Project Description
I am fortunate to be able to teach a subject in which most of my students have very little experience when they enter my classroom. While I see this as an advantage most of the time, it can also be difficult to convey nuance to my students.
My band classroom introduces students in sixth grade to music making with instruments. There are many aspects of music that must be taken into account when introducing students to their instruments including note names, rhythm values, musical vocabulary, and correct posture with the instrument. The greatest skill that students must learn, however, is producing a quality tone on the instrument. This means that their hand placement, body posture, air stream, and embouchure (mouth position) are working correctly to make a characteristic sound. The only way to truly assess, improve, and work on tone is for students to hear masters on their instrument and also hear themselves while they play. I would like to utilize the technology entitled Smartmusic to improve students’ tone while concurrently helping students improve their technical skills. Smartmusic allows students to clip a microphone to their instrument and play along with the computer using various music. After playing, students can listen to the playback and improve with each try. It allows the teacher to set up assignments, tests and quizzes and keep track of each student’s progress. This is a great way for students to gain individual practice, hear themselves and aim to improve. The assessment of the program will come at the end of the year when students, the teacher, and parents are able to hear and see how much they’ve improved.
My band classroom introduces students in sixth grade to music making with instruments. There are many aspects of music that must be taken into account when introducing students to their instruments including note names, rhythm values, musical vocabulary, and correct posture with the instrument. The greatest skill that students must learn, however, is producing a quality tone on the instrument. This means that their hand placement, body posture, air stream, and embouchure (mouth position) are working correctly to make a characteristic sound. The only way to truly assess, improve, and work on tone is for students to hear masters on their instrument and also hear themselves while they play. I would like to utilize the technology entitled Smartmusic to improve students’ tone while concurrently helping students improve their technical skills. Smartmusic allows students to clip a microphone to their instrument and play along with the computer using various music. After playing, students can listen to the playback and improve with each try. It allows the teacher to set up assignments, tests and quizzes and keep track of each student’s progress. This is a great way for students to gain individual practice, hear themselves and aim to improve. The assessment of the program will come at the end of the year when students, the teacher, and parents are able to hear and see how much they’ve improved.