Since I am passionate about music and have EVERYTHING with music.  Just taking pictures without involving music would be a crime, so I decided to ramp it up with a musical flair. I am a classically trained musician, so compositions take more time for me than taking a picture. I have higher standards for my compositions than my photography. One a month I will compose a composition using my pictures as an inspiration. I want to extend myself in creating thoughtful and meaningful pictures that are interesting as well as artful.

The pictures are an inspiration to my compositions I will create once a month. This month was a soundscape using soundcloud. Using technology tools is also an important element of this project for the year.

.

I originally posted just the soundscape, now here is the full video. Of course I did not use all the pictures, just the pictures that made sense and worked well with the video.

The biggest battle was to figure out exactly what I wanted to do. There are days creativity flows very slowly or not at all. Other days it flows so much its hard to slow it down. On those days, work hard and let it RIP! It took me a long time to get started on this project, but once I did, wow, did the creativity flow.
Once I started gathering the material, i really don’t have a direction as to how is it going to fit together. I don’t have a problem blooming, my problem is pruning.  It is all about gathering, editing, then deleting. Creativity runs on its own time. Let the creativity come to you, don’t force it. It will happen. Allow it to happen.

I used the 16/366 (Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday) a picture I took at the Chicago Botanic Gardens in October. This is a quote from Martin Luther King “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

I saw the staircase as someone’s life. So, when you listen you will me transported through a life.

I created this sound file in GarageBand using loops and dynamics. Dynamics is one of the important things in sound editing. If you have sounds fight themselves or just “appear” can disrupt the flow of the music. I overlapped many sound to create a flow or story.

Hopefully you will figure out what I was trying to express using sounds with music.

The first assignment is to make two signs with the graphics tool of our choice. This is part of my swiss cheese, I have limited technology skills when dealing with images, graphics, and/or photography. I rarely work with images, since I am a music teacher by profession. But, in this digital age we ALL have to be somewhat literate in music AND art. So, here is goes. I worked on this for over two days. Here are some of the beginning signs and symbols. These were all created in http://www.sumopaint.com

Here’s “staffy,” created in Text Art.  The symbol has five  lines – to represent the music staff. As the lines descend, they become clearer and clearer, to represent as we play and understand music, it becomes clearer to us.  I had many other staffs, some in different colors, some hand drawn, etc. Then I decided I had to much going on, so I created the entire file in black and white, making the blurring the important feature.

By importing the first symbol “staffy,”  I now can surround it by the rewind, play, and fast forward symbols. This represents the past, present, and future of music.

Ironically, it has taken me over an hour to get the FULL picture in this blogpost because it is not the standard square. There’s my 10%, creating and having excellence to get it the way I want it.

I have been so obsessed with this project, that I need to step back and let it sit for a while and see if it needs anymore work.

I thought that if I just cover over the ear buds while talking that would mute the call.  Ah…. doesn’t work that way. The ear buds only work for the “output” of sound, the input is on the phone itself.

Hubby came home in the middle of the two conference calls. So I started talking and catching up, etc….Yes, EVERYONE at the ICE meeting could hear!!! Well, the conference chair of ICE texted me “Carol, you are talking REALLY loud.” and another person at the ICE conference call DM’d me on twitter “Carol, please put your phone on mute.” I think I was on top of it, so it didn’t go on too long. Still, super embarrassing!! The poster co-chair was on the call and I am going to talk to her at 3:30 to see how bad it was…. Ah… Note to self – ONE online conference at a time:)

Anyone else have an embarrassing tech moment? I completely apologize to all those attending ICE, working on my tech skills as I write!

As a recently retired music teacher that uses technology to teach music, I don’t want to lose any skills I have developed and continue to be a “life-long early adaptor learner,” by pushing myself to create and innovate

SImply I am passionate about music, technology, and how education fits between the two. At music conferences I present technology and at technology conferences I present music. My worlds rarely intercept, except for the  aRTs Roundtable podcast show that runs on EdReach.us every Tuesday night. I post the podcast on Wednesday. Here we talk about using technology in the arts.

I am an Apple Distinguished Educator, Google Certified, Golden Apple Fellow, and IL Music Teacher of the Year. You can click on about me and read more. I have developed an entire music curriculum centered around 21st century skills, Bloom’s taxonomy, and NAfME (National Association for Music Education).

