Joanna's music blog

Another Long Overdue Update!

2012-02-07T17:55:00.000-08:00

Hello world! When things get busy, my blog gets neglected. Now I have way too much for one blog post, but here are a few highlights from the past two months:

Since Winter Break, Lower School students have enjoyed playing the Boomwhackers and ukuleles, exploring musical instrument apps on the iPads (especially Isle of Tune, which is also available as an interactive website), using the interactive whiteboard to drag-and-drop notes and to play with Sibelius Groovy Music, and learning several new songs, including "What a Wonderful World," "What Can One Little Person Do," and "You Gotta Sing!"

An enthusiastic group of Lower Schoolers sang a 3-part version of "This Little Light of Mine" at our annual Martin Luther King Day celebration.

Each Forest and Mountain music class (3rd and 4th grade) has created a collaborative song in GarageBand. Each student came up with a melody "snippet" on their recorder or ukulele, then we combined the snippets into longer melodies, recorded them on virtual instruments, and added accompaniment. We're now adding our own recorders and ukes to the mix, but in the meantime you can have a listen:

Lower School challenge: While creating these collaborative songs, a group of 3rd-years tried to convince me that repetition makes music boring. I have challenged them to find me a song that does not repeat ANY melody. It needs to be in a genre they might hear on the radio (not counting contemporary music hour on the classical station). They aren't allowed to write the song themselves, and it has to be a full-length song (i.e., no commercial jingles). If there's a winner, there will be a big prize!

Middle School is nearing the end of the 2nd trimester--wow! This week is the MS play, "Inherit the Wind," which will include a performance of 4 songs by my MS Gospel Choir. It's a small group (10), but they sound awesome singing in 2 and 3-part harmony. We even have a guest fiddler! If you're local, come enjoy the show Friday or Saturday night at 7:30, or the open dress rehearsal on Wednesday.

I can't believe I haven't already posted this, but my first Middle School Service Day with my advisee group was a blast. We made dog and cat toys and collected treats and delivered them to the fabulous Orange County Animal Shelter. Much to my advisees' delight, I (accidentally?) adopted a dog. Here is Jilly:

How could I resist that face??? 3 dogs is barely more trouble than 2...

Last week we had a Staff Development Half-Day on the topic of technology. I led two iPad workshops focused on apps for teachers to use for themselves or in teaching, but not necessarily for students. What a blast! As always, I learned as much from the workshop participants as they learned from me. If you have an interest in iPads, check out my Prezi here, or my iPad Mega List.

I'll post some more specific updates soon, and in the meantime, have a lovely week!

NCMEA Annual Conference Links and Notes

2011-11-13T09:34:00.001-08:00

This weekend, I attended the North Carolina Music Educators Association annual conference in Winston-Salem. In addition to attending some inspirational workshops, exploring the exhibits (and making quite a few purchases for my program), and hearing various all-state ensembles and choirs, I presented three music technology clinics as a part of NC TI:ME. Below are some notes and links from the presentations.

iPads in General Music

Here is a link to the Prezi I created for this workshop. In it, you'll find the names and prices of all the apps we discussed, and some ideas for integrating iPads into your curriculum.

Please also visit my iPad App Mega-Lists to read more about apps and see some screenshots.

Using iPads to teach a composition-based curriculum

Many of the ideas in my Prezi are for composition-based projects. I frequently write about my students' composition projects on my blog.

Using What You Have: Technology for the Imperfect Classroom

The best resources for the online music educator: the Music Educators' Personal Learning Network, and the National Association for Music Education

Two of my favorite tools for the classroom, planning, and personal use: Curio (Mac only), and Evernote (works on any platform including mobile)

For flexible, paperless lesson planning on the Mac, PC, or iPad, I use Jeff Hellman's Planbook

To keep a database of my students and their work, I use Bento

The eBeam Edge, a less expensive interactive whiteboard option

For the handy type, create your own interactive whiteboard with a Wiimote!

Portable, affordable, and durable MIDI entry keyboard: the Akai LPK 25

My favorite USB microphone for podcasting or performance: the Blue Snowball

RC Trackpad--turn your iOS device into a magic trackpad for your computer

Sibelius Groovy Music suite

Noteflight--free, web-based music notation software.

Indaba Music--free, web-based DAW, for audio recording and/or MIDI, with social networking features

Soundcloud--share audio tracks in the cloud

The Petrucci Music Library--a huge collection of public domain scores and recordings

ArtsEdge--activities and lesson plans

Ricci Adams Music Theory Net

Morton Subotnick's Creating Music site

Explore the orchestra at Play Music

I'll be putting my recorder and ukulele Keynotes online soon. In the meantime, you can check out my beginner's ukulele tutorials on YouTube.

And, finally, I must put a link to my incredible school, a magical place that encourages teachers and students to explore their passions!

Piedmont Youth and Family Orchestra

2011-11-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon I led my first concert as conductor of the Piedmont Youth and Family Orchestra in Chapel Hill. The orchestra has been in transition this Fall, so I just led the older orchestra in three pieces. Starting at our next rehearsal, I'll be conducting both the younger and older groups.

One of my favorite things about PYFO is that it is truly a family experience. Parents playing with us range from adult beginners to pros, showing kids that it's never too late to have fun making music! I had a blast playing violin with the younger orchestra and the advanced chamber orchestra. It was the first time I'd played my violin in public in (mumble) 18 years!

We are looking to GROW! We have a place for string players of nearly any level, as well as a few wind players. Email me or leave a comment if you're interested. Our next performance will be on December 10 at University Mall in Chapel Hill.

Making a Sound Effects Board with an iPad

2011-10-26T18:33:00.000-07:00

This year, I'm experimenting with putting Forest and Mountain classes (3rd and 4th grade) into semi-permanent small groups for projects. We all had a lot of fun with our first project a few weeks ago. Using a short, open-ended story and the app Soundslate, each group worked together to enhance the story with sound effects. They could use a maximum of 4 built-in sound effects, and were required to record all of the other sounds using the built-in microphone and their voices, bodies, or instruments in the music studio. Many groups chose to use no built-in sounds at all, which I loved!

Though I learned quite a bit to make this project go more smoothly the next time around, the first try was mostly a success. In addition to learning how much power sound can have over how we experience a story, I found myself facilitating conflict resolution and teaching some basic acoustics, too! In the end, this little story became everything from a comedy/adventure to violent horror. Groups delighted in surprising me with an unexpected sound or humorous twist.

Here is one board, ready for performance:

The story (okay to reproduce for educational purposes):

John and Violet were bored. It was a Saturday in October and it felt like there was nothing to do.

