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Practical Projects for Your Elective Course

I will be presenting a session at the NJMEA Conference this week titled Practical Projects for Your Elective Course. In preparation for this presentation, I have reissued an older episode of my podcast with similar content to make it quickly accessible in the feed for attendees of the session.

This post contains the episode and resources related to the presentation.

The podcast episode opens with my first impressions of the Apple Vision Pro which I got to try out last week.

Enjoy!

Listen to the podcast episode and subscribe below!

Subscribe to the Podcast in… Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Castro | Spotify | RSS

This is the first year that I have had consistent access to a cloud-based DAW and notation editor with all of my students. The result of this experience has been dozens of new Soundtrap project ideas. I plan to do an episode and post about how I am using these tools for composition projects in the band classroom later this year.

In the episode above, and in this post, I give an overview of three of my most successful Soundtrap projects this year. These projects can be done in any digital audio workstation, including Bandlab, GarageBand, Logic, Ableton Live, etc.

Listen to the episode for a more thorough explanation of each idea.

C Melody and Loop Audition

Melody writing in Noteflight and producing in Soundtrap go hand in hand. Because of Noteflight’s many export options, you have many ways to get your melody out of Noteflight and into your Soundtrap project.

Melody writing in Noteflight and producing in Soundtrap go hand in hand. Because of Noteflight’s many export options, you have many ways to get your melody out of Noteflight and into your Soundtrap project.

After giving students some time to experience the user interface of Soundtrap, I have them write a short, 8 measure long, melody in the key of C using Noteflight.

Next, I have them export this melody as a MIDI file and then import it into a track in Soundtrap. Next, I have them add three more tracks and create an accompaniment for their melody using at least one of the three loop types.

  1. Bass

  2. Percussion

  3. Harmonic (guitar, synth, piano, etc.)

Here is a recent submission of this project one of my students made. This assignment was submitted later in the semester when we had expanded the project into composing two alternating melodies which became the basis of a song-form in Soundtrap. By alternating between both melodies (and varying the loop accompaniment) the student made a song that follows the form: Verse—Chorus—Verse—Chorus—Bridge—Chorus. This particular student chose to improvise the blues scale over the bridge.

Row Your Boat Multi-Track

This idea was taken from the amazing Middle School Music Technology class content in MusicFirst. I recommend checking out their subscription options if you like this idea. MusicFirst combines the activity with curated YouTube and Spotify playlists that give students an idea about early recording studio practices for multi-track recording before music was produced digitally.

I am giving an overview of this project with permission from MusicFirst. Full Disclosure: MusicFirst is a past sponsor of the Music Ed Tech Talk blog and podcast.

To start, the student performs the song Row Row Row Your Boat into a software instrument track in Soundtrap. After it is recorded, they quantize it to the nearest 1/8th or 1/16th note so that it is rhythmically accurate.

Next, they duplicate this track two times. Using the piano roll to edit the MIDI content of each loop, students select all notes and drag them higher to create harmony. I have them move the second track a third higher and the next track a fifth higher so that they get a nice three-part voicing.

After multi-tracking the melody of Row Row Row Your Boat, this student moved the starting point of each region to create a round.

After multi-tracking the melody of Row Row Row Your Boat, this student moved the starting point of each region to create a round.

Next, I have them move any notes that land on black keys as a result down to the nearest white key so that every note of each voice is in the key of C.

Next, I have them duplicate these three tracks and transpose them up an octave. Next, I have them take the lowest voice and transpose it down three octaves to add some bass. You can have students make the final result as dense as you like.

Optionally, students can experiment with using different instrument sounds and adding groove-based loop accompaniment.

Here are three recent examples of my student’s submissions:

All-Star Remix

In this assignment, I take a popular song that students choose and separate the voice from the instrumental accompaniment. Then I add it to an audio track in a Soundtrap template and match the tempo and key of the Soundtrap project to the vocal track.

This way, students can drag and drop loops and have them match the pitch and tempo content of the vocals.

I have a post with more details about this project here.

You can watch a video of how to do it below.

