5 How to’s!

1.) How to prepare an M audio track in garageband

1. Retrieve your M-audio track device
2. Plug in your M-audio track into your Mac computer, assuring the USB port is connected and the power cord is also attached (if the M-audio track requires a separate cord for power).
3. Pull up Garageband, and select empty project
4. Select a new track by selecting the + button.
5. Once you have selected the + button, a window with 4 different icons will pop up, under Audio, you WILL select the microphone icon à but FIRST, do the following:
6. Click the arrow that is to the right of “My instrument is connected with”…
7. Under “Input device” select the M-Audio option.
8. Then, in order to hear sound from the computer speakers be sure the Output device says “Built-in Output”
9. Now plug in your microphone into the proper plug on the your M-audio device.
10. Speak into your microphone and you should see green sound-waves on your selected Garageband track, as well as on the M-audio device.
11. You’re all set! You can now record sound through Garageband by pressing record and then making sound into your microphone through the M-audio device, yahoo!!

2.) How to embed a SoundCloud link into a WordPress post

1. Once you have found a track you would like to share on your WordPress.com blog, you can do one of two things…
2. First, you can copy the URL in your browser and paste it onto your WordPress.com post…
3. Or, you can click on the “Share” icon above the track
4. Once you have clicked the share icon, select the WordPress.com option
5. Then, grab the short-code, by highlighting it, right click, and copy and then post that to your clipboard.
6. Or, if it’s a self-hosted WordPress: Grab the regular short-code (by clicking the Share button and then highlighting the text underneath the title “Grab the code”
7. Now that you have the short-code, head to your WordPress post and paste in the link where you want your SoundCloud player to appear!
8. And… VIOLLA! You have your SoundCloud track embedded into your WordPress post!

3.) How to play a C major scale on a midi pad

1. Plug in your midi pad to your Mac computer. (USB port)
2. If Garageband doesn’t automatically pop up, open up the application: Garageband.
3. Click on the empty project icon, starting up a new project.
4. One track should already be selected, so now change that track to any of the piano selections (if not already selected).
5. Now, once you have the piano selected as your instrument, press the “scheme 2” button on your midi pad. This is where we will begin our scale.
6. Press the following buttons in this order: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12
7. Then select “scheme 3” and hit number one, completing your scale.
8. If you would like you can go back down, by following the last two steps in the opposite order.
9. Viola! You have played a C major scale on your midi pad!

4.) How to make a song fade in or out using GarageBand

1. Open up your existing track in GarageBand that you would like to fade
2. Once you have your track selected, click on the metronome icon (turning it off)
3. Then, click on the clock icon (to the left of the timer), and select Time
4. Now, select the icon that looks like a line with two dots connecting the lines; (if you put your mouse on this icon and wait a second, it will say Show/Hide Automation)
5. Once you have clicked that icon, a box titled “Volume” will drop down underneath the track
6. Click anywhere underneath the track (where the soundwaves are visible) and a yellow line will appear with a yellow dot on it.
7. Click on the line where you want the fade to begin
8. Then click again, in a different area where you want your fade to end
9. Drag the dot down (up: louder, and down: softer)
10. Depending on how close or far apart the dots are, will determine how fast or slow your fade out/in will occur
11. You now have a fade!
12. Determine what you think sounds best and what you want your fade to sound like, by adjusting the dots further apart, closer together, up, down, etc.
13. Happy fading!

5.) How to detach audio from a YouTube video using iMovie

1. Go to YouTube, and find the video you want to edit.
2. Once you have found the video, copy the URL in your browser
3. Then, open up a new window and go savemedia.com
4. In the space provided, paste the URL and click Download by URL
5. Below the space, a number of options will pop up underneath the title “Download video (choose format)”
6. Select, Save as high quality – MP4
7. Once the video finishes downloading, it will then appear in your Downloads folder of your computer
8. Now that your video is in Downloads folder, open up iMovie
9. Go to File, Import, and select Movies
10. Then open up your Downloads folder and select your video
11. And click Import
12. Once you have your YouTube video imported into iMovie, we can begin detaching the audio..
13. Start by selecting the entire clip
14. Then, grab it, and drag and drop into your time line
15. Right click on your selected clip, and select detach audio
16. This will completely separate the audio from the video.
17. Yep, it’s that simple!

Analog

What does this word mean?