"Let's go for a walk," said Violet. "Maybe we'll find something interesting."

The two friends set out right away. At the end of Violet's street, they followed a dirt path into the thick woods behind her neighborhood, looking for adventure.

At first, everything seemed ordinary. Birds were chirping, squirrels chattering in the branches above them. Just as Violet was about to suggest turning around, John froze in his tracks.

"Listen," he whispered.

At first, Violet didn't hear anything but the breeze rustling the leaves. But when the breeze stopped, she heard it too. There was a strange singing in the distance, like nothing she had heard before.

Violet felt a chill down her spine, but her curiosity got the better of her. "Come on, John, let's find it!"

John looked nervous, but he wouldn't say so. "Okay," he agreed.

The pair walked for what seemed like hours, not speaking so they could hear the strange music. Finally they reached a creek Violet had never seen before.

"Look!" cried John.

Violet followed his gaze across the creek and saw a tiny wooden house. It looked too small for an ordinary person to live in. Flowers were planted outside the little front door, and smoke came out of a chimney barely taller than Violet's shoulders. One of two windows the size of a sheet of paper was opened, and they could hear the music coming from inside.

"What do you think it is?" whispered John, but Violet didn't answer. She had already leapt across the creek and was knocking on the door.

"No!" shouted John, but it was too late.

Busy busy busy!!

2011-10-26T07:20:00.000-07:00

I have been neglecting my poor blog since the start of the school year. I'm even busier than usual! Here are a few updates:

LS students have been enjoying xylophones (River and Sky), recorders (Mountain and Forest), and two iPad projects in Forest and Mountain that I'll be posting on later in more detail.
LS Forest and Mountain classes have begun planning our big project for the year, involving the entire Lower School.... (mysterious wink)
MS Music Rotation is getting creative with their Stomp Projects, which they'll be performing later today.
MS Musicians' Workshop students have been composing, composing, composing! Students have worked on everything from pop songs with lyrics, to sequenced techno tracks, to an ambient concept album. Stay tuned for some audio clips!
My MS Advisee group has set goals, sent a small tornado through my house at advisee outing, and is turning the Music House into a haunted music house for our Halloween fun.
I have started conducting the Piedmont Youth Orchestra! More on that later, too!
I will be presenting three technology clinics at the NC Music Educators Association conference in November. These are iPads in General Music, Using What You Have: Enhancing General Music with Technology, and Using iPads to Teach a Composition-Based Curriculum.

Blog, it's not you, it's me!

First Week of School!

2011-09-04T07:32:00.001-07:00

2011-12 is off to a great start! This first week of school, my fourth at CFS, has been a very different one for two reasons. First, I've spent it almost entirely in the Middle School in preparation for my first year as an advisor (more on that in a moment). Second, my daughter just entered the Lower School as a first-grader! Hopefully I won't be jinxing anything by saying this, but M's first week of Lower School has been absolutely incredible. She has literally been bouncing up and down from the time she gets out of bed until lights-out at night. She has been slightly indignant that I hadn't revealed every detail of the Lower School to her ("WHAT??? We get to do WOODWORKING in River class???"), and she is quite anxious to start music class with me next week. I must say, that creates a bit of anxiety for me, as well. For better or worse, I will be her music teacher twice a week for the next four years and beyond!

Ever since I started teaching in the Middle School, I have wanted to be an advisor. Advisee groups are the heart and soul of the CFS MS. Much more than a homeroom or source of academic advice, each advisee group serves as a year-long (or, in many cases, 2-, 3-, or 4-year long) mixed-age family for each student in the school. Made up of 8-12 students in the 5th-8th grades, groups have long meetings twice a week, take care of their advisor's classroom each day, and can check in with their advisor any time. Advisors serve as each advisee's advocate in the MS and a first point of contact for parents and teachers. Advisee groups perform service projects together, participate together in special events (such as the famous "Egg Drop" competition on Science Day), and go on two Advisee Outings each year.

Generally, part-time staff in the MS are not advisors because advising is practically a full-time job in itself! However, my situation is a bit unusual in that I am a full-time faculty member at CFS, and my schedule is already compatible with the advisor schedule with only a little tweaking. So this first week of school, for the first time I have been an Orientation Group leader in the Middle School, instead of splitting my time visiting both units. OG's are temporary groups until everyone goes through the advisor selection process over the next two weeks. I've had a great experience with my OG so far and it will be difficult letting them go! I also REALLY miss my Lower Schoolers and can't wait to see them all next week. Teaching kids all the way from age 6 to 13+ is, for me, a favorite aspect of my awesome job, and I feel out of balance when I'm only in one unit all week.

Regular classes start after Labor Day in both units. I have lots to look forward to this year besides my advisee group! Here are a few highlights:

I'll be going all-out with technology integration this year in the Lower School. I have acquired four iPads and one iPod touch (soon to be two) that I will be using as a regular part of my composition-based curriculum along with my interactive whiteboard, student MacBook, and donated older iMac (thanks Dad!). I'll be updating regularly on the blog and can't wait to share the results of our projects.
I have a new resolution this year to never have a Lower School music class without singing! I'm already pretty good at this–I can probably count last year's 1st- and 2nd-grade classes without singing on one hand–but I tend to slip in the 3rd and 4th grade as we spend more time on recorders and other instruments. One of my major goals as a music teacher is to obliterate the statement "I can't sing," and I think this is a very important step.
I'll be teaching my "Musician's Workshop" elective for the second time this Fall in the Middle School. I loved this class last Fall, but I also feel that I learned a lot of things from last year's kids that I will be able to use to create an even better experience for young musicians this year. My top goal in this class is to do a better job with differentiation, so that my beginner composers learn as much as my experienced musicians. I hope that, over time, student musicians will see this as a repeatable class they can use each year to build their skills and create exciting new projects.
One last resolution... I will keep my blog current throughout the year instead of posting occasional gigantic updates. I won't go so far as to commit to a specific number of updates, and I won't overwhelm parents with daily updates, but I WILL post more consistently.

Here's to an exciting new year! Happy Labor Day!

Why I teach music

2011-08-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

Because there is more than one way to be smart.

Because real life isn't about test scores.

Because music has existed in all cultures since the dawn of humankind, and it is hardwired into our souls (or brains, if you don't believe in that sort of thing).

Because children can learn countless ways to appropriately and effectively express their feelings through the arts.

Because he may end up a gun-toting conservative and she a tree-hugging liberal, but they both smile while harmonizing on "You are my Sunshine."

