Teaching Music Improvisation with Technology

Description

Incorporating technology in music classrooms can take the mystery out of improvisation. What music technology does is establish a strong foundation for chord, scale, phrase, ear training, and listening exercises, creating a solid backdrop for student expression. As author and educator Mike Fein shows, technology is a valuable tool that can be used effectively to supplement student practice time while also developing the skills necessary to become a proficient improviser. Complete with notated exercises, accompaniment tracks, and listening resources, this book gives teachers methods to set their students free to make mistakes and to develop their own ear for improvisation at their own pace. Broken down into significant areas of music technology, each chapter focuses on developing a new skill and guides readers to tangible outcomes with the assistance of hands-on activities that can be immediately implemented into the classroom. In addition to these hands-on activities, each chapter provides the reader with an "iPad Connection" to various iOS applications, which allows teachers and students another, albeit significantly less expensive, medium through which to learn, share, and create art. This book will appeal to music educators of students in grades K-12. It will serve collegiate music education courses secondarily, and will also appeal to those music educators who work with improvisation and technology. Cover Teaching Music Improvisation with Technology Copyright Dedication Preface Acknowledgments Contents About the Companion Website 1 Introduction to the Mechanics of Improvisation Improvisation is … Developing Improvisation in Musicians Repertoire Guidelines Classroom Technology How Can Technology Facilitate the Development of Musicians’ Skill in Improvising? Existing Materials and Methods iPad Connection: SmartMusic for iOS Breaking the Ice: Percussion-​Only Improv Jam Chapter 1 Review 2 Auto Accompaniment Software: Band-​in-​a-​Box and iReal Pro “E♭ Jam Blues” Blues Variation: “Freddie Freeloader” Modal Improvisation: “So What” Chord Bracketing: “Autumn Leaves” iPad Connection: iReal Pro Chapter 2 Review 3 Notation Software: Note Flight and forScore Notation Software Options Creating a Lead Sheet: “Für Elise” by Beethoven Creating an Exercise Sheet: “Money” by Pink Floyd Creating a Motif-​Based Solo: “Four” by Miles Davis Creating a Chord-​Tone Solo: “All the Things You Are” by Kern/​Hammerstein The Power of MIDI in Notation Software iPad Connection: forScore Chapter 3 Review 4 Music Production Software: Audacity, GarageBand, and GarageBand for iOS Isolating and Slowing Down Audio in Audacity: Miles Davis solo on “So What” Comparing Melodies in Audacity: “All Along the Watchtower” by Dylan, Hendrix,  and Matthews Importing MIDI into GarageBand: “Maiden Voyage” by Herbie Hancock High-​Quality Audio Recording in GarageBand and Audacity: Reprise of “All the Things  You Are” Chord Tone Solo iPad Connection: Creating Accompaniments Using Smart Instruments in GarageBand  for iOS (GBiOS): “Little Sunflower” by Freddie Hubbard Chapter 4 Review 5 Web Resources for Listening: YouTube and Spotify Using YouTube to Teach Musical Improvisation Using Spotify to Teach Musical Improvisation iPad Connection: YouTube and Spotify Apps Chapter 5 Review 6 Web Resources for Posting: SoundCloud, Podomatic, Google Drive, and YouTube Preparing Audio Files for Web Posting Posting to SoundCloud Posting to Podomatic Posting and Sharing with Google Drive iPad Connection: Posting to SoundCloud and YouTube from GarageBand for iOS iPad Connection: YouTube Capture Chapter 6 Review 7 Web Design to Organize Online Material Using Weebly Web Design Overview Web Design with Weebly iPad Connection: Weebly App Chapter 7 Review Closing Remarks Index