TiME Reflections
- nathaneastman04
- Feb 23, 2024
- 9 min read
Updated: Jun 17, 2024
WK1: Meditation + loops!
We started this seminar with 10 minutes of mindful meditation. Not exactly what I was expecting on from a course based in Technology, though I found it really relaxing as peaceful. It was a nice way to start a class on a Friday afternoon where everyone, including myself, felt somewhat over tired just from the first week back.
After, we went straight into DAWs! Being a contemporary music practice student, this felt rather comfortable. I was shocked to find out that in her school in Mt Druitt, Catlin teaches Ableton to her students. Though I will swear by Ableton till the day I die, I know uni classmates who find just looking at Ableton's interface overwhelming (some saying it looks like a complicated calculator from the 90s). What DAW is best for schools is a question that is constantly on my mind. Here are some of my favourites:
Beginner Friendly: | More advanced: |
Garage Band | Logic Pro |
BandLab | Cakewalk |
SoundTrap | Ableton Live |
I think, like most things in education, this isn't a one-size-fits-all situation. There are so many factors that come into play - budget, Mac/Windows, musical tastes of the school etc. It's also important to consider that these DAWs are constantly changing with updates, for instance, BandLab a few years ago only had basic features, but there most recent update has features I haven't seen anywhere else so far (mainly features that have to do with Ai).
We got started in SoundTrap, and online loop-based DAW. the interface was considerably easy to navigate, and plenty of loops and samples to choose from. I started with this nice minor sample called "Indian Flute" (not sure if it's actually an Indian flute though, yikes). I found a THICC beat that worked well with it, then I added a jazzy intro, experimenting with the more 'acoustic' instruments. It was nice to see that SoundTrap allows you to play with automation - something that some basic DAWs don't have. Listen to JAZZDRILL by clicking the button below:
WK2: A Podcast About Microphones
This seminar, we split the class into two groups to create a podcast aimed for high school aged students. To be honest, there was a lot of content to tackle. But we assigned one question to each person, and somehow came up with a rough script in a Google Doc. The content we covered included Audio Interfaces, balanced and unbalanced mics, types of mic, stereo recording and audio effects. I dig into a few websites talking microphones in classroom/ educational settings, and I found this helpful, but also interesting website: https://midnightmusic.com/2019/09/which-microphones-should-i-buy-for-my-music-classroom/
They say the best option for students is a USB mic. Not sure I agree with that. Yes, you would be saving money from not buying an interface, but wouldn't you want them to be able to plug in their guitars and basses directly in? That's a tangent
Dynamic mics capture the voice and only what's close to it, while condenser mics picks up everything in the room. Interfaces connect the mic to the computer (condenser mics need 48v from the interface as they need power). I enjoyed chucking in audio effects on people's voices for examples.
We recorded the whole script just time. I was really keen to create theme music for the start of the podcast (something I've done before in school assignments), but sadly we run out of time :(
Listen to the podcast using the button below:
WK3: Recording Audio + Video
This seminar, we recorded a 'talent' using at least 2 shots, and production sound mixer.
Photography is something that I really enjoy in my free time, though I have an old hand-me-down Canon camera, and I'm far too broke to upgrade. It was sick to use a bunch of professional grade equipment, though it was a little out of my range. We took the equipment and found a nice setting for the recording.
After viewing and listening back, we discovered how much echo was in the room - we probably should've just other multiple dynamic mics for each speaker. It was funny how we used a huge HD camera to shoot the main front-on shot, get the way a smaller 4k camera was used to shoot the side angle shot creating a far clearer image. Size really isn't everything.
WK4: Notation software
We all arrived in the classroom with some midi Bach playing using Muscore. This was Jame's way of showing that Muscore's virtual instruments are (as he so professionally put it), "not shitty."
