Week 2

MIDI: Good? Bad? Both?

As a result of my reflections and opinions, I may get stoned for some of my thoughts about MIDI digital sounds.  After the reading in our textbook, Music Learning Today, I can see the pros and cons to have access to such advanced technologies.   MIDI technology is an amazing tool to have in our possession to use and very accessible for most people.  I find that one of the best utilizations of this technology is when I am using a software program to compose or rearrange parts and want to hear the playback of the music for critique purposes.  The MIDI sounds are simulated to sound like true instruments the best that it can be and this very helpful when composing within a music software program.   Well, now let me rant and reflect upon the part that just frustrates me.  While there are features that are neat to think about and ponder on how someone could event something so cool, I feel like these features take away from music and from musicians who practice their art.   Playing the music at a slow tempo because it is difficult and then speeding it back up where the tempo should be? What?  When I think about all the music pieces, I have learned over the years, and the countless hours of practice to get difficult pieces worked up to performance, I get so mad thinking about how this can even be a thing.  There are many true artists out there missing out on gigs because now technology can make music easy for anyone.  Are we turning music performance into an amateur art?  Countless artists who are on the radio do not sound good live anymore.  Is this because we can alter their pitches, the key they sing in, and fix mistakes in a studio?  Putting that aside, I still can’t help but get a little aggravated when I hear music on the radio or recorded that has simulated instruments instead of real instruments.  The sound isn’t the same, and in my opinion, not nearly as good as a professional playing that instrument or the correct timbre.  I hope I am not the only one that harbors these opinions.   I am not trying to knock down music technologies, because I do feel strongly that technology helps us.  However, it appears that in some instances, it can hurt as well.

Creativity in the Classroom! YES!

I love what Bauer is trying to say about creativity in the classroom and how music software can help achieve levels of musical composition.  I do feel that all music students should have the opportunity to create their own music.  There does need to be a push for creativity in the music classroom with composition and improvisation.  In my classroom, we begin in sixth-grade band with composing small four measure melodies.  I give them guidelines to help them in the process, and as they progress through the middle school band the guidelines diminish little by little.  I find that this process helps the student who is apprehensive and afraid to make a mistake.  In turn, by the eighth-grade year, it also allows for the type of students who wants to write freely and feels claustrophobic with too many guidelines.  I have not yet used a software program to do this.  Incorporating Noteflight next will be a lot of fun, and I will enjoy it as well as the students.  They love technology! 

Music Software

Very thankful that we have software programs to compose and arrange music with.   I use Finale quite a bit at work to rewrite parts when needed.   I cannot imagine having to sit down, and pencil/paper write every note.  This program and other such as Sibelius, Noteflight, and Musescore save me a lot of time and errors in the writing process.

References:

Bauer, W. I. (2014). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and

responding to music.

Bazan, D. (2016, July 1). Technology Assisted Music Teaching & Professional Development.

Lecture.