up the editor window (or click the scissors "Track Editor" button on the lower left corner)

6. The Y axis (vertical) of the editor window is pitch. What are the highest and lowest pitches this window displays? (Middle C is C3)

7. Drag any note up or down to hear pitch changes.

8. Open the Musical Keyboard (Window>Keyboard) to see the same pitches on a piano keyboard. Drag the lower right corner (see the diagonal lines?) to resize the onscreen musical keyboard to see the full length of this MIDI instrument. How many octaves is it? What is the lowest note (on the left)? What is the highest note (on the right?)

9. Notice there are three ways to see what pitch is being played: (a) Onscreen Music Keyboard, Y axis of the Track Editor, or clicking or hovering over any note in the track editor which calls up a yellow popup window.

10. The X axis (horizontal) of the Track Editor window it time. Make sure the project window is showing "Measures" (bottom center black & blue window) to see the measures on the X Axis of the Track Editor.

11. Click the ruler button and select "1/4 note" to see only four vertical columns dividing each measure into four parts. Notice that the "70s Ballad Piano 01" loop has four quarter notes per measure in the right hand and octave whole notes in the left hand. Play the loop using the cycle button (looks like the recycle symbol by the play button) which puts a yellow bar over the loop and allows it to "loop" over and over. Watch the onscreen keyboard at the same time and try to see the notes go by as you hear them. Imagine you are the piano player. Flop your head to the left to see chords in the "piano roll" view. Switch to "score" view to see the musical notation and confirm what you were watching under the MIDI events of "piano roll" view.

12. Notice that their are four quarter note chords in each measure in the right hand, but the quarter notes aren't a full column width in "piano roll" view. Make them a full column width by click and dragging the end of each note of a chord to the right to fill an entire vertical column (one quarter of a measure). Why aren't the MIDI events full quarter notes? (Because a piano player has to lift their hands to repeat a chord or a note.)



Programming a C Major Scale

13. Challenge yourself to build a C Major scale (only white keys) starting on Middle C (C3) going up to C4 using only quarter notes. Build it in the existing "70s Ballad Piano 01" loop region, deleting notes that you don't need. (C3, D3, E3, F3, G3, A3, B3, C4 each one column wide in 1/4 note resolution).

14. Rebuild using eighth notes (twice as fast), half notes (twice as long), and sixteenth notes (4x as fast/short).





Day 2 - Manipulating MIDI notes



1. After making a C Major scale (C3->C4) in quarter notes, 1/8 notes and half notes, program GarageBand to play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" or some other easy, short nursery rhyme or children's song using mostly white notes.



Build the melody for a round (Frere Jaques; Row Row Row Your Boat, or another of your choosing) in C Major.

2. Copy the melody and place at successive locations to imitate the round being played at a piano.

3. Make three more tracks and option drag the original round melody into different voices.



Day 3 - Programming a Four Part MIDI hymn



Sample Hymn (for class modeling): Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (Christian Worship 234)



1. Review how to read notes on a treble and bass staff using Ricci Adams' Musictheory.net (Lessons>Basics>The Staff, Clefs & Ledger Lines).



2. Create a Piano project in Garageband, call the project "Praise to the Lord" and set the time signature and key signature according to the hymnal (3/4 time in F Major). If you missed this step at the "Create" window, you can always change it after you've created a project by clicking in the black & blue "Project" window at the bottom center of the Garageband window under the track editor. This step is necessary to have the correct number of beats per measure (the top number of the time signature) and to have the accidentals of the key signature properly applied to their corresponding notes (e.g. all B's are B-flats in F Major).



3. There will be one track for each voice of the hymn (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass). You may create three new piano tracks by duplicating the existing one (Track>Duplicate)



4. You can either drag a green piano loop into the top track, delete all its notes, and start clicking in soprano notes ("Command-click" creates a quarter note with a velocity of 63 or "Option-drag" any existing note to make an exact copy of a note) or you can record each voice part by playing it on a MIDI keyboard which is connected to your Mac.