This week we discussed multiple applications and websites used for music notation. It was pretty trippy starting the class with James waving around a fat textbook about Sibelius, only to reveal that he is the author. We experimented with a number of web notation software:
Noteflihgt
Something I did not know prior to this lesson is that there is a universal way of exporting scores: MusicXML. It's very helpful to know that there is a way of transferring scores seamlessly across platforms.
We discussed the legal side of scores and their complexities and loopholes. It was scary to hear that a school in Queensland was shut down due to its music teacher's improper use of distributing sheet music. This is the one way in which America is ahead of us, if something is being used for educational purposes, it's all free game. This is a matter that all music teachers have to consider when teaching, it's definitely going to one that's going to be challenging to navigate.
I remeber in High School, our music wanted us to put on the music "The Wiz" but was unable to get the rights, so we settled for the vastly different "Wizard of Oz". I'd be curious to know what the process of getting the rights for a musical in a school would be.
WK5: Video Editing
Video editing is something I engaged in a lot during my time in school. Somehow, I've managed to keep all the Adobe Apps installed on my laptop from taking the HSC multimedia subject.
In my personal experience, there have been many times that my high school teachers gave us an assignment to create a video based on the subject. I remember having to make a modern adaptation of Othello, and making a mockumentary about the Soviet Union (where I starred as Stalin). In all these experiences, it gave me and a lot of my classmates stronger intrinsic motivation, as we all wanted to create a good funny video. I think giving an elective music class a small project of making a documentary about the history of a genre is one that would work well. Moreover, every teenager knows how to edit a TikTok video (which is surprisingly more difficult than you might realise), hence these video editing skills may be transferable.
In today's culture, I believe the need for professional musicians to know the basics of video recording growing rapidly. Does this mean a part of music education should involve video creation?
We processed the footage from 2 weeks ago, into a short clip. It's surprising to see how noticeable the quality difference is between cameras. I think there are a lot of things that we could've done better, namely colour grading, but as an experiment, the final project worked well.
WK6: SYNTHESIS! and DAWless S
This week we looked at the basics of Synthesis. We began by looking how synthesizers work, in relation to how we experience sound as humans.
I really enjoyed playing with the iO 808, though it sucks that you can't export the audio or midi. It's crazy to think the original version of this costs up to $8000, yet you can use it for free online.
Looking at 'Electronic Music Pedagogy" was really was encouraging. The tutorial videos on this website is definitely one that I will be coming back to in schools.I pray that he continues making these tutorial videos in 10 years when the pop music scene changes.
Using LittleBits was crazy enjoyable. I can imagine so my year 7-8 kids loving this. However, learning the price tag it carries was disheartening.
I really loved this video with the goat Reggie Watts:
Us messing around with LittleBits:
WK7: AI
AI in Music Education: The Ethical Dilemma
In our recent lecture on AI in music education, we delved into the double-edged sword that is artificial intelligence. The potential of AI to revolutionize education is undeniable, particularly in areas like music composition, where it can provide students with innovative starting points for their creative projects. However, this potential is marred by significant ethical concerns and practical challenges.
On the one hand, AI can be a powerful tool for educators. It offers exciting possibilities for enhancing learning experiences, especially in fields like math where AI can personalize learning and provide instant feedback. In music education, AI could potentially help students with composition by generating initial ideas or offering new creative directions. This could be especially useful for students who struggle to get started on projects or need inspiration.
Yet, the dark side of AI in education cannot be ignored. One of the primary concerns is the ease with which students can use AI to generate entire assignments, bypassing the learning process altogether. This not only undermines educational integrity but also forces teachers to constantly adapt their assessment methods to stay ahead of AI capabilities. As one student mentioned, "AI is causing a lot of teachers to rethink class projects," highlighting the ongoing battle between innovation and academic honesty.
Moreover, the ethical implications of AI in music education are profound. AI systems often generate content by analyzing vast amounts of existing work, which raises questions about originality and intellectual property. For instance, AI can "steal" elements from musicians' works, such as their unique vocal styles, and incorporate them into new compositions without proper attribution. This was pointed out during the lecture, with a particular emphasis on the need for ethical guidelines to govern AI use in creative fields.
