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Sheet MusicThere has been a huge buzz lately about a new free web and iPad based service for musicians called Chromatik.  Big name groups like American Idol’s band and Bruno Mars’ backing band use it as do hundreds of others.  So what is the big deal about Chromatik and why might it be REALLY important for music educators to take a look?  Read on to find out.

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plastic-trombone-300Okay, I know the physics says that you can make a brass instrument out of pretty much any resonating tube, but the idea of playing on a piece of PVC pipe just bugs me....  Today I stopped into my local music retailer to pay off a bill and sitting behind the counter was a brilliantly colored yellow trombone.  Walking around the side to get a better look I realized it wasn't just a fancy paint job, it really was made of PLASTIC!  Images of little plastic toy trumpets still wrapped up in a Christmas box breaking in my chubby little hands immediately filled my mind with fear and foreboding.

At the very least the purist in me screamed that there was just no way that an instrument like that could possibly sound good.  At the worst I began to harbor a fear of the coming zombie apocolypse for I had been told that this was one of the possible signs to look for before it started...  

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To a beginner or even most experienced musicians the act of composing original music is a daunting task.  Due to the perceived difficulty associated with composing most individuals avoid it completely or limit themselves to very basic, unsatisfying projects.  Enter Hooktheory.  An easy to use tool that when combined with classroom instruction can make the act of composing music fun and engaging.

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Sibelius 6 BoxOn May 19th Sibelius released the latest version of the Sibelius music notation program.  This version boasts a lot of new features, many of which are very significant improvements over the previous version.  But what exactly are the new features of Sibelius 6 and is it worth the investment?

 

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The Soundbeam Digital Musical InstrumentI've been a fan of the Beamz virtual musical instrument for quite a while now, and had mentioned how it was a perfect opportunity for students with special needs to create music both in a classroom environment and also as a recreational activity.  Now I have been exposed to another virtual instrument called the Soundbeam that works in much the same way only using ultrasound instead of laser beams to detect the movement of the person playing it.  It reminds me a lot of the old Theramin musical instrument that I used to play with as a kid at the local science center.  The closer you are to the device the higher the pitches will be while as you move away from the device the sounds go down.  The difference is that the Soundbeam sends MIDI data to a MIDI keyboard or other device to produce the sounds while the Theramin uses pitch modulation. 

I first heard about the Soundbeam in a blog post by Dr. Jim Frankel of Soundtree (Soundtree also sells the device in the USA).  In his blog post about the Soundbeam he also has an embedded video of a wheelchair bound student using the device that is worth taking a look at.  For even more information about the music therapy benefits of the product take a look at the Soundbeam web site.



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Community Band Screen ShotWhen I first heard about a new web app called CommunityBand my first thought was that someone had tried to clone SmartMusic in some way and put it on the web.  I had seen other products try and fail to do what SM does (remember StarPlay?)   What I discovered was not a SM clone at all, but an honestly fun game where you play your instrument or sing with your voice to play along with one of several different popular songs.  The thing is, it isn’t like a practice system.  CommunityBand is not trying to teach you how to play the instrument or tell you what you did right or wrong (although you do get visual feedback while you play).  Instead it uses a very interesting scoring system together with onscreen glitter that explodes when you finish a long streak of correct notes ala Guitar Hero.  

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Beta Blocker Skeletal ModelIn professional and amateur sports there are serious rules about using performance enhancing drugs.   Across the world using such drugs is considered a cheat and getting caught using them carries a stigma that is incredibly difficult to overcome.  The musical world has no such rules and probably a more colorful history than most professions in this regard, but a new kind of drug is slowly creeping into the music education arena.  The use of the drug combats one of the most common ailments of all musicians, performance anxiety or stage fright.  The drug?  A type of prescription pharmaceutical known as a beta blocker. 

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Smartboard in ClassroomI’ve often said that when it comes to interactive whiteboards it is the software, not the board, that should drive your purchase.  In this arena the Smartboard wins hands down with its Smart Notebook 10 software package.  The program not only controls the board but also provides an awesome suite of presentation tools to create and edit lessons and activities for use in the classroom.  Smart recently released a statement clarifying an important part of their licensing agreement for this software, one that may have serious implications for some school districts.

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EarBeater is a new, very extensive ear training app for the iPad that goes far beyond the capabilities of most apps in the category, especially in terms of depth of instruction and evaluation. What makes it so useful? Read on to find out!

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Unless you are a percussion professional tuning or replacing a set of timpani heads the proper way can often turn into an exercise in aggrivation.

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Audio Editing Software Screenshot

Setting up and using a digital recording studio in the classroom requires some very specialized software.  While it is true that you can do it on the cheap with a very basic audio recording program like Audacity to really produce high quality recordings, work with multiple instruments, or simply to teach your students the skills necessary to prepare them for a job in the audio industry after graduation you have to use something a little more advanced.  Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) programs are the next step up for many users and there are many of these programs on the market.  But there is more to setting up a DAW system in your classroom than simply grabbing the first piece of software that comes to mind.  To have the best experience you have to balance the needs of the software with the capabilities of the hardware you intend to run it on.

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