Technology in Music Education – updated syllabus

This fall, I am teaching Technology in Music Education at Western Illinois University. The students are in-service music teachers who are working toward masters degrees. Here’s my syllabus.

I have left out administrative details and university boilerplate. Feel free to use any of this as you see fit, but if you do, please tell me, I’m always interested to hear.

Overview

Each week I will present a piece of technology or an idea for using it, and you will do a project: make a piece of music, do a short piece of writing, that kind of thing. Each module has a Discussions forum where you will post many of your assignments, comment on one another’s work, and ask and answer questions.

Course Materials

There is no required textbook. All readings are available online via the class web site. If you would like to dive deeper on a particular topic, I am happy to recommend books. Together with Will Kuhn, I am the co-author of Electronic Music School: a Contemporary Approach to Musical Creativity. The book is a complete guide to starting a music technology program at the middle or high school level. Let me know if you would like to see a sample chapter.

You will need access to an up-to-date, stably functioning computer to be successful in this course. Most assignments can be completed on a Chromebook; however, I strongly encourage you to have access to a Windows or Mac computer. You will need at least one Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Free demo versions are fine. Chromebook users should sign up for at least the free version of Soundtrap or Bandlab. Windows users may also use these. I suggest also installing a demo version of Ableton Live. Mac users already have GarageBand, and may also wish to consider a demo of Ableton. You may be asked to install other free software throughout the class.

You will need to record some audio for one project. A smartphone is adequate for this purpose. If you would like recommendations for microphones and other recording gear, I am happy to make them.

Course Goals

Advanced study in the utilization and implementation of technological tools prevalent in K-12 Music Education, including software and hardware for instruction and/or assessment of music performance, notation, theory, audio/video recording, and assistive technology for students with special needs.

Students who complete this course will gain a deeper understanding of current educational technology used in K- 12 schools and become knowledgeable consumers of these products with regards to the National Core Arts Standards.

Course Outcomes

As a result of this course, students will be able to…

  • Develop proficiency using multiple forms of technology prevalent in Music Education including software, hardware, and other tools for:
    • Music Performance Assessment
    • Digital Audio Recording
    • Music Theory Instruction & Assessment
    • Video Creation & Recording
    • Music Notation Creation
    • General Music Education
    • Assistive Technology for Students with Special Needs
  • Design and implement effective student projects using technology in a music classroom

A variety of technological tools will be explored that enrich music instruction, student assessment, and music program administration. In this project-based course, students will develop proficiency using multiple forms of technology (software and hardware) and examine numerous resources regarding the best practices in implementing these technologies.

Semester Schedule

The instructor reserves the right to make necessary changes to this schedule to meet the needs of the class.

  • Week 1: The Big Picture
  • Week 2: Drum Machines and Beatmaking
  • Week 3: Synthesizers
  • Weeks 4 & 5: Notation and MIDI
  • Week 6: Audio Recording
  • Weeks 7 & 8: Mixing and Editing Audio
  • Weeks 9 & 10: Remixing
  • Weeks 11 & 12: Sampling and Copyright
  • Week 13: Pop Songwriting in the DAW
  • Week 14: Thanksgiving Holiday
  • Week 15: Music Theory
  • Week 16: TBA

The Big Picture

Meet and Greet

In a post on the Discussions forum for this module, please briefly introduce yourself and answer the following questions:

  1. Where and what do you teach?
  2. What experiences do you have with music technology? This can include recording or producing tracks, running PA systems, using notation editors, or anything else you can think of. If your answer is “nothing at all”, that is fine!
  3. What is one of your biggest pain points with music technology?
  4. What is your number one jam of summer 2023? This does not have to be something that came out recently, just something you have been enjoying listening to.

Resources

Respond to the Discussions thread for this module after reading these two articles.

AI and Music-Making – Are computers going to take our jobs? The answer is, not yet, though there are many music-related tasks that computers can do.

The Last Recording Artist – What happens when anyone can make a customized Drake song?