Despite these challenges, AI does hold promise if used responsibly. It can assist in developing initial composition ideas, offering a valuable tool for students to explore their creativity. However, striking the right balance between leveraging AI's benefits and maintaining educational integrity requires careful consideration and continuous dialogue among educators, students, and technologists.
In conclusion, while AI has the potential to enhance music education, it also brings significant ethical and practical challenges. It's crucial for educators to find ways to integrate AI that support learning without compromising the integrity of the educational process. This ongoing conversation will shape the future of AI in classrooms, ensuring it serves as a tool for enhancement rather than a shortcut to evasion.
Reflection written with Chatgpt: https://chatgpt.com/share/6415e57a-d4d6-4015-8701-0fbed0d27517
AI-generated image of "AI in music education"
WK8: Mix Up Match Up
Unfortunately, I was unable to attend today's class. But that did not stop me from playing around with Ableton's learning websites. I remember accidentally stumbling across Ableton's learning synths page when I was first getting into music production, and found it ridiculously helpful. It's a shame that I missed this class as I feel as if it's one that I would have really enjoyed.
My friends and I ran a school meme page on Instagram back in the day. Here's a beat I made sampling our maths teacher Mr Smith. We planned to post it on the meme page, but we asked for his permission, and he declined. (https://www.instagram.com/ncs.memes/)
WK9: The Maker Movement
This seminar, like most, was mainly just James showing us a bunch of cool gear that would be useful for educational purposes. We focused on the Maker Movement and the challenge of reversing your garbage.
We started with using Sratch to create our own memory game. Though this was super interesting, my game did not turn out as well as I would have liked it to. I tried diving into it without using any instructions (a technique of mine I tend to use far too often), then found myself lost in a program, not knowing what anything meant :(
One piece of gear, The Bare Conductive Touch Board kit looked really cool. I think turning a wall into a piano would be usual and fun.
When we broke off into experimenting with what we wanted, I wanted to see how far I could push the Makey Makey. After about 40 minutes of figuring things out, I managed to turn playdough into a mid-controller! I had to re configure the buttons on the Makey Makey so that when it was click the computer thought I was using the keyboard piano. I don't think getting school students to figure this out for themselves is wise, but I think this has potential for really cool games in a music class
WK11: BYOD, Mobile Learning, Phones
I loved this site that James word on, listing all the possible digital things we can use as music educators:
James gave me an old Thinkpad with Linux installed, and I tried to download as many music-related apps as possible. I tried Muscore, but was unable due to password complications. what I found quickly after is the amount of DAWs available on Linux is a reasonably short list.
Although breathing new life into old deceives can save them from being dumped, it is unfortunate to realise that you can only do so much with these "lightweight" operating systems.
We took a quick survey on the literature surrounding phones in schools, we drew to the conclusion that it is far more complex than Nesa makes it out to be. Although, I've heard many really messed up things teenagers have done with social media, so I can sympathise with those schools who want nothing to do with that side of culture.
WK12: Teaching with technology
This week we had the pleasure of Peter Lee from Musition and Auralia. Although, these websites are not ones that I used in schools, I have used them for Music Fundamentals 2 and 3, and have grown to appreciate the program for its simplicity.
Gamification in Education Digital game-based learning is intriguing. While games can make learning more engaging, they must balance fun with educational value to prevent distractions. It was cool to see that not only is Peter planning to increase gamification in his programs, but also letting them be optional, allowing the teacher to tailor them to each class.
The ability to create customized courses and quizzes within Auralia, tailored to specific curriculum needs, is a game-changer. I'm curious to know about the cognitive impact is when writing notation digitally as opposed to on dead tree. Understanding how students interact with digital content can inform better website design and prevent the "death by PowerPoint," by creating more engaging digital learning environments.
WK13: GTD + Digital Stress
Words can not explain how much I relate to the following:
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