5. If you are a decent piano player, you can play each voice into its own separate track. Click on the track header of the track you want to record into (it will turn Green if it is a MIDI track). Press the red circular record button next to the play controls and you'll hear the metronome start playing and see a red region being created in the track that you are recording into. Listen to the metronome and you'll hear the downbeat (the first beat of each measure) at a higher click than every other beat. Get the feel of the metronome beat before starting to record. After you are done recording, hit the spacebar to stop recording. Then check out each note to make sure you didn't make any mistakes. If you record anything using a MIDI keyboard, select all the notes in the track editor and align them to the shortest note value for that voice. The latest version of Garageband calls this "Quantize", older versions have an "Align to" drop down list in the bottom left corner of the track editor window.



6. Research instrument families of the orchestra (Strings, Woodwind, and Brass) on Google or Wikipedia. Find common instruments in each family that normally play soprano, alto, tenor, and bass ranges create tracks for each in your hymn project. Use the GarageBand Symphony Orchestra Jam Pack for these voices.



7. Option-drag the SATB regions from the first four piano tracks into each of the new instrument families.



8. Structure your instrument families and verses in tracks like this: The piano will play the introduction, Strings v.1, Woodwinds v. 2, Brass v. 3, and every instrument will play on v. 4. Create three new tracks under the brass section for each of the highest voices of the string, woodwind, and brass families, and program the descant into those three tracks.



Piano S----------------------------Piano S

Piano A----------------------------Piano A

Piano T----------------------------Piano T

Piano B----------------------------Piano B

-----Violin S-----------------------Violin S

-----Viola A-----------------------Viola A

-----Cello T-----------------------Cello T

-----Bass B----------------------- Bass B

------------Flute S-----------------Flute S

------------Oboe A----------------Oboe A

------------Clarinet T--------------Clarinet T

------------Bassoon B--------------Bassoon B

----------------------Trumpet S-----Trumpet S

----------------------French Horn A--French Horn A

----------------------Trombone T----Trombone T

----------------------Tuba B--------Tuba B

----------------------------------Violin DESCANT

----------------------------------Flute DESCANT

----------------------------------Trumpet DESCANT



9. Certain instruments sound better in certain ranges. Flutes don't sound like flutes when played in the vocal soprano melody range. Flutes sound more like themselves when played an octave higher. So click on the flute tracks and increase the track pitch slider to +12 (12 half steps). Solo the flute tracks and listen to them to hear the difference. Tubas and Orchestral Basses sound better an octave lower than the vocal bass line, so click on those tracks and decrease their pitch an octave (-12 half steps) by dragging the pitch slider in the track editor window to the left.

10. To really beef up the section sound, double the bass line an octave above the newly lowered tuba with a new trombone track (two tracks in the brass section playing bass: trombones at pitch and tubas an octave lower). Do the same in the string section with cellos (two cello tracks, T&B, at pitch; orchestral basses an octave lower). The same can be done with the flutes and violins: two tracks of flutes & violins on soprano--one at pitch (0) and one an octave higher (+12)



10. Now for the "Pièce de résistance"! Combine the knowledge of podcasting mp3s from the Dance Project Unit and make a podcast with the lyrics of the hymn to show while each verse plays. (Brilliant!) There are a number of ways of accomplishing this:

a. Screenshot method: Google "Name of Hymn + Lyrics" to get the lyrics of your hymn fast. Check each word according to the words of your hymnal. Copy one verse and paste into any word processor (Word, Textedit, Stickies, etc.). Adjust carriage returns so the text is laid out in the shape of a square. Take a screenshot of the verse (Cmd+Shift+4). The screenshot will appear on your desktop. Drag it to the podcast track of your Garageband hymn project. (You did make a podcast track, didn't you? -- Track>Show Podcast Track) Adjust the visible part of the verse text graphic by double-clicking on the graphic in the chapter listing of the track editor for the podcast track. Repeat for each verse.

MIDI Hymn Schedule

Article posted March 28, 2011 at 10:19 AM GMT-6 • Reads 350

It's time to pick a pastor or teacher at WLA and get our hymns "out there" and used in chapel. Below is the schedule of performance. Students, your job is too talk to these pastors and teachers TODAY (March 28) and report back to class TOMORROW (Block 8) and WEDNESDAY (Block 3) if they accepted your hymn suggestion, or if they would like to have you program a different hymn. Remember, it is their choice if your hymn fits their chapel message or not. By showing them what you can do, you might be able to "sell yourself" and your musical abilites to them and have them put their trust in you to deliver a good product for their chapel service.



