April 28, 2007

Musical Technology

I read an article titled Integrating Technology into Your Elementary Music Classroom by Amy M. Burns. I chose the article because based on my limited observations of music education, the only technology incorporated is the occasional music video that my kindergarteners watch, and I was curious to learn more. While reading the article I was amazed at all the software she uses in her music classes! I also was impressed with the authentic ways she incorporates technology into the units of study students are undertaking in the regular classroom. Additionally she describes using technology in order to more completely cover the National Standards of Music Education. Additionally, the activities she describes sound engaging and highly motivating to students. Here is a brief summary…

Using the San Francisco Symphony Kids Web site: www.sfskids.org first grade students learn about instruments used in the orchestra through Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. Students go on a Web quest scavenger hunt to find all of the instruments on a handout with pictures of each one. Students may listen to audio examples of the orchestral instruments and explore the various aspects virtually. The web site also has a Composerizer that lets students successfully compose a melody.

In Burns’ school district second graders study a unit on China. In music class they improvise melodies to the lyrics of “Song of the Dragon” and “The Flower Drum Song of Feng Yang”, traditional Chinese folk songs. Burns uses the software program GarageBand that allows users to create music. She then exports the files to iTunes and burns students’ improvisations onto a CD, which she makes copies of and sends home with each second grade student. Students and parents are thrilled to receive the CD’s with their students’ music!
One more example of integrating technology is along the same lines of using educational video games to liven up “dry subjects”. Burns uses Band-in-a-Box, a software that includes music styles such as rock and jazz. When Burns needs to have students practice and practice a tough note such as G, she uses a rhythm call-and-response method and jazzes it up with the different styles available from Band-in-a-Box. She has found that students do indeed master the tricky notes, and enjoy themselves while they are at it.

While I am not a music teacher, I do incorporate music into my classroom, and I found the ideas of this article intriguing. One idea I would love to use is the idea of creating a CD for each student. I would want to record students singing the songs we learn during the year, and compile them on a CD to send home with students at the end of the school year. Since all of the songs I teach are in Spanish it would be a great way for my Native English speaking students to keep practicing Spanish over their summer vacation!