Because, among other things, music is entertainment. Quality, thought-provoking entertainment makes people happy. Happy people make the world better.

Because the world would be a better place if everyone learned to truly, deeply listen.

Because some children will be inspired to take up a musical instrument, which teaches persistence, discipline, humility, and the rewards of hard work.

Because making music creates millions of new pathways in the brain.

Because making music brings families, friends, and communities closer together, helping us see each other as vulnerable, creative beings instead of roadblocks.

Because in a world of such frightening conflicts and lightning-fast change, we all need as many reminders as we can get that life is beautiful.

written on Emerald Isle, NC, to the sounds of the Atlantic Ocean

Tech Institute Workshops at CFS

2011-08-15T11:50:00.000-07:00

I promise I'll be talking about something other than iPads soon... but this week is the CFS Tech Institute, and I am leading two workshops for teachers. One is on using interactive whiteboards, and the other is–what else–iPads in the Classroom! I wanted to share two resources we used today.

Apps for Children with Special Needs is an amazing resource for anyone who works with children. It is full of app reviews, lists of apps for different needs, etc. Wow!

My Prezi, iPads in the Classroom. This is my very first Prezi, but definitely not my last. I had a great time making it, and it is still incomplete–I haven't finished uploading all those hundreds of little app icons.

Tomorrow, interactive whiteboards! Soon I'll also be posting about the week-long facilitator training in Theatre of the Oppressed I completed last week along with several other CFS teachers. School year, bring it on!

iPad update: ForScore 3.0

2011-08-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

ForScore is one of my very favorite iPad apps. It's a pdf reader with dozens of features aimed at performing musicians. I keep over a thousand scores–piano, flute, ukulele, teaching materials, etc.–in my ForScore library right on my iPad.

The ForScore 3.0 update adds many new features, but there are two that I'm most excited about because of their potential for classroom application.

Versions: A problem inherent in many iPad apps is that they are really intended for a single user. If one student annotates a score in ForScore, the annotation is permanent until another student changes or erases it. Sometimes this is cool, other times it's downright annoying. With the new Versions feature, you can save up to 24 versions of the same file. These are still linked to the one iPad, but with Bluetooth sharing and Dropbox support, you can send them to other devices as a 4SC file with annotations intact. I'm hoping for invisible cloud syncing at some point, but this is a great start!

Darkroom: I often take pictures of scores or teaching materials to keep in Evernote for quick reference (and to avoid carrying around that gargantuan songbook collection). Now I can use my iPad's built-in camera to take a photo directly into ForScore. These won't look as good as the ones I uploaded from my actual scanner, but they are usable and the process couldn't be quicker.

I'll let you know how it all works out in the classroom...

iPad apps Mega-Update part 8: Miscellaneous apps

2011-06-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

My last category (for now!) includes apps that are favorites for personal and home use.

Amazon: A fun way to browse the world's largest store.

"Minds on Music" at Amazon.

AppAdvice: Easily access reviews and articles about all things "app." Many articles are added every day, and you can also browse dozens of thematic app lists.

Today's App news.

Casey's Contraptions: This is a delightfully designed game in which you help Casey create Rube Goldberg-type machines to complete simple tasks.

I'm gonna get you, cardboard boxes!

Chore Pad HD: A new favorite in my house, Chore Pad has a fun interface for creating weekly chore charts, a system for parents to apply stars to each chore, cute trophies, icons, and more. My daughter insists on checking off her chores each night at bedtime.

Hmm, looks like somebody hasn't been doing his chores...

Craft Finder: From Family Fun Magazine, Craft Finder has an impressive searchable library of crafts to do with kids.

Featured summer crafts.

Crosswords: My favorite crossword puzzle app! Easy to use, with loads of free crosswords each day.

A tough one.

Epicurious: Thousands of rated recipes in an easily searchable database. Create your own "recipe box," adjust amounts, search by ingredients, even create a shopping list.

Yummy.

Grocery IQ: My favorite grocery shopping list. I sync with my iPhone to actually shop, but the iPad version has an even slicker user interface.

Save a "Favorites" list to make future lists quick and easy.

Easily search for and "clip" coupons.

IMDB: If you like movies, IMDB (Internet Movie Database) is your perfect companion. Search for movies, view all the production details, read about actors, and read reviews, all in a handy interface.

IMDB home.

Insight Timer: Originally called Zen Timer, this is a nice customizable timer for meditation, yoga, or anytime that you would rather have a variety of peaceful Tibetan bells instead of typical alarms. It also includes a simple journal and a fun social networking feature.

Settings for a 30 minute yoga session.

Intellicast HD: In my opinion, the best weather app for the iPad.

Hot hot hot.

Zillow: If you are in the market for real estate, or just want to know the likely current value of your home, Zillow has a very useable map interface.

iPad apps Mega-Update part 7: Non-music creative apps, social media, and readers

2011-06-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

Creative apps:

Drawing Pad: There are many excellent drawing and painting apps available for the iPad. I chose Drawing Pad for this list because it is extremely easy to use, even for the youngest students. It offers a wide array of drawing tools, virtual stickers, and easy file saving and sharing.

Sometimes my daughter writes backwards...

iMovie: It is so much fun to edit movies on the iPad! iMovie for the iPad is similar in functionality to the desktop software. A must-have if you or your students make movies.

Toontastic: This is another recent purchase. I played with it at my sister's house and I had to have it! Toontastic allows you to easily create original stories with animated characters. You can choose music, narrate the story, and customize the animations. Designed in partnership with Stanford's Graduate School of Education, Toontastic teaches principles of storytelling and the relationship between words, images, and music in an incredibly fun way. You can share your stories and watch stories from around the world via the integrated "ToonTube."

The Story Arc helps you organize your story, and learn the principles of storytelling.

The introduction to my masterpiece, "Space Shark."

Social Media and Reader apps:
Blogsy: Though I still do most of my blogging on my laptop, this is my favorite on-the-go blogging app.

It's this page, on Blogsy!

Flipboard: Flipboard is a great showcase app for the iPad. It turns your Google Reader feed, Twitter, or Facebook feed, or numerous curated Flipboard feeds into a gorgeous virtual magazine. You can flip through stories, tap on them to read the full text, follow links in an integrated browser, and share stories in a variety of ways.

My Twitter feed.

Read it Later/Instapaper: These apps both allow you to save articles or other media for later, offline reading. They integrate with many popular apps and browsers.

Read It Later.