Block 8



Andrew Seibel - Pastor Boggs (May 2 or 3 M/T) - CW 152 Alleluia, Jesus Lives CW 395 Now the Light Has Gone Away

Mike Rosenfeldt - Pastor Wright (May 17 T) CW 363 The King of Glory Comes

Alex Seibel - Mr. Randy Westphal (May 9 M) - CW 384 By Grace I'm Saved

Kelci Henning - Pastor Haag (May 23 or 24 M/T) - CW 446 I Am Trusting You Lord Jesus

Jake Herre - Pastor Kuske (April 29 F) Moonlight Sonata - Offering?

Robin Yoon - Mr. Randy Westphal (May 10 T) - CW 195 Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty

Aaron Yoon - Pastor Wright (May 16 M) CW 483 Lord of All Good

Aaron Calkins - Mr. Strusz (April 13 or 14 W/Th) - CW 111 Sweet the Moments, Rich in Blessing CW 619 God Bless Our Native Land

John Kammueller - Mr. Bilitz (May 11 or 12) CW 376 Jesus, Your Blood and RighteousnessCW 474 Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus

Ben Cook - Pastor Haag (April 12 T) CW 465 Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken CW 529 Built on the Rock



Block 3



Aaron Eagan - Mr. Kerr (May 19 T) CW 170 Draw Us to Thee

Scott Pamperin - Mr. Riley Westphal (May 4 or 5 W/Th) Spread, O Spread the Mighty WordCW 54 Where Shepherds Lately Knelt

Kyle Mildebrandt -Mr. Doerr (May 13 F) The King of Love My Shepherd Is (arr. Dan Forrest, offering) CWS 752 In Christ Alone (arr. Angermann) Jesus, Shepherd of the Sheep

Lucas Callies - Pastor Mose (April 1) CW 451 Precious Lord, Take My Hand and Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

Kimberly Enderle - Pastor Kuske (April 29 F) CW 214 Jerusalem the Golden Paul Pacetti, marimba (preservice); Worship Ensemble, Great Is the Lord (offering)

Amanda Bechler - Pastor Boggs (May 2 M) CW 166 The Day of Resurrection CW 382 My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less

Dance Project 1 Review

Article posted August 31, 2011 at 09:41 AM GMT-6 • Reads 338

Sorry this looks so messy!  I don't know why this happened! Click the second link to go to the review page.  Click here to go to the review page.

Handing in Dance Projects

Article posted September 12, 2011 at 02:16 PM GMT-6 • Reads 305

When you are done with your Dance Projects in Audacity, complete the following steps:

1. Export your Audacity projects as a .WAV file (File>Export) and save as "YOUR NAME - TITLE.Wav" it in to your desktop.



2. Drag it from your desktop into iTunes.



3. In iTunes, convert it to an .MP3 file (click on the file in the music library, go the Advanced menu, choose "Convert to MP3")



4. Go to [LINK] and type in the classroom password.



5. Upload your MP3



6. Smile and relax!

Sharing Music for Free!

Article posted September 27, 2011 at 11:50 AM GMT-6 • Reads 780

We've been exploring as many ways as we can of sharing the music we've created in Music Technology class.  The only stipulations are (1) the method must be free and (2) embeddable in Facebook.  Here are free, Facebook embeddable methods of sharing music that we've discovered so far:

1. Soundcloud



2. Yahoo Webplayer



3. Grooveshark



4. Rootmusic



5. Facebook Musician/Band page



6. Spotify



7. Playlist.com



8. Dew Player (flash based, needs personal webspace for music)



9. Video2mp3.net (download mp3 files of audio from YouTube videos)



10. mp32tube.com (upload an mp3 file, add a picture, upload your music to YouTube)

 

MIDI Unit - for Summer (Strong)

Article posted October 10, 2011 at 11:11 AM GMT-6 • Reads 806

MIDI Unit Introduction

 

What is MIDI?

Musical Instrument Digital Interface (Google it!)

Is it recorded sound or a computer command?

