There are plenty of helpful technologies that those in the music education sector can make use of to enhance their activities. Whether they are music students, teachers or enthusiasts, technology opens up opportunities that just a century ago were unimaginable. It also helps that they make life much more convenient, so learning music is a lot more fun than it was before. Here’s a helpful infographic from TakeLessons to show the three major ways that technology contributes to the music education sector:
1. Online resources
One area that has really grown over the last couple of years is the online resources intended to add value to the music learning and teaching experience. Free tools like the one below are now available:
Write Music in Google Documents
VexTab Music Notation is a Google Documents Add-on that lets you write music notation in Google Documents. With the Add-on installed you can write standard music notation, drum notation, and guitar tablature in a Google Document. To do this simply open the Add-on from your Add-on’s menu, select “insert VexTab,” then start writing. When you have finished writing a segment click “insert notation” to add it to your document. The inserted notation appears as an image in your document. Click here for a tutorial on writing VexTab notation. Via FreeTech4Teachers
Students are also able to practice on their own with virtual tutor apps that let them know when they are making mistakes or getting better. It’s a lot like taking your music teacher home with you – a big bonus for the music education sector!
Music lessons are no longer restricted to physical classrooms. Students can now extend their learning environment to their homes and other places by engaging with their teachers through platforms such as skype. Additionally, online music lessons have provided adult music enthusiasts the perfect opportunity to get a music education. Having to work is no longer a good excuse not to learn the piano now that you can pay for your own lessons.
Two of the biggest advantages of an online music lesson are convenience and choice. Since no one has to drive anywhere, these lessons don’t take as much time out of your day. More time for practicing! This also means you can still make your lessons while out of town or on vacation. Also, you can choose your instructor from so many options. You’re not restricted to who might be local. This is especially useful if you live in a small town. Via Geek Dad
Another great example of how technology is being used to enhance music education is through video music student tests. Instead of band students performing in front of their teachers and classmates, they can now simply email a video of the skills test. Not only does it get rid of the embarrassment of messing up for the students, it also saves a lot of time for the teachers.
Grade 9 band students Celina Kalusy and Cedric Stead say they are practising at home a lot more now that they can send video tests to Nabuurs (centre). (Nancy Russell/CBC)
Frank Nabuurs, who teaches band at East Wiltshire Intermediate School, started having his students email their tests as a pilot project last March.
“In math or social studies … all the kids do the test at the same time,” Nabuurs said. “With band, it has to be done individually so that can be very time consuming.”
Messing up ‘was really embarrassing’
He says the kids were practising in front of him instead of at home.
“Wasted a lot of time. They really weren’t working hard to master the skill. Now instead of me sitting in class listening to kids play the skill, I’m sitting at home on my laptop or in my office listening to these videos and immediately entering the mark. The parents will immediately get an email,” says Nabuurs. Via CBC News
3. Promoting musical work
For the music students that are really serious about building their musical careers, technology provides a platform through which they get to display their skills, network with others in the music community and receive feedback. Social media platforms are particularly useful in this sense, and have become the place where students learn about the various opportunities available in the industry for their personal growth and development.
The very moment that someone first figured out how to put a song online the music industry changed forever. Learning how to promote your music online has become almost as important as learning your first three chords, or how to decorate your mic stand with elaborate scarves.
To help save you time, and get you back to practicing those three chords or decorating that mic stand, here are some easy ways to promote your music that even the drummer can understand. You know, as long as someone gives it to him in chunks of 4… Via SMM Guide
Technology Keeps Music Education in Our Schools: A Q&A with Teaching Artist Alyssa Greengrass
Distance Learning (DL) and Video Teleconferencing (VTC) is taking education by storm as more and more educators and more and more educational institutions embrace the incredible educational opportunities now available as a result of recent technologies. While these technologies make it possible and more viable to keep the arts in schools in the face of historic budget cuts and limited access, the types of connections now possible via VTC also inspire students as well as teachers. Via Public Sector View
Free Online Music Theory Lessons
MusicTheory.net offers free online music theory lessons covering everything from basic note recognition to difficult chord inversions. Each activity on the site provides instant feedback. The exercises can be customized to test users on the notes and concepts they need to practice the most. Scroll to the bottom of the exercises page to find the customization options. MusicTheory.net also offers calculators and tools handy for composing music. And if you just need some staff paper, MusicTheory.net offers sheet music that you can print. Via Free Tech 4 Teachers
Technology Strategies for the Performing Ensemble Classroom
The ensemble classroom is a multifaceted and complex instructional environment. As choral, band, and orchestra teachers, we wear many hats, requiring us to accomplish a multitude of tasks (sometimes simultaneously). These encompass both administrative responsibilities such as attendance and communication with parents, as well as instructional ones such as repertoire selection, assigning assessments, and lesson planning. In most cases, we are the only ones who can do these tasks (both logistically and legally). Via National Association for Music Education
![How Has Technology Changed Music Lessons? [Infographic]](http://takelessons.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Technology-and-Music-Lessons-Infographic2.jpg)
VexTab Music Notation is a Google Documents Add-on that lets you write music notation in Google Documents. With the Add-on installed you can write standard music notation, drum notation, and guitar tablature in a Google Document. To do this simply open the Add-on from your Add-on’s menu, select “insert VexTab,” then start writing. When you have finished writing a segment click “insert notation” to add it to your document. The inserted notation appears as an image in your document. Click here for a tutorial on writing VexTab notation. Via FreeTech4Teachers
The very moment that someone first figured out how to put a song online the music industry changed forever. Learning how to promote your music online has become almost as important as learning your first three chords, or how to decorate your mic stand with elaborate scarves.
Distance Learning (DL) and Video Teleconferencing (VTC) is taking education by storm as more and more educators and more and more educational institutions embrace the incredible educational opportunities now available as a result of recent technologies. While these technologies make it possible and more viable to keep the arts in schools in the face of historic budget cuts and limited access, the types of connections now possible via VTC also inspire students as well as teachers. Via Public Sector View
MusicTheory.net offers free online music theory lessons covering everything from basic note recognition to difficult chord inversions. Each activity on the site provides instant feedback. The exercises can be customized to test users on the notes and concepts they need to practice the most. Scroll to the bottom of the exercises page to find the customization options. MusicTheory.net also offers calculators and tools handy for composing music. And if you just need some staff paper, MusicTheory.net offers sheet music that you can print. Via Free Tech 4 Teachers
The ensemble classroom is a multifaceted and complex instructional environment. As choral, band, and orchestra teachers, we wear many hats, requiring us to accomplish a multitude of tasks (sometimes simultaneously). These encompass both administrative responsibilities such as attendance and communication with parents, as well as instructional ones such as repertoire selection, assigning assessments, and lesson planning. In most cases, we are the only ones who can do these tasks (both logistically and legally). Via National Association for Music Education