Reeder: I organize the blogs and news feeds I read through Google Reader. Reeder is an elegant, no-frills app for browsing and reading your Google Reader feeds. It makes good use of multitouch gestures, and has many options for saving or sharing articles.

Minimalist, and highly functional.

Tweet Library: Tweet Library is a unique app for Twitter users who would like to permanently save their Tweets. If you use Twitter a lot, especially if you use it to record your daily life or for professional development, Tweet Library is worth its rather hefty price for an iOS app.

Saving the tweets for the great-grandkids.

Twitter: Twitter's own free app is my favorite app for browsing and posting tweets. Some find the interface too busy, but I love it.

I love the way you can layer columns, and pull them in or out of the screen. Very intuitive.

iPad apps Mega-Update part 6: Non-music-specific educational apps

2011-06-25T18:07:00.000-07:00

Assorted Children's Books–Cat in the Hat, Toy Story, Paco Bongo, Lilup, The Grouchies, When I Grow Up, Violet books, just to name a few: Interactive children's books are a real highlight of the App store. Many of them are what I imagined as the books at Hogwarts. The best would be excellent children's books in any form, but the iPad version is enhanced with the ability to have the book read to you (many highlight the words as they are read), have surprises in the pictures (from a wagging tail to an interactive hide-and-seek game), and some even have integrated games. Our most recent purchase, "Weird Al" Yankovich's When I Grow Up, is an instant favorite. Not only is the book read hilariously by Weird Al himself, who could resist the chance to play an embedded "Tarantula Shaver," "Gorilla Masseuse," or "Snail Racer" video game?

A page from When I Grow Up

Art Authority: A simply gorgeous app that puts thousands of works of art right in your pocket. This was my first "expensive" app purchase ($10) and it has been worth that many times over.

Visiting the Baroque Gallery

Google Earth: One of our Lower School teachers who has been the most apprehensive about the introduction of too much technology into the classroom was at the staff meeting in which our new iPads were introduced. There, she played with Google Earth. That night, she ordered her own iPad, and she was signing them out for her students the next week. Simply amazing, with countless educational possibilities.

I can see Russia from my house!

Kindle/iBooks: Amazon Kindle or Apple's iBooks? If you do all your eBook reading on the iPad, it probably makes the most sense to comparison shop, as both offer excellent reading experiences. I personally use the Kindle app, because I do a lot of my reading on an actual Kindle, and I love the ability to sync between all my devices.

A page of Minds on Music using the Kindle app. I have it set to Sepia.

A page from Naked Eggs and Flying Potatoes on iBooks

NASA: Great for the space enthusiast! Find out the latest NASA news and access photos from various satellites and the Hubble space telescope.

Hey, I still see Pluto!

Netflix: If you are a Netflix member, you can stream movies and shows straight on your iPad for no additional fee. Many excellent documentaries are also available.

A selection of documentaries available for streaming.

NPR: Access news, arts and entertainment stories, and listen to NPR shows.

Our Choice: Al Gore's Our Choice is a fantastic example of what an ebook can be, with beautifully integrated video, audio, photography, animations, and more. Learn about climate change and related global issues in an immersive way.

PBS and PBS Kids: Access a large variety of educational programming from PBS and PBS Kids with these apps.

Qwiki: Qwiki is an addictive educational app that is difficult to explain, so here is the description from the iTunes store: "Curious? Explore 3,000,000 topics in a format perfect for the iPad: learn about what's near you, across the world - and everything in between. Labeled 'a seed that will blossom into an Internet wonder' by the NY Times, Qwiki combines thousands of sources to present concise, interactive summaries of millions of people, places and things in an experience optimized for the iPad. Explore topics by searching or browse a worldwide map highlighting landmarks, monuments, cities, towns, and more."

Natural Wonders to explore in Qwiki.

Science 360: Science360 creates a panoramic matrix of science and engineering images from NSF funded researchers and institutions. Zoom in, and you see short descriptions. Tap on an image to open the article. It's a great way to browse the cutting edge of science.

TED: If you haven't heard of TED, you must visit the website right now. The iPad app is a great way to browse and bookmark TED talks.

Tour Wrist: Like Google Earth, Tour Wrist is a showcase app for the iPad. Described as "virtual teleportation," Tour Wrist has panoramas from around the world that you view by holding the iPad in front of you as if it is a window into the location. Move the iPad around for a full 360 degree view. Though many of the sites you can visit on Tour Wrist are hotel ballrooms, real estate for sale, etc., there are plenty of historical sites and natural wonders from all over the world. And if it makes you dizzy to turn around with your iPad, you can switch to touchscreen controls.

I'm in a French cathedral!

Pointing my iPad at the floor, I see that someone was buried under me in 1231.

YouTube: The YouTube app comes pre-installed on iPads, and it is still one of the best ways to find videos on any topic from all over the world (plus a whole lot of trash!).

Who is that silly lady?

iPad apps Mega-Update part 5: Musical Instrument apps

2011-06-23T19:35:00.001-07:00

It's tough to even scratch the surface of the multitude of musical instrument apps in the App Store. I've not included some of the hardcore apps such as the amazing Korg synthesizer apps, Reactable, etc., because they are really intended for serious electronic musicians and aren't as suited to use in the lower and middle school classroom. I'm sure I'll be updating this list frequently!

Aeolian Harp: This is a beautifully relaxing instrument that creates gorgeous images as you play. More for personal meditations than use in the classroom.

Accordéon: This app takes over your screen and turns it into a full-sounding accordion!

Bebot: This adorable little robot is actually a highly functional synthesizer.

Celtic Harp: This full-screen, customizable harp has a beautiful, soothing sound.

Glee Karaoke: If you don't mind the "Glee" branding, this is the best Karaoke app for iPad. Progress through songs and try to beat your high score (based on pitch and rhythm), and listen to top performances from around the world!

iGuzheng: A nice introduction to a popular Chinese zither. This app features beautiful demo songs and multitouch functionality for different effects.

iTabla Pro: If you are an Indian music performer or enthusiast, iTabla Pro is an incredible practice partner. 32 fully configurable taals are available, with table, two 5-string tanpuras, a shruti box, and more. iTabla can auto-tune to match your instrument. This is yet another example of an app that exceeds the performance of a dedicated hardware device, for a fraction of the cost. As far as apps go, though, this one is pricey ($25).

Magic Fiddle: Smule's Magic Fiddle is an expressive little virtual bowed stringed instrument. Go through a series of lessons, and share your performances with the world.

Magic Piano HD: An assortment of simplified keyboards, "light beams" to help you play classic tunes, and a social networking component make this another addictive app from Smule.