What commands can MIDI give?

pitch, note on, note off, velocity, etc. (127 parameters in all)

How is MIDI used?

to program a sequencer to play (Garageband)

how many other ways is it used?

What is MIDI like?

player piano roll (Google, YouTube)

music box (YouTube)

 

 

Garageband MIDI

 

Green = MIDI

Blue = Audio waves

How to create green regions

drag in a green loop from the loop browser

record using the M-Audio Ozone keyboard and delete notes

How to make notes

Control - click (quarter notes)

4 quarters in a dollar

4 quarter notes in a measure of 4/4 time

turn on 1/4 note view on the ruler in both piano roll & score view

Option - drag (copies notes, regions) existing notes

keeps note length and velocity

 

Inputting our first MIDI song (by ear!) in the Piano Roll window

Sing Frere Jacques (Are you sleeping?)

Click in or option-drag C3, D3, E3, C3 (are you sleeping?)

Quarter notes (show 1/4 notes on ruler)

$0.25 x 4 = $1.00  is like 4 quarter notes = one measure

Box those notes and option drag to create 2nd set

E3, F3, G3 (Brother John)

Option-drag 2nd “Brother John”

Problem? leave a quarter rest between the “brother John”

Tap your foot and sing that far.

One tap for each word = quarter notes

One tap for two words or syllables = eighth notes (8 in a measure)

“Morning bells are” = eighth notes (G3, A3, G3, F3) 

Change the ruler to show 1/8 notes

“Ringing” = quarter notes (E3, C3)

Option-drag the 2nd “Morning bells are ringing”

“Ding, ding dong” = quarter notes (C3, G3, C3)

Make three new tracks (Track>New Track>(Green) Software Instrument)

Option-drag the region in the project window into each new track

Drag each track two measures to the right of the region above it

Change instruments for each track to hear the entrances of the round

Sit back and enjoy!

 

Inputting by notes in the Staff window

 

Recording notes with a MIDI Keyboard

 

 

 

Rounds

Article posted October 13, 2011 at 12:16 PM GMT-6 • Reads 298

We've been programming rounds to play in GarageBand as a way of learning how to work with MIDI notation.  Here are a couple links to help you in your round searching:

Wikipedia article: Round (music)

Campfire Song Book: Index of Rounds and Part Songs

Ultimate Camp Resource.com

Repeat After Me Songs/Rounds

Counterpoint Activities: Singing Rounds

 

Counterpoint Activities: Singing Rounds

Downloading and Importing MIDI Files

Article posted October 16, 2011 at 05:25 PM GMT-6 • Reads 358

***NEWS FLASH*** ***KATIE BELTZ IS A GENIUS*** One of my Music Tech students, Katie, "discovered" that if you CONTROL-CLICK a MIDI file that it will import into Garageband (i.e. DON'T "Save as Source")  Try it!  It Works!!!!

 

MIDI Hymn Project 2011

Article posted October 25, 2011 at 11:55 AM GMT-6 • Reads 376

There is value in learning how to do something from scratch (e.g. doing long-hand division instead of just using a calculator to find the answer) just so that you know the process (and in case you don't have a calculator!).  But once you know how to do the process, do you have to keep doing the process, or can you say "I know how to do the process, I'm going to get to the answer as fast as I can"?

It's that way with the MIDI Hymn Project this sermester.  In the past I've taught students to either click or play notes into Garageband one note at a time to input their MIDI hymn for chapel.  That takes a lot of time (especially if the student hasn't taken a musical instrument before or learned how to read treble and bass staves).  I taught my students this year to input notes into Garageband in a Rounds Project (Directions and Round Resources) by control-clicking and by recoprding while playing from a MIDI keyboard.  Since they know how to input notes already, why make them input all of the notes of  a hymn for the MIDI Hymn Project if a MIDI file already exists on the internet that they can import, edit, double-check for accuaracy, and adapt for their own use?

I see it as the same issue as using calculators in Math class.  They are a tool for getting more Math work done.  Understand the process first, but utilize the tools at your disposal to do even more work accurately and in a greater capacity than you could without those tools.  It's like an old bit and brace versus a modern cordless drill.  Should you use the old bit and brace just because it's original, or would it be more prudent to use the modern cordless electric drill to get your drilling done faster?