Here are two examples of my own student’s recent work:

For a Soundtrap project idea for teaching band/choir/orchestra students to compose, check out the podcast episode and blog post below:

Episode Info

See below for all notes associated with the podcast episode…

Description

Robby overviews his three most successful Soundtrap projects in 2021.

Chapters:

  • 00:00:00 - Intro

  • 00:00:14 - Sponsor: DMV Percussion Academy

  • 00:01:24 - About this Episode

  • 00:03:51 - YAY SUMMER

  • 00:05:11 - 1: Melody Composition / Loop Accompaniment

  • 00:14:35 - 1: Student Examples

  • 00:16:15 - 2: Row Your Boat Multi-Track

  • 00:22:19 - 2: Student Examples

  • 00:24:27 - 3: All-Star Remix

  • 00:34:38 - 3: Student Examples

  • 00:36:00 - Grading for Mastery Not Creativity

  • 00:37:47 - Tech Tip of the Week

  • 00:39:20 - App of the Week

  • 00:40:00 - Album of the Week

  • 00:42:44 - Conclusion

Show Notes:

App of the Week: 
Reeder 5

Album of the Week:
Alison Balsom - Paris

Thanks to this week’s sponsor, the DMV Percussion Academy. Learn more and register here.

Please don’t forget to rate the show and share it with others!

Subscribe to Music Ed Tech Talk:

Subscribe to the Blog

Subscribe to the Podcast in… Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Castro | Spotify | RSS

Music Ed Tech Talk Episode #70 - Robby Is In The Phantom Zone, with Will Kuhn and Dr. David MacDonald

Will Kuhn and David MacDonald return to discuss Logic and Final Cut for iPad, the Ableton Push 3, Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference, and the Apple Vision Pro. Robby struggles with his internet connection.

In the Patreon feed: Zelda Talk.

Subscribe to the Blog… RSS | Email Newsletter

Subscribe to the Podcast in… Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Castro | Spotify | RSS

Support Music Ed Tech Talk

Become a Patron!

Buy me a coffee

Thanks to my sponsors this month, Scale Exercise Play-Along Tracks.

Show Notes:

App of the Week:
Robby - Sequel

Will - Whisky
David - Newzik

Album of the Week:
Robby - KNOWER FOREVER

Will - [1000 Gecs](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kmoCFzuKniN8yTiL701Ardjwq7oMkvnz8

David - WDR Big Band on YouTube

Where to Find Us:
Robby - Blog | Book
Will 
David 

Art by Ryan Bailey.

Please don’t forget to rate the show and share it with others!

Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro released for iPad

On May 23, Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro were released for iPad. My 2018 iPad Pro is not capable of running Final Cut, but I have been testing Logic Pro in order to better cover it on an upcoming podcast episode.

Both The Verge and Macstories have great overviews of Logic if you want to get into the details.

The general consensus from the tech press is that Final Cut has some catchup to do and that Logic has feature parity with the Mac version, for the most part. This has really not been true in my experience. For making music, Logic does an ok job. But I use Logic for a huge variety of other projects and workflows. Podcast editing, cleaning up concert recordings, etc. Logic on iPad has a lot of the great musical instruments, effects, loops, and tools that are familiar to the Mac, in an excellent touch-first redesign.

For me though, what makes Logic great is that it is flexible enough to be used for nearly all of my audio editing needs. Logic on iPad is currently unable to edit projects that are time-based rather than measure-based. It is unable to work with spatial audio projects. And it is terribly slow at syncing projects from Mac to iPad over iCloud. In fact, the first three of my recent audio projects I tried to open on the iPad (all of which started on the Mac), would not open for one compatibility reason or another. And these were not projects that used third-party plugins (which are currently not all accessible on iPad unless the developer has released an iOS version). What would make Logic useful to me on iPad isn’t so much that it is a great stand alone app (which it very much is), but the ability to more seamlessly move between my Mac and iPad files with ease. iPadOS and Logic for iPad simply lack this ease.