…of or pertaining to a mechanism that represents data by measurement of a continuous physical variable, as voltage or pressure.

What does it mean in the context of your project?

-In regards to our project, we are using “analog” devices, technologies, and sounds, by changing the quantities through a physical device (the continuous physical variable) which will represent the data (music) we are using to create our mash-up! (I hope I am understanding the definition, I could very well be wrong, but I’m taking a shot at it!)

What does it mean in the context of the world of microphones?

-When musicians use microphones they are using an analog device which continuously streams the sound of the instrument through the microphone and into the speakers, creating sound and music. Because it is an analog device, small details are more prominent.

What does it mean for the world of recording technology?

-There are two ways of recording sound (actual sound waves and the measurement of sound wave air pressure). Analog recording is one of these techniques in the world of recording technology.

What does it mean in the context of music education?

-If I am understanding analog correctly, then I would say that within music education we can use analog technology to create music in a setting where more learning is taking place, verses only using digital technology. Analog provides raw sounds to be created, and uses devices to do so, which in turn creates many learning opportunities for students.

Cover Project & Microphones

After doing some research, I found out how many different mics there are out there & which ones are best for vocals, instruments and so forth. Dynamic microphones are usually used for live instruments like bass, electric guitar or drums. Actually, dynamic microphones are usually used when recording any live sound. A Condenser microphone, also known as a capacitor mic, is used for recording vocals because it is very sensitive & can actually record sounds that the human ears cannot hear. (Interesting!). Usually they are more expensive, but they are great when you are in need of an accurate recording of sound. On the other hand, even though I didn’t find anything on the type of mic in a pair of headphones, that mic can be used for little things, or other smaller projects but when it comes to recording professionally it is not the best choice. Today in class, our group was able to use the Blue Snowball Microphone. The sound it recorded turned out very well and it was extremely easy to use. I decided to look into the facts of this microphone and found out that it is considered a condenser microphone. Although its probably best to be used as a vocal mic, but it can also be used to record instruments. As we continue this cover project, I’m interested to see what other mics we can find to record different instruments!

Take: Creative Vocal Recorder App. —> Vignette!

As Chloe walked to music class, she was raving to her friends about this new app, called Take, Creative Vocal Recorder. “Hey Nicole!” Chloe shouted to her friend from across the hall, “Check out this cool new app! We can record our own voices right here on the phone or an ipad! And when you use headphones you can hear yourself and everything around you, so its much better quality. How cool is that?” As Chloe showed Nicole more details about the app and how it worked, Nicole was excited about it now too, and they walked into class together ready to use the app in Mrs. O’Connor’s music class. “Ok class, listen up! We are going to get straight to work on the in-class assignment we talked about yesterday. More than likely it will take all of the class time so we need to get to work right away!” Mrs. O’Connor continued, “Here is your assignment for today, to complete in class.” She placed a piece of paper on the projector and began to read aloud the written instructions. “1.) Form a group of three, and only use one persons phone to use the vocal recorder app. 2.) Create some sort of melody line to record. 3.) Be creative! The melody can be whatever you want, just as long as you have 1 recorded vocal melody line, and 1 other recorded instrument. 4.) There are 3 people in your group, so everyone must record something! And be apart of the track. 5.) Use any instruments within the room. Be sure to put them back where you found them. 6.) The track has to be at least 1:30 secs long. 7.) I will call everyone together when it is time to present them. Ready set go, HAVE FUN!” The students hurried to pull out their phones as directed, and open up the app, all very excited to begin the assignment. The students used their creativity, & knowledge of music to create all sorts of different melodies and sounds! You could tell they loved the assignment and really put all their focus into it. Some students struggled to figure out how the app worked at first, but soon got the hang of it. Others had problems with eliminating the background noise, but overall the app was a huge success to getting the kids to work on their own, use creativity, & focus on what they already knew about how to create music! After presenting their tracks, Chloe, Nicole and some other classmates met up after school to create even more tracks, just for the fun of it!

The Acquisition of Musical Technological pedagogical and content knowledge (article)

In my opinion, Technological Knowledge is easy to understand. After reading this article, it is my understanding that within this context, technological knowledge is knowing how the technology within a classroom works. For example, knowing how to turn on a projector and properly display items through that piece of technology. It could also be something as simple as being knowledgeable about using a chalkboard! (of course the technology we have in our classrooms today are much more advanced then those two examples, but those examples were just to get an idea of what technological knowledge is.) <– For todays day in age, I would say that knowing how to use finale, or garage band would be another example of Technological Knowledge.