Melody Bell: I grew up playing handbells, so when I saw this app as part of the North Point iBand Christmas extravaganza, I had to have it! It's not a universal app, but the iPhone app looks great and is easier to play on the big screen.

Ratatap Drums: There are many virtual drum sets in the app store, including the nice one built in to GarageBand. Ratatap is one of my favorites of the dedicated drum apps.

ThumbJam: ThumbJam is a unique instrument designed completely for the iPad (and iPhone). 30 high-quality sounds are included, and in addition to your fingers (and thumbs!), this app uses the internal gyroscope as a controller. It also functions as a looper, and is compatible with AudioCopy/Paste. The configuration options and the fact that it doesn't rely on knowledge of real instrument technique make it excellent for the general music classroom.

YumiSynth: This is a unique bowed string simulator, in which one hand "bows" the instrument while the other fingers the notes. YumiSynth can be a highly expressive instrument with a little practice.

50 in 1 Piano HD: There are probably hundreds of piano apps in the app store. Out of the ones I've tried, 50 in 1 Piano is one of my favorites. In addition to a good piano sound, it has 49 more high-quality sampled instruments, effects, drumbeat loops, and 120 piano lessons, and more.

iPad apps Mega-Update part 4: Music Production apps

2011-06-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

EveryDay Looper: I just got this app and haven't had much time to play with it, but I already love it. For $6, you get a live performance tool that rivals many hardware loop stations worth hundreds of dollars. This video is worth a thousand words:

GarageBand: Apple's GarageBand for Mac has been a staple of my classroom technology use for three years. It was released for the iPad this spring, and for the most part, it does not disappoint. One thing I love about the iPad version is that it's easier to forbid students from using built-in loops–new files always default to a software or live instrument. There are a large number of high-quality sounds, cutting-edge virtual instruments, and "smart instruments," which are limited to a particular scale or chords. There are some limitations that are much more significant in certain styles of music than others. Like the desktop version, a song can only have one tempo. Unlike the desktop version, there is no piano roll editor, so if you make a mistake recording a track, your only option is to re-record. I'm guessing Apple will fix the latter problem in an update, since it's a major part of the desktop app.

One of the high-quality instruments built in to GarageBand

GarageBand's track view, very familiar to users of the desktop version.

iSequence: This is another recent purchase, and so far I think it's fantastic. iSequence is a pattern-based sequencer. Basic use is pretty intuitive (at least if you're somewhat familiar with sequencers), but if you're willing to spend some time with tutorials, it has some powerful features. You can loop sequences and record multiple tracks in real-time without ever hitting "stop," or you can step-record for the greatest accuracy. The app includes hundreds of instruments, mostly synths and kits, and has several high-quality additional banks for $1.99 each. There is also a built-in sampler, effects channels and mixer, and several import/export options. The next update will include full MIDI support. Here is a video combining iSequence and StudioTrack (below) with Audio Copy/Paste for a rockin' flute song:

Music Studio: Xewton's Music Studio was GarageBand for the iPad before GarageBand for the iPad was released. It is a powerful music production environment that is great for laying down a bunch of MIDI tracks. It also has a very functional piano roll editor, unlike GarageBand It comes with 40 free instruments; you can purchase 50 more high-quality instruments within the app for $14.99, or individual packages for less. Audio recording and .wav import are promised with the next update. Music Studio is pretty intuitive, even for younger students.

Music Studio's track view. Notice the tabs for changing modes.

Select and customize instruments in the instrument tab.

The double keyboard option. The two keyboards can record simultaneously onto separate tracks.

StudioTrack: StudioTrack is a high-quality 8-track recorder for the iPad. It includes AudioCopy/Paste and a number of other sharing options. The video above, under iSequence, uses AudioCopy/Paste to add a live flute track to an iSequence song.

Symphony Pro: Symphony Pro remains the best music notation option on the iPad, by quite a long shot. I was a beta tester for this app, and it has improved by leaps and bounds over the last year into quite a powerful notator. I use it primarily as a sketchpad for ideas, but it is becoming increasingly possible to use it as a primary notation tool for less complex scores. It still is more crash-prone than my other go-to music apps, which has given it a lower app store rating than it really deserves. I will do a full review of Symphony Pro in the near future. In the meantime, here is a screenshot:

Notes can be entered with the built-in keyboard or through tapping/dragging.

There isn't an actual lyric entry tool, but text boxes work for now.

iPad Mega-Update part 3: General Music Apps

2011-06-23T14:42:00.001-07:00

ForScore: ForScore is my favorite sheet music library/reader app. ForScore came out shortly after the iPad was released, and the developers have released frequent updates that have turned into a huge, highly functional feature set. ForScore stores an unlimited number of PDF's, and has many ways to organize your music, a large downloadable library of mostly piano music, the ability to browse and download other scores within the app, page-turn customization including links for repeats, setlists, and fantastic annotation capabilities. An essential app for musicians!

A piece displayed in ForScore.

ForScore with the menu bar showing.

Note Goal Pro: So far, I'm not very happy with the selection of developmentally-appropriate music theory apps for kids. Note Goal Pro is good for what it does, however. Like most of the beginner-level theory apps, it is piano-based. However, with the option to put letter names on the keys, it can be used as a basic note-reading quiz app for children learning other instruments. It has a customizable interface, adjustable levels, achievements, and the ability to save multiple users' data so that students can save their progress.

Note Goal Pro's default display.

Note colors and names turned on.

Padrucci: I'm cheating a bit here, as this is the only app in this list that I do not yet own. It just came out on June 5, and it looks great–I'll be purchasing it soon and will publish an update. Padrucci is a dedicated app for browsing the Petrucci Music Library (imslp.org), an enormous online database of public domain music that is a great source for music reader apps such as ForScore.

Pandora: Pandora is one of those apps I love to share with folks who are suspicious of the whole technology revolution. Type in your favorite artist, composer, song, or genre, and Pandora will instantly create a streaming radio station that plays music of that artist/composer and music like it, gradually expanding its scope to introduce you to new songs and artists. You can bookmark songs, artists, or albums, link directly to iTunes, and give thumbs up/thumbs down to songs. The more you use the thumb feature, the smarter your station gets about choosing songs you like. Pandora is free, and therefore ad-supported, but the occasional ads are short and nothing compared to FM radio ads.

Pandora on the Wailin' Jennys channel

SoundCloud: Soundcloud is a cloud sharing service for music and other audio, allowing you to safely store and share your own audio files, and browse sounds from all over the world. The SoundCloud app is currently only available as an iPhone app, but it works fine on the iPad. You can record straight into the app, browse, add favorites, and share with other services through this easy-to-use app.

