MusicEdMagic Full Site Feed

Was Somebody Singing? The Extraterrestrial Music Education Advocacy Event Nobody Knew About

criswell@musicedmagic.com (Chad Criswell) — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:05:18 GMT

At some point in the past year you have probably heard about space station commander Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian to command the station and also apparently a very good guitar player and singer. His cover of the song Space Oddity by David Bowie has already had over twelve million views on YouTube. But did you know that back in February he did a music education event with the Barenaked Ladies music group of a song called Is Somebody Singing (I.S.S. for short)? His space to earth performance of that song was broadcast in a way such as to allow bands and choirs all over the world to play along with it as a part of what some billed as the world's largest concert. More importantly it was a very novel way to encourage and advocate for music education in the schools. The bad thing though is that if you are like me, you totally missed it!

Not to worry, you can still listen, watch, and perform the piece with your own ensemble, if you know where to look. Read on to find out more and download the music to I.S.S. for use with your own band.

Instructional Practices Inventory (IPI) Evals vs. Music Education

criswell@musicedmagic.com (Chad Criswell) — Wed, 15 May 2013 05:07:31 GMT

I recently heard some horror stories of a music teacher receiving poor Instructional Practices Inventory scores from the other teachers during weekly observations of the teacher's ensemble rehearsal classes. For those not familiar with it IPI is a method many schools are currently using to evaluate instructional practices in teaching as they relate to students using the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. If you are already a music educator then you know that what we do is completely encompassed within the top levels of Bloom’s. Music education classrooms consistently use many of the best instructional practices, very rarely sliding down the pyramid of Bloom’s except in pedagogical cases where prerequisite knowledge of music notation and other musical topics is required. When we are performing there are very few other subjects that keep students thinking at the analysis and evaluation levels of Bloom’s as consistently as we do.

This then brings back the question of why on earth was this teacher’s peers grading him in a way that he perceived to be below the true level of engagement? It turns out they were saying that his rehearsals only ranked a 3 or 4 on the scale because they were “Teacher Led Instruction” rather than “Student Active Engaged Learning.” Conversely in another case he was given the highest marks possible when the observers noted that his students (who had not practiced) were essentially sight reading their lesson material. In blessed irony it was decided that that session was scored as being very high on the IPI scale because essentially “they were reading something new for the first time.”

Flipping The Music Education Classroom

criswell@musicedmagic.com (Chad Criswell) — Sat, 11 May 2013 03:33:07 GMT

The concept of the flipped classroom is growing in popularity across the country as more and more schools adopt the common core. While we in music education are probably more "flipped" than most other classrooms we still resort to a traditional model where a teacher essentially lectures, demonstrates, then tells the student to go practice and come back in a week to prove they have learned it. That's not exactly the same thing...

In a flipped classroom the teacher acts primarily as a moderator, providing activities that help the student learn on his or her own. In essence, letting the student teach himself and thereby master the material more fully. How do we break with hundreds of years of tradition and "flip" our music education classroom to be more student centered? For many people it may require that we also flip our expectations of what we need to do in small group and private instrument lessons.

Free Sources For Downloading Clarinet Sheet Music

criswell@musicedmagic.com (Chad Criswell) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:49:17 GMT

Finding decent, easy to play clarinet sheet music for free is not as hard as some might believe. The beautiful thing about the clarinet is that it can play sheet music written for almost any instrument as long as it falls within the playable range of the performer. In other words, a clarinet player doesn't have to play ONLY clarinet sheet music. If you are playing solo you can play almost any music that falls within your playable range. Focus on looking for sheet music for instruments that are also pitched in the key of B-flat like the trumpet, or tenor saxophone. Flute or piano music can in some cases can be played on the clarinet, making finding free sheet music a fairly easy proposition if you know where to look.

A March Madness Tournament Style Practice Incentive Idea

criswell@musicedmagic.com (Chad Criswell) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 03:07:21 GMT

Need a fun, seasonally appropriate motivation tool to help keep your students practicing? Although it works best if you do this during March to coincide with March Madness there's no reason why you can't use it at any time of the year. Special thanks to Elaine Menke, 5th and 6th grade band director at North Polk Community School District for passing this idea along. She uses this tool each year with her students but it works just as well with pianists or almost any music studio setup.

The Classroom Recording Studio- Building Your Studio

criswell@musicedmagic.com (Chad Criswell) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 15:55:48 GMT

Scott's Valley is an excellent example of what an educational recording studio curriculum can look like in a secondary school setting but teachers don't have to go that far in order to reap the benefits that even a small studio can provide. Teachers can turn a modest investment in equipment into a recording studio that will meet a wide variety of needs. Richard McCreedy, music technology teacher at River Hill High School in Clarksville, MD and Dennis Mauricio, music technology teacher at Hilltop High School in Chula Vista, CA are two such teachers with a wide range of ideas and experiences to share on the topic.