When it comes to Pedagogical Knowledge and Content Knowledge, the two kind of go hand in hand. Pedagogical knowledge is basically just knowing how to teach, which comes through experience of course. Content Knowledge is exactly what it says, the content. Its knowing what you are teaching! Plain and simple. For example, i think that an example of Pedagogical knowledge would be as such: If a teacher is trying to teach something as simple as how to sing a major triad, she must first know HOW to teach that to her children. AND she must know how to sing a major triad, herself. <— thats an example of content knowledge! (i hope i am actually correct!, but thats just what i pulled from the article and my own research!)

Vignette: A well-developed choir teacher at Basha High School, entered their 5th period all women’s choir class. The women were all nicely seated on the risers awaiting his instruction. They were in the middle of learning a beautiful song at that time in the semester. Each day they would start class by listening to an advanced college choir sing the same song they were preparing to perform. This teaching technique of listening to song that needed to be learned, was really help to the girls. The teacher walked over the sound system, where he put in the CD and adjusted the levels in order to listen to the track. As the girls listened to the music, their teacher asked them to imagine how to make the first phrase of the song more legato and as one, instead of separated or staccato. He showed the girls a sweep-like motion to indicate what he meant and show them how he wanted it to sound. Because he knew how to use the technology, knew what he was teaching, and how to teach it, his class was able to better learn the concept and overall perform better as a choir!

App Project Part 1: “Take Creative Vocal Recorder” By Propellerhead

The “Take Creative Vocal Recorder” is probably THE coolest app i have ever played around with (keep in mind, I’m not that experienced with music production apps)! Being a vocalist, I had a lot of fun with it. I recorded myself and made my own tracks with background beats. 

While exploring the app, i realized how great this app could be for beginners with little vocal recording experience, AND those with lots of vocal experience! I think it gives beginners a taste of what making music is like, and how to record and put tracks on top of other tracks and add different sounds. Not only that, but its fun! It gives beginners and non-beginners, a chance to be creative! It makes creating music interesting (and a little addictive), because you can use your own voice, sounds, and other people’s voices to make whatever you want! This app would definitely be a great learning app for vocalists because as I mentioned before, this app practices creativity & allows you to listen to your own voice, hear the improvements you might need to make your voice and the track, and then make them.

Some questions that i have generated from using this app would be: How could students who use this app share their tracks with teachers or professors? Could this app be used in certain classes? Could teachers assign students to create a track with certain regulations and then submit the track through twitter or email? In response to those questions, i really think that this app could be used in a musical class and be a great asset for learning. 

I would like to further explore how else you can share the tracks you create. Also, when it comes to the process of creating a track, I want to explore more on how to possibly blend sounds. Other than that, I used the app a lot, and explored almost every aspect and found it very fun! I plan to goof around with it some more and see what other things i can come up with! 

How will my Personal Learning Network(PLN) prepare me for the future? Will my PLN kick-start my career as a music teacher? Will it help me become a better teacher? Find out.

As a professional music teacher. . . building my own personal learning network has been very helpful to me. I have found that it has greatly helped my career. Diigo, Twitter, and Feedly (RSS server) all work hand-in-hand making my life as a music teacher much easier. Through Diigo, I find many interesting articles, links, blogs and more posted by many other colleagues & students within my same profession. Then, once I have found something interesting, helpful, or insightful to me I am able to post it on Twitter, where then thousands of people can view it. Now those people within my same field of education, have more learning material geared toward helping their career as well. This same concept applies to Feedly. Feedly has many, many links to journals, articles, blogs, tutorials, websites, etc., and all those things I am able to share with other people through Diigo & Twitter!  Overall, I believe I am a better teacher because of my PLN. I have access to thousands of information on teaching, teaching techniques and strategies, the field of music education and so much more! I have used my PLN to help my colleagues, such as other teachers and students whom are working toward their music degree. I encourage all students within music education to start their PLN now! By jumping into the pool now, you will have so much more knowledge in your later years, and improve your chances of becoming a great music teacher and having a great future! I plan to keep using my PLN to improve my skills & knowledge even more. All of us can always learn more and become better! To future teachers, good luck and remember to keep expanding your PLN, it will take you far!

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