SoundHound: Soundhound is another one of those apps that feels like it's straight off of Star Trek. SoundHound listens to your music, whether a song on the radio or your own voice humming, and quickly and quite accurately identifies the song and gives you tons of information about it, including artist info, lyrics, etc. It's getting more features all the time!

iPad mega-update part 2: General apps for teaching

2011-06-23T14:11:00.001-07:00

Edmodo: I have only just discovered Edmodo, a social network specifically designed for classroom use. It looks a lot like Facebook on the surface, but it is a completely safe, private network with full teacher control of her classroom sites. I plan to try out Edmodo with my Middle Schoolers next school year, and the iPad and iPhone apps are an easy way to access the site anywhere I go.

Keynote: Apple's presentation app, the third component of the iWork suite, really does put the "fun" in functional. I use it with the iPad projector adapter as a handy way to teach recorder and ukulele to a whole class. Like Pages and Numbers, you can sync your Keynote presentations to work on them on your desktop or iPhone.

A slide from my recorder Keynote presentation.

Planbook Touch: I use Jeff Hellman's Planbook software as my paperless lesson planning book. I love the desktop app, and the iPad version easily syncs through DropBox (free account required, see "DropBox" above). I find it very handy for accessing my lesson information on the go, but I don't recommend using it as a stand-alone app to replace your paper planbook until some more bugs and functionality issues are worked out.

Prezi: If you're a fan of the web-based presentation app Prezi, you must get the iPad app! Prezis look gorgeous on the iPad, and can of course be projected with the iPad projector adapter.

Remote Conductor: This is another app that I only discovered recently, but has become an invaluable part of my tech setup. Conductor basically turns my iPad into a wireless Magic Trackpad and keyboard for my laptop. If I'm using a Mac app with my projector, I can walk around the room controlling the computer remotely. Even better, I also set up my eBeam Edge interactive whiteboard, and the kids can go up to the board and interact with the "magic pen" while I use my iPad to input text or take over when necessary (sort of like those passenger-seat brakes in the driver's ed car).

Splashtop: Splashtop is a remote desktop app to use with your computer, Mac or PC. With Splashtop, your iPad mirrors your computer screen. In other words, it feels like you are running desktop applications on your iPad. I haven't had many situations where I've really needed this, but it has an extreme cool factor, and I could see using it to let kids use a desktop app such as Sibelius Groovy Music on an iPad.

Next up: General music apps!

iPads at Home and School, part one: Index and Productivity apps

2011-06-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

One year ago, I wrote this post about my early favorite iPad apps for teaching, and it still receives more hits than any other post on my blog. My iPad has now become a regular part of my teaching workflow, and recently the Lower School received 8 shiny new iPads for classroom use. I'm also purchasing several iPads for use in the LS and MS music program next year, which I will sync with my account for access to my most snazzy (expensive) music apps. This series of posts is a list of my favorite 75+ apps, for personal use and for teaching. I've put short descriptions of the apps, and will post full reviews of some of them in later posts. Enjoy, and please add a comment if you have a great app I'm missing.

App categories for Jo's Massive List (these will become links as I publish each category):

Productivity apps:

Bento: Bento for the iPad is a simple, attractive database program that can work as a standalone product or sync with Bento for the Mac and/or iPhone. Information fields can include photos and other media–useful to music teachers is the recent addition of audio fields. I keep track of my students in Bento, divided into collections by class, with text fields for my notes on their progress and photos/recordings of projects.

Bento (generic screenshot, since all my records have students' names and photos)

Corkulous: Corkulous was an early favorite app, though I am now more likely to use iThoughts or Pages because of their superior syncing ability and easy workflow. Corkulous is loads of fun for notetaking or simple scrapbooking, though, providing an unlimited number of virtual corkboards with notes, to-do items, photos, etc.

Corkulous

DropBox: Dropbox is a cloud storage service that provides 2GB free storage. You can access a wide variety of stored files from the iPad app, which are instantly synced between all your devices. The best thing about DropBox, however, is that many apps use it as a seamless way to keep your files synced within the app. Get an account now!

Evernote: I am always having to tell people that no, I don't work for this company. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE this app in all its forms! Evernote is a cloud-based note service that works through apps on the iPhone, iPad, desktop, and any web browser. You can quickly upload typed-in notes, pictures, PDF files, screenshots, web pages, etc. to Evernote where they are immediately available on all your devices. Evernote integrates with many apps and hardware. For example, right now I'm in the middle of scanning years of filed papers with my Fujitsu ScanSnap, which sends them directly to my "Paperless" folder in Evernote, where I can later add tags and other information. The other completely awesome thing about Evernote is that it goes through all your PDFs and images and performs text recognition on them so that absolutely everything is searchable. A basic account is completely free! Read more here.

Part of my "Brain" notebook in Evernote

iCab Mobile: iCab Mobile has become my go-to web browser on the iPad. It looks a lot like desktop Safari. It has tabbed browsing, allows downloads of many types of files, integrated DropBox support, etc.

iDisk: If you are a MobileMe user, this one is a no-brainer. Access your iDisk on the go. I'm assuming that this app will change as Apple integrates the new iCloud service and phases out MobileMe.

Informant HD: The built-in iPad Calendar app isn't bad, but one thing I miss from my Palm OS days is having a full-featured personal organizer with to-do integration. I've been pretty happy with Informant, which is also available on the iPhone. It syncs with your internal calendar and/or with Google calendar, and unlike other calendars I've tried, it's never messed up my data even though I sync with both, including several shared Google calendars. The to-do integration is well done, and after a bit of a learning curve, it is quick to enter or change data.

June 2011 in my Informant calendar

iThoughts HD: I haven't been using iThoughts for very long, but it already ranks at the top of my "favorite apps" list. I am a big fan of mindmapping for brainstorming and personal productivity, and iThoughts allows you to create beautiful mindmaps with an intuitive interface that does all the organizational work for you, while allowing all the customization you'd like.

My summer brainstorming iThoughts project

Numbers: One of Apple's iWork suite, Numbers is a beautiful spreadsheet app that is easy to use and creates professional-looking graphs and presentations. I don't use spreadsheets often, but it is fun to play with!

Outliner: CarbonFin Outliner is a great tool for linear organization. It's a simple but powerful app for creating hierarchical outlines.