These new pro apps represent my general feelings towards iPad software the past few years. On the one hand, it is incredible to have them, and I am grateful they exist. At the same time, I wonder what took Apple so long to get them out the door if they aren’t more feature-complete. The touch-first redesigns are great, but they do seem to symbolize that Apple believes in iPadOS as a distinct operating system. There is still so much the iPad can’t do that the Mac can. And with an iPad Pro attached to a Magic Keyboard, it is ever increasingly more frustrating that it can’t do things my Mac can, when the form factor and technology is just as capable. As much as iPadOS inches closer and closer to the Mac each year, it doesn’t seem like it will ever catch up unless Apple makes a much bigger change to their vision for the product.

I will keep pushing Logic to the limits and continue to write about it here.

The first three projects I attempted to open on iPad were incompatible.

I do enjoy that pro iPad apps tend to have appropriately simplified export screens compared to their macOS counterparts.

Screen telling me that some of my third party plugins will not work.

For all of my difficulty, Logic did open this very large file from 2020 where I edited a “virtual ensemble.” It contained a three minute audio file for all 60+ members of my Wind Ensemble and did not hesitate at all when navigating the project on iPad.

3 Soundtrap Projects Your Students Will Love

Listen to the podcast episode and subscribe below!

Subscribe to the Podcast in… Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Castro | Spotify | RSS

This is the first year that I have had consistent access to a cloud-based DAW and notation editor with all of my students. The result of this experience has been dozens of new Soundtrap project ideas. I plan to do an episode and post about how I am using these tools for composition projects in the band classroom later this year.

In the episode above, and in this post, I give an overview of three of my most successful Soundtrap projects this year. These projects can be done in any digital audio workstation, including Bandlab, GarageBand, Logic, Ableton Live, etc.

Listen to the episode for a more thorough explanation of each idea.

C Melody and Loop Audition

Melody writing in Noteflight and producing in Soundtrap go hand in hand. Because of Noteflight’s many export options, you have many ways to get your melody out of Noteflight and into your Soundtrap project.

Melody writing in Noteflight and producing in Soundtrap go hand in hand. Because of Noteflight’s many export options, you have many ways to get your melody out of Noteflight and into your Soundtrap project.

After giving students some time to experience the user interface of Soundtrap, I have them write a short, 8 measure long, melody in the key of C using Noteflight.

Next, I have them export this melody as a MIDI file and then import it into a track in Soundtrap. Next, I have them add three more tracks and create an accompaniment for their melody using at least one of the three loop types.

  1. Bass

  2. Percussion

  3. Harmonic (guitar, synth, piano, etc.)

Here is a recent submission of this project one of my students made. This assignment was submitted later in the semester when we had expanded the project into composing two alternating melodies which became the basis of a song-form in Soundtrap. By alternating between both melodies (and varying the loop accompaniment) the student made a song that follows the form: Verse—Chorus—Verse—Chorus—Bridge—Chorus. This particular student chose to improvise the blues scale over the bridge.

Row Your Boat Multi-Track

This idea was taken from the amazing Middle School Music Technology class content in MusicFirst. I recommend checking out their subscription options if you like this idea. MusicFirst combines the activity with curated YouTube and Spotify playlists that give students an idea about early recording studio practices for multi-track recording before music was produced digitally.

I am giving an overview of this project with permission from MusicFirst. Full Disclosure: MusicFirst is a past sponsor of the Music Ed Tech Talk blog and podcast.

To start, the student performs the song Row Row Row Your Boat into a software instrument track in Soundtrap. After it is recorded, they quantize it to the nearest 1/8th or 1/16th note so that it is rhythmically accurate.

Next, they duplicate this track two times. Using the piano roll to edit the MIDI content of each loop, students select all notes and drag them higher to create harmony. I have them move the second track a third higher and the next track a fifth higher so that they get a nice three-part voicing.

After multi-tracking the melody of Row Row Row Your Boat, this student moved the starting point of each region to create a round.

After multi-tracking the melody of Row Row Row Your Boat, this student moved the starting point of each region to create a round.

Next, I have them move any notes that land on black keys as a result down to the nearest white key so that every note of each voice is in the key of C.

Next, I have them duplicate these three tracks and transpose them up an octave. Next, I have them take the lowest voice and transpose it down three octaves to add some bass. You can have students make the final result as dense as you like.

