A Noteflight Review

A

Review

As a Massachusetts music educator, I was already familiar with noteflight - a Boston based company who has had a fairly large presence at our Massachusetts Music Educator's Association All State Conferences for the last several years. Despite my familiarity however this:



... was by far the most complex score I had ever created using the system, having only really used it to demonstrate composing a simple melody line with my classes previously. I was happily surprised at the ease of use once I got into things. After my initial disappointment at not being able to use the MIDI keyboard I had purchased for use in this class unless I paid for a premium membership I quickly learned the keyboard shortcuts making entry using the QWERTY keyboard on my laptop a breeze. Adding different types of texts (lyrics, instrument titles, tempo marking, chord symbols) was intuitive and easy and I especially appreciated the ability to nudge things in any direction I wanted to really customize the look.

When using the software with my students, I love that you can't over or underfill a measure. Since my general music students are not expertly musically literate, they still sometimes struggle putting the proper number of beats in a measure when writing out their compositions. Since noteflight will automatically fill the remaining beats of the measure with rests, and prevents you from adding too many beats, it becomes mistake-proof (making sure stems are going in the right directions and note heads are appropriately sized are also big wins in my classroom). I appreciate the level of confidence my students gain from this and find that they more willingly will write out their compositions in noteflight than they want to tackle writing it out by hand. Especially when dealing with the population of students that feel less skilled with the technical aspects of music, I like to give them tools that make their successes come easily.

In completing this assignment, I am actually excited at the possibilities I see for uses in my classroom! The ease of embedding the score into this blog post makes me think of sharing parts for students to practice with at home. (No more making rehearsal CDs? I don't dare dream!) An expanded composition project for my students is also floating around in my head, especially if I am able to convince my administration of the value of a premium membership for my classroom. I do appreciate that they kept the subscription service relatively affordable.

Noteflight is a powerful notation software, with a serviceable free version (other than the lack of MIDI functionality there were no real problems, not being able to add a "vocal" line was easily worked around by adding a violin line and renaming) that will serve both novice and professional musicians. While power users would clearly rather use something more robust like Finale, for the everyday needs of the typical educator I think noteflight fills the bill nicely.

Creative Thinking

Building a better thinker...

I spoke last week about the need for Music Educators to consider the value-added nature of our teaching. How we must always be on our guard and advocates for our programs. One of the best ways we can ensure our role as a key member of the learning team is by helping our students become 21st century learners. As music educators, we are uniquely positioned to see our students express themselves in ways many of their other teachers (specifically their core academic teachers) may never experience. I have often had discussions with my colleagues where it is abundantly clear that "Johnny" is not the same student in my class as they are in math or social studies. Kids who may not excel anywhere else can find their home in the music room, whether in a performing ensemble or other music classes, and the skills they learn in our rooms can then be applied in other areas of their lives (both academic and not.)

The crux of this transformation is creativity. 

A core member of the 4Cs of 21st century thinking:

The apex of Bloom's Taxonomy:

... and where other disciplines may struggle with incorporating creativity into their lessons, the arts are inherently creative positioning the music classroom as the place where that skill can be learned. Bauer (2014) discusses some of the body of research into developing the creative mind and fostering creativity in our students and while there are as many techniques as there are teachers and learners, the basic formula is to provide students with sufficient opportunity, resources, stimulation, and time.

I am proud of my fostering of creativity especially in my 8th grade general music classes. As a teacher of the particularly squirrely middle school age, I truly believe that this is the age where students will either develop the confidence to believe in their creativity for the rest of their lives, or fall into the trap of thinking that creativity is some magical thing that you're either born with or not (and assume that they fall into the latter.) My general music classes are comprised only of those students who have chosen not to participate in the band or chorus, which means that I often get the kids who believe that they have no musical talent. Convincing them to be musically creative in the midst of the emotional upheaval and social minefield of the middle school years can be a challenge, a challenge I face bravely by... tricking them into it... and letting them use headphones while they work so no one has to hear their mistakes. I use a strictly PBL (Project Based Learning) model in my classroom and by the end of the term I have tricked them into sequencing music for a movie scene - and they don't even realize the amazing things they are accomplishing. By giving them the skills they need little by little with supporting projects before the big final movie project, they are confident in their abilities to use the software (GarageBand on iPads),  I allow them to select any (school appropriate) movie scene they want which increases their motivation to complete the project, and dedicate 5 or 6 class periods exclusively to allowing them to complete the assignment. It's a major time commitment in my short 10 week term, but the results can be extraordinary. Not only are the compositions they create awesome (an example is below), but those who really dedicate themselves to the project end up with this amazing boost to their confidence that you can actually see... they stand taller, meet your gaze differently.

That kind of change, that kind of transformation, they can bring to other classes and off into their 21st century lives.

Untitled from Amanda Johnson on Vimeo.

References

Bauer, W. I. (2014). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and    responding to music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Music Educators - Jacks of all trades... masters of ALL.

There is an old adage, "He's a Jack of all trades, and a master of none." The idea that one can dabble, but can't expect to then be truly effective in any of those areas. The saying goes along with another phrase I have often heard, "I know enough about that to be dangerous." I've used that one a lot, often with my students when they ask me how I know the science behind how sound works, or the physiology behind workings of the human voice, or the historical context behind a composition, or the political issues that lead to the rise of Hitler and the fall of Klezmer music. I find myself imparting a lot of knowledge to my students that is far from technically musical and I truly believe that I make my students better musicians and better students by exposing them to the wide range of musical topics beyond the notes on a page.

Music teachers must be Jacks of all trades, except we must be masters of all. This is never more true than when considering the role of technology in music education. The importance of technology becomes crystal clear just by glancing at the offerings of an All State conference. At the last Massachusetts Music Educator's Association (MMEA) conference easily one third of the sessions had a technological bend - from incorporating SmartMusic into large ensembles, using iPads in General Music classes, assessing through technology, using online tools for composition and collaboration... the list goes on and on. Not only was there a veritable cornucopia of options, but those sessions were some of the best attended at the conference (I should know, I went to more than my fair share of them!) So why are we all so obsessed with technology? Bauer (2014) hits the nail on the head in his discussion of the music teacher's need for TPACK (Technological, Pedagogical, And Content Knowledge) that crossroads of teaching where all aspects of our craft are working together to create the best learning environment for our students. The Venn diagram below also shows how important it is to consider each knowledge area (Technological, Content, and Pedagogical) individually, as well as where they overlap one another (TCK, PCK, TPK).

Hitting the sweet spot! 

So why the requirement to be the Jack of all trades? In a profession where we spend as much time thinking about how to advocate for our programs as we do our actual lessons, music teachers must always be on the cutting edge, always thinking about the value-added nature of our teaching. Most of my general music students will never play an instrument, they will never join a community band, they will never have the need (or desire, really) to know how to be musically literate when it comes to the notes on the page. They will however have access to an iPad, and GarageBand. They will make movies with their friends - for fun, for classes... someday perhaps even for a professional presentation. The ability to know enough about music to use the tools that are at their level to create something that they want to show off to Mom and Dad is something that they can take with them and use in their real lives outside my classroom. Do I wish that they would all go on to be musicians and music teachers and live lives filled with trips to the symphony and their radio permanently tuned to NPR? Sure! But I know that's just not going to happen. Instead I need them to know how to make music a regular part of their lives, I need them to be informed consumers of music, and I need them to be warriors for the arts as they get older so that someday when a Prop 2 1/2 override vote comes up in their town to save the school music program for their kids... they'll make the right decision.

Technology can bring us there... and if we're smart, we will master all of those trades.

References

Bauer, W. I. (2014). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and        responding to music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.