The Classroom Recording Studio

criswell@musicedmagic.com (Chad Criswell) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 15:31:19 GMT

No one can deny the benefits that recording our soloists and ensembles can provide. From an educational standpoint recordings of rehearsals and performances can provide many different opportunities for critical evaluation and enhanced learning in the classroom. Those same recordings can often be used as public relations, marketing, and fundraising tools as well. However, there are others who think of a classroom recording studio as much more than a way to record and listen to student performances. Some see it as an educational class all to itself. The growth of digital music distribution has garnered a related growth in the recording fields, pushing recording and audio engineering classes to be created at community colleges and universities all over the country. A few secondary schools are also picking up on this and beginning to offer classes in these areas wherein the students walk away with a certificate in the recording arts as well as an extensive portfolio of their own work to show to potential colleges and employers.

The Classroom Recording Studio- Suggested Equipment

criswell@musicedmagic.com (Chad Criswell) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 11:05:37 GMT

You don't have to have high end recording gear to create a decent classroom recording studio setup. Here are some suggested places to start:

Teaching and Using Recording Technology in the Music Classroom

criswell@musicedmagic.com (Chad Criswell) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:56:50 GMT

I was sorting through my old Google Drive documents the other day and realized that over the years I had done a lot of writing related to the topic of teaching with and using recording devices in the music classroom. Some of these articles were published here on MusicEdMagic but many more of them were originally written for the tech column in NAfME's Teaching Music magazine. Until recently, due to copyright agreements, I had been unable to publish them on MusicEdMagic. Now however, thanks to a very helpful and gracious agreement with NAfME I am now able to republish some of these articles in their original unedited form. Over the next few weeks I will repost a few of these articles that directly relate to topics such as selecting recording devices, using them to increase student achievement, setting up classroom recording studios, and teaching basic recording skills to your students.

How To Get Your Ensemble On Disc

criswell@musicedmagic.com (Chad Criswell) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:29:21 GMT

Having a professionally produced CD or DVD of a significant performance can be a great way to bolster the pride and prestige of any performing arts organization. Whether the recordings are produced as mementos of an event or as discs to be sold as a fundraiser getting the recording reproduced in large quantities can be a complicated process. We spoke to Tim Anderson, Orchestra Director at Autrey Mill Middle School in Johns Creek, GA, and Ted Henderson, Dean of Visual and Performing Arts, Alum Rock School District, San Jose, CA to get some help in understanding the process of taking your ensemble’s recording from plastic to platinum.

New Documentary On Inner City Music Ed Needs Your Help

criswell@musicedmagic.com (Chad Criswell) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:04:48 GMT

There are many great, inspirational music advocacy videos out there. Why we should have music in the schools, why all kids should have access to music education, etc. A new documentary film, currently slated to hit the festival circuit in 2014 titled Some Kind of Spark is one that didn't set out to be an advocacy video but does so anyway. The documentary follows the young musical lives of seven inner city kids from New York that are just beginning their musical journey by being accepted to the Julliard School's Music Advancement Program. From what I have seen the video looks like it will be very inspirational and a great way to advocate for the necessity of music education programs.

Techno Bling On The Marching Drum Corps Scene

criswell@musicedmagic.com (Chad Criswell) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 02:46:21 GMT

Kudos to my wife for finding this video, apparently passed on to her by another music teacher friend, who found it from another friend, etc. etc. In any case the video is quite impressive. At first I was like, oh, thanks honey, an indoor marching band video (like I haven't seen a lot of those in my time..) plus the hats and knee length pants made me think it was just an old drum corps video from ten or fifteen years ago. Then I actually watched it and about halfway through it hooked me. Nothing like a little LED sound activated bling on Pearl marching snares to make me take a second look.

In case you are wondering it is a Scottish drum corps called Top Secret.

Easy Clarinet Sheet Music For Free

criswell@musicedmagic.com (Chad Criswell) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 22:37:13 GMT

If you are looking for some easy to play, beginner level clarinet sheet music for free the list below might have just what you need. All of the over 80 free sheet music files on MusicEdMagic are written in keys that are easy for almost any clarinetist to play as long as they have had at least a few months of dedicated instruction on the instrument. The clarinet sheet music found on MusicEdMagic is listed in several categories from Christmas and sacred, to folk music, patriotic music, and more. Use the listing below to find what you need and if something is missing be sure to send us a message and we may be able to arrange it for use in the future.

Musicteachers911 Heading Into The Sunset

larry@musicedmagic.com (Larry Marra) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 21:29:50 GMT

First and foremost, thanks to all my faithful readers and listeners that have been in contact over the last five years. A special thanks to Chad Criswell over at musicedmagic for both being a guest on many iTunes podcast episodes and for promoting the blog posts on his site.

Musicteachers911 was created as a podcast and blog to assist musicians and music educators avoiding pitfalls I experienced both on stage and in front of the chalkboard.

I have enjoyed your feedback and am hopeful that you took something valuable away with you. It has truly been a labor of love.

That being said...................

Weezic Augmented Sheet Music App Review

criswell@musicedmagic.com (Chad Criswell) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 22:03:06 GMT

SmartMusic has yet another competitor in the intelligent assessment space with the introduction of the Weezic Augmented Sheet Music app for iPad. The app listens to you as you play and marks the notes correct or incorrect, all while keeping a running total of your score at the bottom of the page. It's a free app, but this very early release has a very limited number of songs available, and not all the instruments in a traditional wind ensemble (the poor trombones never get any love). Is Weezic worth the bits it takes to download? Read on to find out.