Optionally, students can experiment with using different instrument sounds and adding groove-based loop accompaniment.

Here are three recent examples of my student’s submissions:

All-Star Remix

In this assignment, I take a popular song that students choose and separate the voice from the instrumental accompaniment. Then I add it to an audio track in a Soundtrap template and match the tempo and key of the Soundtrap project to the vocal track.

This way, students can drag and drop loops and have them match the pitch and tempo content of the vocals.

I have a post with more details about this project here.

You can watch a video of how to do it below.

Here are two examples of my own student’s recent work:

For a Soundtrap project idea for teaching band/choir/orchestra students to compose, check out the podcast episode and blog post below:

Episode Info

See below for all notes associated with the podcast episode…

Description

Robby overviews his three most successful Soundtrap projects in 2021.

Chapters:

  • 00:00:00 - Intro

  • 00:00:14 - Sponsor: DMV Percussion Academy

  • 00:01:24 - About this Episode

  • 00:03:51 - YAY SUMMER

  • 00:05:11 - 1: Melody Composition / Loop Accompaniment

  • 00:14:35 - 1: Student Examples

  • 00:16:15 - 2: Row Your Boat Multi-Track

  • 00:22:19 - 2: Student Examples

  • 00:24:27 - 3: All-Star Remix

  • 00:34:38 - 3: Student Examples

  • 00:36:00 - Grading for Mastery Not Creativity

  • 00:37:47 - Tech Tip of the Week

  • 00:39:20 - App of the Week

  • 00:40:00 - Album of the Week

  • 00:42:44 - Conclusion

Show Notes:

App of the Week: 
Reeder 5

Album of the Week:
Alison Balsom - Paris

Thanks to this week’s sponsor, the DMV Percussion Academy. Learn more and register here.

Please don’t forget to rate the show and share it with others!

Subscribe to Music Ed Tech Talk:

Subscribe to the Blog

Subscribe to the Podcast in… Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Castro | Spotify | RSS

The Prime Directive, featuring Will Kuhn and Ethan Hein (Music Ed Tech Talk Podcast #32)

Description

Ethan and Will join the show to talk about their book Electronic Music School, the Prime Directive, writing apps, and the future of the iPad.

Thanks to this week's sponsor, the DMV Percussion Academy. Leran more and registere here.

Chapters:

  • 00:00:00 - Intro
  • 00:01:25 - Sponsor: DMV Percussion Academy
  • 00:02:03 - Star Trek
  • 00:04:18 - Electronic Music School
  • 00:10:09 - Teaching Underlying Musical Concepts of Electronic Music Styles
  • 00:18:33 - Perceived Threat by Traditional Performing Arts Teachers
  • 00:24:28 - Teaching Songwriting
  • 00:27:23 - Scaffolding
  • 00:37:15 - Fighting Racism with Music Education
  • 00:48:37 - The Prime Directive
  • 00:52:34 - Staying Relevant?
  • 01:07:15 - We Live on Twitter
  • 01:07:15 - Writing Apps
  • 01:13:21 - Bedtime
  • 01:16:07 - The M1 iPad Pro
  • 01:35:51 - Tech Tip of the Week
  • 01:38:14 - Album of the Week
  • 01:41:07 - App of the Week
  • 01:43:24 - Closing

Show Notes:

App of the Week:
Robby - Tot
Will - In Haler Radio
Ethan - Figure

Album of the Week:
Robby - Tauk - Shapeshifter II: Outbreak
Will - Suburban Lawns - Janitor (Original Video)
Ethan - Clipping - The Deep

Where to Find Us:
Robby - Twitter | Blog | Book
Will - Twitter | Website
Ethan - Twitter | Website

Please don't forget to rate the show and share it with others!

Subscribe to Music Ed Tech Talk:

Subscribe to the Blog

Subscribe to the Podcast in... Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Castro | Spotify | RSS

METT Episode #22 - Teaching Hybrid, Composing Music, and Finding Balance, with Tyler S. Grant

Find Robby elsewhere on the web