808

Drum Machines and Beatmaking

Drum Machines and Beatmaking – Resources

The Groove Pizza – introduction
Seeing classic beats with the Groove Pizza

Wonky – An excellent introduction to swing and Dilla time.

Groove Pizza Beat

Create a beat using the Groove Pizza. Post a link to it in the Discussion forum (not an audio or MIDI file). Tell us what genre you think your beat falls into. Listen to your classmates’ beats too.

Herbie Hancock with vocoder

Synthesizers

Ableton – Learning Synths

Work your way though the Ableton Learning Synths site. Using the Playground page, create a short (one minute or so) piece of music. Post an audio file of your creation to the Discussions forum. Listen to your classmates’ tracks.

Resources

How to play “Thriller”

Recreating classic rock synth sounds

Viktor NV-1 – A synthesizer you can play right in the browser. Try typing on the bottom two rows of the keyboard.

Wordsynth – Make your own Laurie Anderson songs.

The Helm synth – A free synth that sounds great. It works as a standalone MIDI instrument or as a VST plugin within your DAW.

Notation and MIDI

Resources

Noteflight and Flat.io are notation editors that run in the web browser, so you can use them on Chromebooks.

Musescore is a free, full-featured notation editor for Windows and Mac computers.

Dave’s JS Bach MIDI page – Many works by Johann Sebastian Bach in convenient MIDI format, ready for downloading and importing into your DAW.

Short Score

Create a short (16 bars or so) notated score using the notation editor of your choice: Sibelius, Finale, Musescore, Dorico, Noteflight, Flat.io, etc. Export it as a PDF and submit it. You may also submit a composition, arrangement or transcription you have created previously. You do not need to spend a lot of time on this; I just want to make sure you know how to do it!

MIDI Song

Create a two or three minute track using only MIDI and software instruments. You can use MIDI from any source: download it from the internet, convert a notated score, play notes in via a controller, draw notes in the piano roll, etc. The only requirement is that the end result sounds good, by your definition of good. It is up to you whether you want to try to get your MIDI to sound “real” (that is, played by humans) or to have it sound conspicuously “fake” (sequenced like dance or video game music.) Post your track to the Notation and MIDI Discussion forum. Then listen to and comment on your classmates’ tracks.

Analog - vinyl

Audio Recording

Resources

How sound works – Elegant interactive demonstration.

What a WAV file looks like – Great visualizations of different pieces of digital audio.

Bookmark these for future reference:

Found Sound

Record a minute or two of ambient/environmental sound with your phone or other recording device. Do not record a musical performance; use a “non-musical” sound from your everyday life. Then bring your recording into a DAW and turn it into a work of music. You can add instruments, loops, or other sounds. The simplest approach is to add a synthesizer drone, one or two notes that sustain throughout. You can also edit and process your found sound as you see fit. You may decide that the found sound is musically satisfying on its own! After you have submitted your track, post it on the Audio Recording Discussion. Then listen to and comment on your classmates’ tracks.

Mixing and Editing Audio

Resources

These are mainly intended for you to bookmark for future reference. Glance over them and see which ones might be useful to you.

Mixing Marvin Gaye

Download the isolated stems from “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”, attached below. Create a new session in your DAW and drag in each of the stems, one on each track. Imagine you are a mix engineer at Motown, and your job is to get this song sounding as good as possible. Set the volume levels and panning on each track. You can even silence some parts entirely if you think that will sound good. If you would like to add effects like compression or reverb, feel free. You can try to recreate the mix of the original song, or create your own mix. Post your mix to the Discussion forum. Listen to your classmates’ mixes.

Remixes

Remixes – Resources

An intro to remixes

Scientist mixes “Heavyweight Dub” – Legendary Jamaican dub producer creates a remix by “playing” the mixing desk.

My remix process – This is optional, but if you are curious about how I create remixes, you might find this interesting.

