Low Cost MusicTechnology Options For The Music Education Classroom
Low Cost MusicTechnology Options For The Music Education Classroom

Finding ways to stretch your budget in a music classroom is always important and even more so when trying to purchase high tech electronics, software, and other materials.  This article provides an updated list of dozens of different low cost or free alternatives to expensive music education products.  It includes such categories as music notation software, drill design software, special needs hardware, and many more.

 

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The Star Spangled Banner- Free Sheet Music For Band Inst.
The Star Spangled Banner- Free Sheet Music For Band Inst.

This document contains sheet music for all common instruments to play The Star Spangled Banner, also known as the sheet music to the National Anthem of the United States of America. You can view the sheet music online or download the individual parts arranged for all common concert band instruments.  If you do not see your instrument listed please scroll to the bottom of the page and try one of the the other instruments.  Most musicians will be able to find at least one instrumental part that matches their range and preferred key signature.  If you are seeking a simple piano version of the song please select from the voice, trumpet, or alto saxophone versions.

 

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Using Plickers as an Assessment Tool in the Music Education Classroom
Using Plickers as an Assessment Tool in the Music Education Classroom

Music, band, choir, and orchestra classrooms can be huge and assessing the knowledge and retention of individual students in such a large class can be daunting.  Plickers are one of several solutions that can be adapted to work in large groups, making the act of assessing a student’s understanding a little easier and a whole lot faster.  

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Is Marching Band A Sport? Pros, Cons, and a Reality Check
Is Marching Band A Sport? Pros, Cons, and a Reality Check

In recent years the question of whether or not marching band is a sport has been brought up time and time again for various reasons and by various groups.  On one side you have the YES crowd who says that marching band is competitive, physically demanding, and every bit as much a team event as any traditional sporting event.  On the other side of the coin are those who say no, that marching band is NOT a sport and it is a musical pursuit that happens to involve coordinated movements.  Both sides are right, but to make a final decision we need to look deeper into the facts.  Read on to find out what they are!

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Portable Digital Audio Recorder Buying Guide With Reviews
Portable Digital Audio Recorder Buying Guide With Reviews

Scroll down to view the comparison chart of over a dozen different portable digital audio recorders.

Buying a portable digital audio recorder is a major decision.  The balance between price, features, and quality is a fine line that has many different options to choose from.  There are dozens of different models of portable digital audio recorders, some of which have drastically different sets of features yet sell for roughly the same price.  This easy to read head to head comparison chart and guide to many of the more popular portable digital audio recorders is intended to help potential buyers more easily see these differences and make an educated buying decision.

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Apps and More for the Choral Classroom
Apps and More for the Choral Classroom

The number of apps, software, and gadgets available for use in the music classroom continues to grow each year but finding things that can actually be beneficial to your classes grows more and more difficult as well.  We spoke with Dr. Christopher Russell, Director of Choirs at Oltman Middle School in St. Paul Park, Minnesota to get his must-have list of apps.

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Heitor Villa-Lobos

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Heitor Villa-LobosBrazilian Heitor Villa-lobos is possibly the best known classical composer in South America. This article is a brief biography of his life and works.  

Heitor Villa-lobos, Brazilian composer and conductor, was famous for his nine suite Bachianas brasileiras ("Brazilian Bach-pieces") and his largest recorded choir count. He was one of the most extraordinary composers of the 20th century who produced more than 2,000 musical works.

Early life of Heitor Villa-Lobos

Heitor Villa-lobos was born in Rio de Janeiro on March 5, 1887. His first music education was given by his father who taught him to play the cello. In his teens he performed with popular musicians. He then travelled widely for a while, returning to Rio de Janeiro in his mid-20s for a few formal lessons.

Influences of Villa-Lobos

Villa-Lobos absorbed Russian and French influences in the 1920s to create neo-Baroque works in Brazilian style, using native colours and rhythms. Through his travels in Europe and in Paris, he was influenced by Milhaud and Satie, and by neo-Classicism. Returning to Brazil in 1930, he held some official teaching posts and founded the Brazilian Academy of music in 1945.

Works of Villa-Lobos

His gift for melody is displayed in the Choros (serenades) series for various ensembles, and the series of nine Bachianas Brasileiras, with the no.5 displaying few minutes of sexy, sinewy sound, treated in the manner of Johann Sebastian Bach. These nine attractive suites are the most popular works of Villa-lobos.

Villa-Lobos wrote numerous orchestral, instrumental, chamber and vocal works. His music was influenced by both Brazilian folk music and by stylistic elements from the modernistic European classical technique, as exemplified by his Bachianas brasileiras. He also introduced a sound which was a mixture of popular South American influences similar to native Indian music. His other works include guitar (Etudes, 1928 and Preludes, 1940) and piano solos, chamber music (including string quartets and cello sonatas), choral works, film scores, operas (Izaht,1912-14 and Yerma, 1955-6) and 12 symphonies. He published a book on Brazilian folk music, Alma de Brazil.

Later Life

After 1949 he enjoyed a good life in Europe but in touch with his homeland. Probably not known to many, in 1940, Villa-Lobos led the largest amateur choir numbering to about 40,000 in Rio de Janeiro, which to this day stands the largest ever recorded choir count in history. He died in November 17, 1959 at Rio de Janeiro, aged 72.   

Sources:

  • The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music, edited by Stanley Sadie, Macmillan Press, New York, 1994
  • Pimlico Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Composers, by Mark Morris, Pimlico, London, 1996
  • Oxford Dictionary of Music, edited by Michael Kennedy, Second Edition, OUP, 1994 

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