After first focussing on the use of a digital audio workstation in the music classroom for the student’s benefit, this week saw our class take the next logical step in the world of DAWs and recording technology; the use of microphones to record live audio. Our lecturer James walked us through the details of defining a dynamic microphone, some revision on polar or cardioid patterns and achieving good sound quality with a healthy signal level to avoid clipping or distortion.
In small groups, we were given an activity to record a few simple tracks of really any kind of live vocals or body percussion, with an objective to become comfortable with using the technology. Specifically, we were taught these processes using Garageband, the infamous Apple developed application. While the end audio product was not of major importance, the process itself was important in today’s lesson. Here is a visual result of the work we did :
This past weekend, my partner purchased a new Microsoft laptop for her university study, and as many young people often do, we debated the value of Apple against Microsoft (or windows in general). Why bother mentioning this old and often boring debate here? My main point for supporting Apple technology, are the powerful applications such as Garageband and iMovie. These are complete package options for those who require a workstation for sound and visual projects. Correct me if I’m wrong, I don’t see Microsoft developing stock applications for their computers with the same level of power for those working in creative fields. Regardless, let’s not continue to dwell in this long and tired debate.
Our lecturer James related our activity to our future careers as music educators, mentioning that grasp of recording technology is imperative for recoding school choirs, recitals, student assessments etc.
I certainly remember and appreciate the effort my own secondary music teachers put into the recording of and live sound for our performances, both in performance assessments and for the annual school events in which we could show off in front of the entire school.
Currently, we are at the second week of our class focusing on technology in music education. My goal moving forward with the class and this blog is to engage in online conversation with a network of music educators and students. Hopefully by week 3 I will have begun to start that process!
However, an article (and blog) I have come across this week is from Katie Wardrobe. In 2019 she created a blog post/guide to using Apple and Windows computers in the music classroom, exploring the details which I read about last week in the blog post I mentioned from WURRLYedu.
She breaks down different areas of music teaching such as songwriting, music notation, recording technology, ear training and theory, while providing examples of on and offline technologies available to teachers to further engage their students in the music classroom. She gave many great examples, including Soundtrap which we explored in class last week. I will definitely be keeping track of her blog/website “Midnight music” as a resource for my own use as a future music educator.
Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more.
Mitchell Davis
References
Mitchell Davis Music Education Study Blog 2019-22 