Week Three

Before I began this week’s lecture I had no clue there was a difference to the format of an audio file. Immediately I was intrigued between all the different type of compressed audio files that you could have, MP3, WMA, AAC, and AC3. I of course have heard of MP3 as I was a part of the “MP3 Movement” in middle school when all of the MP3 players had just begun to come out. I still have my first IPOD from that time! I also recognized the acronym WMA as I have used files like that before, especially since I use mostly Microsoft products. After reading about the difference in compressed files I immediately went to my teacher website where I provide students with sound recordings, under a password, and I looked to see what type of compressed audio files I was sending my students. They were all WMA’s! I had not even realized that was what I was using, it's just what my computer formatted the files as and how my website uploaded them. I know a lot of my students love going to the website to listen to our songs, so now I am wondering if some students have difficulty listening to them if they have a MAC or Apple based product. This is something I definitely want to investigate this week to make sure all my students can access the music easily!
Again this week, I was confronted with the idea of composing in the classroom. More importantly, how to compose in the classroom with a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) and make a meaningful unit or lesson out of that composing. I am excited to explore Soundation this week and Audacity later to see how the free web-based systems work. I have realized, after talking to some students about technology, that they are far more capable of using tech-programs then I had imagined. For the most part, my students are very tech savy and I think they would love to use technology to make music. So now, my job is to figure out how to incorporate this!
I quickly latched on to the idea that “teachers can use notation software to create compositional templates, a means of providing instructional constraints for students” (p. 65). The idea that I could give students a template that already has 8 measures with the bass line already set up means they can focus on just creating a melody. I also like the fact that I can set the parameters. I teach younger children and I never give them that many options when we are choosing something. I also enjoyed reading about arranging using different DAWs. I think arranging something with my students first would be a great stepping stone to get them to compose. If I provided all the music and had them just “re-arrange” the melody, it would introduce them to the program without being to intimidating at first. From there I can imagine moving forward with small compositions. If I implemented this I feel like it will take a lot of planning on my part to make sure it runs smoothly before I try it with students.
The last thing I wanted to mention was how helpful I found the chart on pages 69-72. While some of those activities seemed a little daunting last week when I looked over them, I am starting to look at them as small projects. For instance under number two on page 71 it suggests to “create an ostinato.” My students play ostinatos all the time on drums or instruments in second through fourth grade as we sing songs. The also sometimes create their own ostinatos and we write them on the board. Now I, or even the students, could input the ostinato rhythmic pattern into a DAW as a looping pattern and we could sing and play with that program running the ostinatos. This is an idea I am excited to try out.

Overall, this week I am starting to become less intimidated by the use of technology. I am finding little ways to incorporate it without it becoming overwhelming or taking away from the actual teaching and learning that is going on.

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