Week 3

Hi All,

In this was all about composition and DAWs.

I love incorporating the use of DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations)into my classes when I am able to. This year I have used Garageband and Soundation on various projects with my 9-12 grade students. They worked on everything from creating loop based songs to original compositions. I also love using notation programs, mainly Finale, where students are able to notate original works or arrangements of existing works. I have one student that is very interested in composing and arranging. He uses Noteflight while he is at home (and actually helped me with questions I had regarding Noteflight in week two)to write his own pieces, some of which we have used as full ensemble warm ups.

I think including these programs as much as possible in music teaching now is extremely important and beneficially. The world we are living in is technology driven. Bauer mentioned the differences between the "Digital Immigrants" and the "Digital Natives" and how they use and view technology (Bauer, 2014, p.5). Just by seeing the names assigned to these groups (Natives vs Immigrants) you can tell that one groups will have an obvious advantage to understanding technology having had it been there their entire life. Sooner or later our Immigrant generation will have moved on and all that is left is a society that doesn't know a time where there wasn't the use of technology. Whether we want to face it or not, technology will become the foundation for most things, including our educational system. It is important to start the use of these programs to stay up to date with the latest technologies available to us.

In my classes, students seem to have a much higher interest in creating compositions when they are invited and asked to use technology. The benefits students receive from composing we all see in our classrooms. As Bauer suggests, "Beyond the opportunities for creative thinking and expression, engagement in composition can also result in a deeper understanding of music, its structure and form." (Bauer, 2014, p. 68).

Until next time

 H