Digital Technology in the Music Classroom

Although I do not own many of the latest technological devices, I do spend a considerable amount of time on the computer each day and texting on my phone.  I think all of these new advances in technology can be very useful and helpful, especially with teaching students.  The internet has lots of great resources that can definitely be used in teaching music.  One time I searched "music theory worksheets" on the internet and found a number of sites that offered free printable worksheets to help students learn basic music theory.  In addition to being useful for the students, it also saves the teacher time having to come up with their own worksheet.  Besides theory there are many other programs that are free that can help students with ear training, rhythm, and note reading.

Probably my favorite resource that can be very beneficial in teaching music is YouTube.  There are so many recordings of artists and music groups that I could ask my students to go home and YouTube the piece of music we are learning so they can hear how it goes.  In music, students learn a lot from observation.  If I'm teaching in a location where there are not many opportunities for them to go see a live concert, I can ask them to search a performance of a piece on YouTube.  I'm excited to use these resources in my classroom and know that if used the right way they can help students become better players and musicians. 

Why to keep music in the public schools

I decided that I needed to write at least one blog on why we should keep music in the public schools.  In our current economic difficulties schools are having to cut classes that are not the "core" subjects and music is always the first to go.  There are many statistics on how students who take music classes score higher on their tests and do better in school.  I would like to add some of my own reasons on why I think it is important for students to learn music.

Our schools all over the country have an increasing amount of multicultural students.  The music classroom can be a place where those ethnic barriers are broken down and everyone is accepted.  It doesn't matter whether you're in Choir, Band, or Orchestra, everyone works together as a team to create beautiful music. 

There are many essential skills that kids learn from studying music like teamwork, cooperation, hard work, self-discipline, and creativity, to name a few.  There are very few subjects where the students are allowed to think creatively and get out of their shells.  Performing also boosts their self-confidence.  Playing music gives them something they can be proud of.

There is so much more I can add but I will just end with saying that music helps us become more well-rounded people, enhances our quality of life, and enriches our society.  The world would be a depressing place without music.  It has been proven children who study music do better in school.  In addition, music makes us better individuals and should be supported and kept in our public schools.

Do we have writing assignments in music class?

When we first started discussing writing in class, my first thought was that none of this was going to apply to my discipline area (music).  However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that writing is simply a way of expressing one's thoughts and ideas.  As musicians, our main means of expressing our ideas is through performing.  Instead of giving writing assignments we give playing tests.  This is how the teacher can assess the student's understanding and interpretation of the music.

Another way that writing can be applied to music is by asking students to write a musical composition.  Some of my favorite assignments in college were writing short compositions.  In other disciplines this could be compared to writing a paper on the topic of your choice.  While students should be free to use their creativity, I think some basic guidelines are necessary so they have some structure to their composition.  In high school I remember the paper's I enjoyed writing the most were the ones where we could pick our own topic.  The teacher would give us a list of options if we needed ideas and also had a criteria for what elements should be included in the assignment.  This should be the same for giving a composition writing assignment.  There should be a purpose to asking them to write a composition, not just for the sake of writing.  It's important for the students to understand the main goal of the assignment and have a checklist of things that need to be included.

The last kind of writing assignment I thought could be applied to music was writing an essay on a composer, orchestral work, or concert they attended.  When I had to do concert reports, my teacher would just ask us to write a page about the concert.  By making it that broad you don't really give them anything specific to listen for.  I think students would get more out of the performance if they had guided questions they had to answer.  This would give them something to pay attention to.  Many times students will write that they liked or disliked a certain piece, but they don't say why.  Asking them to listen for certain musical elements will increase their level of listening and help them become better musicians.

To conclude, writing can be applied to music in many different ways.  Maybe some of the ideas here will be useful to someone in another discipline.  You can find ways to apply and incorporate anything, as long as you are creative and think outside the box!