So, we downloaded a MIDI file of A Mighty Fortess (Ein feste Burg) from Cyberhymnal.org and imported it into Garageband (control-click the link on the Cyberhymnal page, save it to your computer and drag it into a new MIDI project (piano template).  The file imports as three tracks: Pop Flute, Grand Piano, and Arthura Vox.  The Pop Flute track is empty because GB 

MIDI Hymn Schedule - 2011 Semester 1

Article posted November 3, 2011 at 11:59 AM GMT-6 • Reads 380

In order of performance in chapel:



Thu., Nov 10 - Katie Beltz (Mr. Strusz): CW 402 - My Faith Looks Up to Thee

Wed., Nov. 16 - Gloria Shin (Mr. Klukas): CW 282 - Lord, Open Now My Heart to Hear

Thu., Nov. 17 - Patrick Marchant (Mr. Klukas): CW 219 - Lord, When Your Glory I Shall See

Mon., Nov. 21 - Zach Hawley (Pastor Boggs): CW 613 - Come, You Thankful People Come

Mon., Nov. 28 - Antonio Fosado (Pastor Haag): CW 23 – Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel

Wed., Nov. 30 - Bryan Eaton (Mr. Riley Westphal): CW 580 - Every Morning Mercies New

Thu., Dec. 1 - Jesse Yi (Mr. Riley Westphal): CW 29 - Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending

Tue., Dec. 6 - Donna Zhang (Pasor Zahn): CW 16 - On Jordan's Banks the Baptist's Cry

Mon., Dec. 12 - Eric Bilitz (Mr. Randy Westphal): CW 2 – Savior of the Nations, Come

Tue., Dec. 13 - Quintin Krentz (Mr. Randy Westphal): CW 6 – Come, O Long Expected Jesus

Thu., Dec. 15 - Braeden Krohn (Mr. Kerr): CW 31 - O Lord of Light, Who Made the Stars

Fri., Dec. 16 - Sam Schumann (Faith, FDL): CW 566 - We All Are One in Mission

Mon., Dec. 19 - Summer Strong (Pastor Boggs): CW 38 – From Heaven Above

Wed., Dec. 21 – Jake Schoenborn (Mr. Dettmann): CW 60 – Silent Night

Thu., Dec. 22 - Jordan Buchholz (Mr. Dettmann): CW 68 – Away in a Manger

Mon., Jan. 2 - Andi Franklin (Pastor Wright): CW 269 - In Peace and Joy I Now Depart

Tue., Jan. 3 - James Park (Pastor Wright): CW 65 - O Little Town of Bethlehem

Wed., Jan 4 - Devin Sook (Mr. Herrewig): CW 62 – Joy to the World

Thu., Jan. 5 – Amy Qualmann (Mr. Herrewig): CW 63 – Angels We Have Heard on High

MIDI Hymn Schedule - (11-12) Semester 2

Article posted April 13, 2012 at 12:35 PM GMT-6 • Reads 338

Thurs. Apr 26 - Bryan Lidtke (Mr. Jaeger) CW 422 Jesus Lead thou On

Wed. May 2 - Bella Shafer (Mr. Strusz) CW 282 Lord, Open Now My Heart to Hear 2nd version (adjusted volumes)

Tues, May 8 - Dalia Volmers (Mr. Randy Westphal) CW 414 I Leave All Things to God's Direction

Mon. May 7 - Holly Christie (Mr. Randy Westphal) CW 510 I Pray You, Dear Lord Jesus

Wed. May 9 - Brenda Kim (Mr. Klukas) CW 293 God's Word is Our Great Heritage

Thus. May 10 - Kyle Jenquine CW 369 Beautiful Savior

Tues. May 15 - Hannah Lindsley (Pastor Wright) CW 505 Love is the Gracious Gift

Mon. May 21 - Tina Lin (Pastor Haag) CW 365 Love Divine, All Love Excelling

Wed. May 23 - Louis Freund (Mr. Bilitz) CW 234 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

Using Soundcloud

Article posted September 17, 2012 at 09:32 AM GMT-6 • Reads 844