Pages: Apple's own word processing app, part of the iWork suite, was one of the first apps to convince users that the iPad was much more than a media consumption device. It is quite a powerful word processor, with all the features you'd expect: many fonts, standard formatting options, the ability to insert photos and clip art, and, added recently, the ability to organize your docs into folders and wirelessly sync with your desktop or iPhone.

ToDo: Though I now use Informant HD as an all-inclusive personal organizer, Appigo's ToDo is a thing of beauty if you don't mind having a separate app for your to-do list. It uses a gorgeous intuitive interface with a variety of themes, and integrates well into the Getting Things Done (GTD) method of personal organization.

ToDo for the iPad

Stay tuned for Teacher apps!

Quote for this morning's news

2011-05-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

"Are we seeking power for power's sake? Or are we seeking to make the world and our nation better places to live. If we seek the latter, violence can never provide the answer. The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

--Martin Luther King Jr.

Move Over Little Bugs, Muscle Ant is Here!

2011-05-02T18:11:00.000-07:00

We're doing our GarageBand unit in First-Year Music Rotation in the Middle School. Before the students create their own projects, we compose a collaborative song to learn the basics of GarageBand, and how to do more than just use built-in loops. At lunch, several students had made up a chant to encourage a tiny ant carrying a large beetle across the sidewalk, so we incorporated that into our recorded audio. Are you ready, world? Here is "The Muscle Ant Song."

LS Music Update

2011-04-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

I seem to be following an annual tradition of frequent updates in the fall, fewer in the winter, and one or two giant updates in the spring. Such is the life of a teacher, I suppose! Anyway, rest assured that many exciting things have been going on in the Lower School since my last post. Here are just a few glimpses:

All classes have recently been playing with one of my favorite sets of classroom instruments, Boomwhackers. Boomwhackers are simple plastic tubes, all the same diameter but in a wide variety of tuned lengths. A full set can make a 3-octave scale. Boomwhackers are played by, well, whacking! Except for a completely non-negotiable rule against whacking other people, students may whack pretty much anything to create rhythmic tones. Boomwhackers are the perfect size for passing games, drum circle-type activities, and even tossing games. They can also be used to create melodies, one child per note, like handbells. Even a little science is thrown in as younger children learn the relationship between length and pitch, and older students begin to understand more advanced concepts such as why the "Octavator" cap makes the sound go down an octave.

Boomwhackers!

We've increased our use of technology in Lower School music with the addition of my eBeam interactive whiteboard. Younger students have been exploring tone color and phrasing with Sibelius' Groovy Shapes, and older students have been using Groovy Jungle as well as GarageBand. Check out this rockin' song by Mountain 3rd years.** Students composed short snippets of melodies using their recorders. We then played them into GarageBand and mixed and matched to make a song. We added drums, bass, and guitar with built-in Apple loops and changed the melody sound to electric guitar. Now they can jam along with it on their recorders.

Forest 3rd-years collaborated to create this recorder duet, named "Doorbell Song" after the falling minor third "doorbell" interval. We composed it in Noteflight, a free online flash-based music notation editor.

Today we had a special musical surprise. This afternoon was our annual Earth Day celebration, planned and run for the Lower School by Middle School advisee groups. During the games and fun we were treated to a set by local band Birds and Arrows, provided by Shakori Hills community outreach. They were fantastic! Their albums are available in stores and on iTunes, and they perform frequently around the area.

Finally, our 4th-years are hard at work planning this year's Springfest, to be held on Thursday, May 26. Children in all classes have been voting on their favorite songs, and songs will be announced next week. Stay tuned!

**edited to add: The Forest 4th-years finished their song today. Here it is!

Brains.....

2011-04-16T12:31:00.000-07:00

As a musician, nerd, and child of a pediatric neurologist I have always been fascinated by the brain. Though I'm no neuroscientist, keeping up with current brain research, especially as it relates to learning, is one of my favorite hobbies. So when my wonderful Middle School head teacher encouraged me to teach a trimester-long elective all about the brain, I was thrilled! The course is called "Your Brain: A User's Manual," and is loosely based on developmental molecular biologist John Medina's book "Brain Rules," and highly influenced by the book "NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children" by Po Bronsen and Ashley Merryman, among many other sources.

We're now past the halfway point of the trimester, and teaching this class has been as fun and fascinating as I expected! My students range from 5th to 8th grade, and are extremely interested in learning more about their own brains and how to help them function to their maximum potential. They also enjoy learning about the bizarre brain injuries and disorders that have helped teach us about normal brain function, and performing memory and processing experiments on themselves and others.

Here are a few glimpses into our class:

Creating a synaptic network with modeling clay neurons!

To demonstrate the non-linear note-taking and brainstorming technique of mind mapping, we made a class mind map about memory.

We're experimenting with under-desk exercise pedals, hand weights, and Chinese exercise
balls to see if keeping the body active during class improves focus and learning.

We have spent a lot of time recently learning about sleep, and why it is so important to learning and practically every other aspect of human health. We especially liked a 60 Minutes segment on the science of sleep. Some of our students are so fired up about this topic that they want to make a presentation to the entire Middle School, especially the teachers! I can't get the video to embed properly, but you can view it here. It will be well worth your time!

Finally, one of our favorite experiments. This is a Stroop test. Say out loud the name of each color, not the word. Notice how much slower it gets on line 3...

What's New: Music, Gadgets, and Wonderland

2011-02-07T09:21:00.000-08:00

It's an exciting month at CFS! I am thrilled to have received an eBeam Edge, a portable gadget that turns any whiteboard into an interactive whiteboard with just a computer and projector. Here is a very bad photo of the setup in the LS studio:

Just a few things I'll be trying with the kids this month:

A music notation page in the eBeam Scrapbook

Having Mountain and Forest students take turns writing music notation on the board, then playing back the compositions on recorders
Planning Springfest with the LS first-years using Curio, which allows them to create mind-maps for brainstorming, insert media, song lyrics, etc., and later drag-and-drop virtual index cards to create a "storyboard" for the event.
Sibelius Groovy Music products for teaching many musical concepts through composing
Collaborative GarageBand projects with LS and MS students
Rewarding great behavior with the Bleat Box!

The Bleat Box! So much fun...

In other news, River and Sky classes had fun creating their own "alphabet compositions," using musical concepts such as dynamics, legato and staccato, and timbre to create silly music for the whole class to perform. Here are pictures of a couple of our finished products:

Finally, this weekend we'll be showing off months of work in the Middle School with our musical production of "Alice in Wonderland!" Tickets are going FAST, so reserve yours with Nancy in the Center for Friday or Saturday evening or Saturday matinee. Lower and Middle school students will also get to see the production during the school day on Thursday.

