Comprehensive Musicianship Collaboration Center

Reaching today's students

2007-06-30T08:49:00.001-07:00

Recently I saw a short video on YouTube that goes through all the amazing things technology can do nowadays. It makes the point that our students live in this world and if teachers don't also live in this world, we may not truly reach today's kids. It even goes so far as to say, "if we can't reach them during the school day, let's reach them on their own terms". They are implying that podcasts and blogs can be done on the students' own time so we can "sneak" some education into kids' heads. I agree that we must adapt to the times and use all the wonderful things out there since our job is to teach and reach all kids. It seems very sad to me that some technology users feel we "can't reach kids during the classroom" anymore. This statement seems to be saying we have given up doing our jobs during the school day. On a more personal note, friends of mine that would rather post messages on Facebook, MySpace or IM instead of seeing me face to face, don't seem to be truly making an effort at human connection. Thoughts?

Technology in Music Education

2007-06-26T21:53:00.001-07:00

My mind is spinning with all the brand new things I've learned about technology. Cell phones and digital cameras were honestly a stretch for me and now I'm trying to figure out blogs, RSS feeds and readers. I'm actually enjoying it.

I read two interesting blog entries on music and technology. One talked about a freeware online MIDI keyboard that plays MIDI files and visually shows the piano keys playing along. It mentioned that guitar tuners and other useful plug-ins could be added. This free MIDI tool seems great for students to use in school and at home for composition projects.

Also, I heard about robots playing music alongside humans. I had never imagined this, but saw videos and read about it being done already. Robots may eventually play certain accompaniments and things too technically difficult for humans. It seems that students who don't have music teacher training, would embrace changes like this, so we should investigate the possibility.

Comprehensive Musicianship, anyone?

2007-06-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! My name is Steve and I'm a 2nd year graduate student at Vandercook College of Music. I'm taking a class on incorporating technology into music education. One of my interests is teaching band in a Comprehensive Musicianship style. In fact, my graduate project is on this topic. In this project, I'm planning to do an experiment to test my theory that CM teaching actually enhances band performance. I know there are people out there who strive to teach in this way. I'd love to hear from any of you that have done experiments (formally or informally) to test the effectiveness of CM teaching compared to traditional performance-based methods. If you've done experiments, I'd love to hear how you set them up. Thanks and I'm looking forward to hearing from you!
-Steve
PS: I have taught junior high school band and general music in Minnesota and am now looking for a job in the Hampton Roads, VA area.