A Music Education Blog Collective

I’ve played Guitar Hero a few times in the past month, and it makes me wonder, how do we music educators compete with the instant “guitar hero” fantasy that this game provides? Players can choose to be anything from a Jimmie Hendrix- to a Courtney Love-type rock star with virtual crowds getting pumped or […]

I intend to be provocative here: With music creation and performance rapidly changing with introduction of new technologies, the question must be asked: Are band, chorus and orchestras in the school a relic of the past and should be put to rest?  I know this is a difficult question to address, but as we look […]

A couple of posts ago Joe discussed a project he does with his students where they use a looping pedal to layer improvised loops on top of a pre-existing piece. Here’s a cellist who layered 37 cello parts , all performed by himself, using a cello and computer technology! My first thought when comparing the […]

Radio Lab, a public radio show, tries to answer this question on its show entitled Musical Language.
One of the issues brought up on the Musical Language show is the notion that the artist has a duty to present people with work that is not easily assimilated into their prior experiences, such as when Igor Stravinsky’s […]

In recent months I have been using a looping pedal to have students explore the inner workings of music.  In my case I have been using a Line 6 Pedal, but others will do as good or a better job.  Artists like Tyondai Braxton use this technique in performance.
This is how it has worked for […]

There is an interesting comment on Melissa’s post regarding sharing student popular music online. Mallory writes “I really wish that all schools had the ability and time to look into children’s music. It was give the children a chance to express themselves individually, and then maybe more students would enjoy music, and the programs in […]

The screenshot of the new software on a recent post at Create Digital Music looks somewhat similar to the Hyperscore software developed at MIT. Both seem like interesting types of software to use with younger students and both use some non-traditional ways of creating music. They both also remind me somewhat of software I […]

Music and the way people interact with music has constantly evolved. As we look forward to 2006, not only do we have our digital music files (i.e. MP3) but there seems to be a shift in how people are sharing their digital music files. While the RIAA may have Apple’s I-Tunes complying with the […]

Seattle resident Trimpin has been creating and building his own instruments since childhood. “Trumpet was his instrument, and he wondered why it needed to be limited to playing one pitch at a time, and why that pitch had to fit into the system of conventional tuning,” Amy Rubin writes. “These questions led to his […]