Using Technology to Teach Music

2011-01-26T09:46:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about the mindful use of technology in my classroom. It's no secret that I'm, well, a big nerd. Unlike many people my age, I have been using computers extensively since the age of 5 when my family purchased an Apple II+. I was chatting on a BBS with a 1200 baud modem when I was 9, when parents' biggest cyber-worry was that Pac-Man would rot their kids' brains. At 11 I used Basic to program my computer to play my Suzuki violin tunes in a monotonous sine wave. I'm a gadget person and love to try out all things new, yet can be alarmed like any other teacher or parent when kids become so immersed in technology that they aren't reading books, playing outside, or learning how to find information without Google. Over the last week, I've come up with five points that define my ideal use of technology in the classroom. I'd love to hear your input in the comments!

Using Keynote to teach ukulele to young students

1) Technology should never be used only for technology's sake. I believe it is essential to build bridges to the high-tech world our kids are growing up in. However, I also believe it is better to use no technology at all than to use technology for busywork or babysitting. In the same way, while presentation software like Powerpoint or Keynote has plenty of valid uses (for instance, in music education it's very useful for displaying lyrics, chords, or sheet music for the whole class to see), using it exactly like a traditional blackboard is not exactly technology integration. On the other hand, using an interactive whiteboard allows teacher and students to manipulate words, shapes, music notes, etc. well beyond the capabilities of the chalk equivalent.

A screenshot from Sibelius Groovy Shapes, for lower schoolers

2) Technology should usually be transparent, especially in the younger grades. For instance, I look forward to using an interactive whiteboard to help children drag sound-producting music notes, instruments, shapes, etc. around to help them learn how music is put together with all of their senses. More than any traditional method, children of all learning styles are being served with visual, audial, and kinesthetic experiences. This does NOT in any way replace singing and playing instruments, but brings together students' musical knowledge in a unique way that fits with the high-tech world they're growing up in. I don't have students sitting in front of computers until Middle School, when they have the skills and knowledge to work independently in highly interactive programs or websites such as GarageBand or Noteflight. Even then, students are recording in acoustic sounds and tracks, visiting each other's computers to share ideas, and using MIDI keyboards to input music. The computer is just a tool to put it all together.

3) Technology should make your life easier, not harder. Of course, just like any new teaching technique or other professional development area, it will take time and work to learn how to use and integrate a new piece of technology into the classroom. However, if more class time is spent on technical difficulties than learning, perhaps it's not the right method for the task. For example, my middle school World Music class created a wiki through Wikispaces. We spent most of one class period learning how to use the wiki and perform effective research on the web. After that, the students used their computer time well and rarely had trouble with the technology (effective research was another matter!). After that success, I used a wiki in my GarageBand class for the students to post their completed projects. It turned out that the skills that were easy to learn in the context of a more "academic" class were confusing and time consuming in a music creation class. We spent way too much class time figuring out how to use the tool that was supposed to make class easier, taking away from the musical experience. Now I know about SoundCloud and other sites specifically designed for this kind of use, so next time I teach GarageBand, we'll get that wasted class time back and kids will not feel frustrated that their hard work isn't being shared properly.

A partial page of the Middle School World Music Wiki, created by a 6th-grader

4) Online ethics is a difficult but ESSENTIAL part of using technology in the classroom. For younger students, the most common problem I've had so far is wandering off the task into another program or website--much like my preferred misbehavior in elementary school of sneaking a novel inside my textbook. The dreaded issues are those that arise as children discover social networking and the wonders of Internet links. LIMITS are extremely important, but there is no way to cover every possible issue with limits. Really, the mean or dangerous or sneaky behaviors kids tend to engage in online are no different than tweens' and teens' more traditional explorations, except for the huge distinction that they are PUBLIC, LASTING, and FAR-REACHING. Developing brains are not capable of understanding risk and long-term consequences in the same way that mature brains do (think about that when your teenager starts driver's ed, eek!). Clear rules and consequences are the responsibility of both teachers and parents, but children also need to learn WHY these things are so important, and why cyberbullying, online chatting with strangers, etc. can have a much more lasting and negative effect than the offline equivalent. And, like any experimental tween/teen behavior, kids will push the limits even when you think they have a clear understanding of why they shouldn't.

5) Knowledge is power. We are still in the very beginning stages of learning how technology affects the brain, learning, and community. It is so important for teachers and parents to stay informed without panicking when a study shows that brainwaves change when kids look at a screen, or that early technology use negatively impacts handwriting, as these are just tiny pieces of the entire puzzle. Technology will not go away, but it will transform more quickly than we can imagine. Already, we're talking about how much more open and interactive the iPad can be for many educational applications than the laptop, and who knows what the next innovation will be. Our kids are growing up in this world and we can't stop them--we can only serve as temporary guides on their journey. I don't want my kids or anyone else's going out there alone!

Martin Luther King Day Celebration

2011-01-22T19:45:00.000-08:00

Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.
-Martin Luther King Jr.

Just a quick post to thank the community for a beautiful Martin Luther King Day celebration this Monday. I was so proud of the Lower Schoolers for their performance of Sally Rogers' "What Can One Little Person Do," especially our enthusiastic soloists who only had two weeks to prepare for the big show! If participation in the choir and drumming group continues to grow at this rate, we'll need to rent out a coliseum by 2012... it was quite a rush to play Brazilian rhythms with 50+ drummers and percussionists, from first-year Lower Schoolers to grandparents. The large gospel choir brought the audience to its feet. The words of Martin Luther King Jr. are every bit as relevant–and inspirational–as they were when he first spoke them. Hearing his words and those of other civil rights activists between heartfelt performances and worshipful silence was beyond powerful.

Before this year's celebration, I didn't know the history of the MLK holiday. One of our own teachers, Henry Walker, read a letter he wrote that was published in Newsweek in the early 1980s in support of the holiday. We also heard Ronald Reagan's moving words in support of the new holiday. I hope that communities far and wide will continue to work to make this day more than the tail end of a 3-day weekend, but a day of celebration, service, and reflection. And large drumming ensembles!

Happy New Year and Thank You!

2011-01-01T20:37:00.000-08:00

I want to wish the CFS community and the wider music education community a very happy New Year, and a musical 2011! I also want to thank the wonderful community of Lower and Middle School parents for providing the generous holiday gift cards that enable my obsession with learning new musical instruments. You may wish to rescind your gifts, when you meet ACCORDION GIRL, saving the world one reed at a time!

I named her Rosebud.

See you next week. :-)