Talking Heads Remix

Download the acapella (unaccompanied vocal stem) from “Burning Down The House” by Talking Heads. Create a new DAW session and set the tempo to 103 bpm. Then drag the acapella onto a new track. (It begins with eight bars of silence, so don’t be alarmed if you press Play and don’t hear anything right away.) Create a new instrumental backing for the song, using loops, MIDI instruments, live instruments, or whatever else you see fit. Feel free to edit and rearrange the vocals, too. The song is in G but you may get interesting results from reharmonizing it in other keys. Post your remix to the Discussion forum for this module. Then listen to your classmates’ remixes.

Flute in Simpler

Sampling and Copyright

Sampling and Copyright – Resources

Shed The Music: Public Domain Samples – Please scroll down a bit and read the brief history of sampling.

Jonathan Wolff and the Seinfeld theme – This is what digital samplers were originally designed for.

Tracklib sample breakdowns:

9th Wonder on Rhythm Roulette – From a series where producers choose three records blindfolded and have to sample them to create a beat.

Citizen DJ – Make beats in the browser with public domain audio from the Library of Congress.

Philharmonia sound samples – Free orchestra samples.

Rhythm Lab Breakbeats – Huge (and hugely illegal) breakbeat collection.

Sample Genealogy

On the Discussions forum for this module, submit two examples of songs/pieces based on other songs/pieces. One should use at least one direct audio sample. The other should use at least one quote or interpolation. I recommend using WhoSampled.com to find examples. Include YouTube/Spotify/Bandcamp links to all the songs you mention.

Sampling Ethics

In 1000 words or fewer, answer the following question in a post on the Discussion forum for this module: Do you think that sampling music without permission is ethically acceptable? For the purposes of this assignment, imagine that there is a compulsory license for samples similar to the system for cover songs, and that licensing is cheap and effortless. If you think sampling without permission is acceptable, what do you say to the creators of the original works? If you think that it is unacceptable, what do you say to would-be producers of sample-based works?

Pop Songwriting in the DAW

Pop Songwriting in the DAW – Resources

Novation Launchpad Intro – Create loop-based music in the web browser. Click the squares to start and stop each loop.

RJD2: Playing with Loopy Math – The creator of the Mad Men theme talks about how to create interesting musical structures with loops.

From GarageBand loop to Grammy Award – How a royalty-free loop spawned Rihanna’s first hit.

Loop Song

Create a two to three minute pop/dance/hip-hop instrumental using the loops that are included with your DAW. You may also use loops from other sources (Splice.com, etc) but please only use loops, no live instruments or MIDI. You may edit and process the loops as much as you like. Make sure that your track has a structure with contrasting sections (“verse”, “chorus”, “bridge” etc.), and that it has an intro and an ending. Post your track to the Discussion forum for this module. Listen to your classmates’ tracks.

Music Theory

Resources

The aQWERTYon – Play scales and chords on the computer keyboard.

How to record from the aQWERTYon

You should bookmark these sites for future use:

Ableton – Learning Music Assessment

Work through the Ableton Learning Music site up to the Playground page. (If you want to look at the Advanced Topics, feel free, but that is optional.) On the Discussion forum for this module, write a brief (1000 words maximum) assessment of it as a music theory learning and teaching tool. Would you use this site with your students? If so, why? If not, why not? Are there other student populations who this would be better suited to? Do you agree with Ableton’s decision to show everything using the MIDI piano roll rather than notation? Read your classmates’ comments as well.

2 replies on “Technology in Music Education – updated syllabus”

  1. It’s so great to see this, Ethan! I will have to steal some of your ideas next year. I’ve often thought that I’d love to get your feedback on my Technology in Music Education course at the Sydney Con. Here’s my outline: https://www.craft.me/s/yZWOidAENuoJsM (NB this is not the same course that we teach your book in, although we do explore it in this one!)

    1. Your students are in a more technologically sophisticated place than mine are, apparently. I like all the focus on culture and fragmented attention, I hadn’t thought about doing that.

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