So you will be from time to time new technologies and connections I have seen through this endeavor. I will venture on a walk that will bring me to wonderful gardens, so I will weed and feed.

Beethoven

I am currently taking a ten-week continuing education class at Northwestern University on Ludwig van Beethoven. The instructor is Dr. Drew Davies, a professor at the Beinen School of Music at Northwestern University. Undeniably, he is considered the most celebrated composer of all time. It only makes sense that we infuse Beethoven’s concepts in compositions within the 21st century.

Beethoven listened to his own voice and “marched to a different drummer.” Before Beethoven, musicians were employed by benefactors such as the church or royalty, he was self-employed. Music was published through these institutions with single parts only. Beethoven published outside the main stream through publishing houses and sometime published the same piece at a variety of houses, making more money for himself. He published full scores.

21st century – Publish your own works, set up your own publishing company. Have a full and individual parts available. 

He expanded the orchestra, but had a balance of old styles using new techniques. He was comfortable in his own world and created his own rules, but kept a skeleton of musical composition rules as to not to upset the mainstream community. Accessibility of musical instruments though the use of massed produced instruments made it so the masses could now own musical instruments. Performances moved from small venues of chamber music to the huge concert halls for all people to participate. The piano was the new instrument of era. Beethoven composed chamber music, symphonies, and piano concertos, using old instruments as well as new. He composed for the masses to hear his pieces.

21st century – Use new instruments on the iPad or create your own instruments. Instead of huge performing groups, compose for small groups of instruments that create a different sound. Compose using instruments that are not normally used together. Set up a soundcloud account or youtube channel so others can view and hear your compositions.

21st century – Technology has allowed anyone to compose and have playback without hiring musicians to play the compositions. Composition has moved mainstream.

He was famous during his lifetime. However, not a child prodigy. He was what we call a “slow processor” or “late bloomer.” His personal life of hearing loss and unrequited love affairs place his as a tragic figure. He overcame many struggles and is seen as an “emotional” artist.

21st century – anyone can be a composer with access to a computer and free online tools. 

Now, move into the 21st century, taking Beethoven’s life, philosophy and innovations. Many music educators teach composition like they are teaching in Beethoven’s era, not composing how Beethoven created. They demand that students compose for the symphony using forms that are so old that even Beethoven changed them in his time. Let’s compose like Beethoven would if he was in the 21st century using innovative and creative ideas.

I am presenting “Composing Online Is Not Just Notation” at the TI:ME conference in Louisville. What I to intend to expand upon is letting people experiment with different instruments and notation. Click here for the entire presentation.

1/366

There is a challenge many of my friends have participated in that you take a picture every day. This is leap year, so there will be 366 pictures this year. The time is now and the challenge is on. You must have a plan without one you plan to fail. Here’s my plan and important details.

Purpose/Theme

My purpose is to create pictures that are interesting and timely, not necessarily a diary. I want to develop myself as a photographer. I also plan on using the pictures to compose  a musical composition. I am always looking how to incorporate music within ANY project. By using the pictures I would either use one pictures for my composition or create a movie with the pictures. I haven’t completely finalized how I will use the pictures in composing, but look to compose a song monthly. I am also taking 1:1 classes on Final Cut X, so integrating the use of Final Cut  X with this challenge works nicely.

2/366

Posting

I will be posting to twitter, Facebook, and Google+, and my pictures will be housed on flickr.  http://www.flickr.com/people/beatechie/ My compositions, with the pictures and/or movie will be posted on my blog, www.beatechie.com

iPhone Apps

Photo365

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photo-365-remember-your-year/id454629399?mt=8

What is nice about this app, I can post and keep track of all my pictures with one click.

Snapseed

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snapseed/id439438619?mt

This app is a must, since you can add extraordinary effects with your pictures.

Paper Camera

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/paper-camera/id443802549?mt=8

This does amazing effects like comic, sketchup, black and white, and many more.

I look forward to this challenge that involves visual art, music, and video.

a.p.s. musicmaker
http://apsdevelopmentllc.com
Pro version for iPad
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/a.p.s.-musicmaster-pro/id441595661?mt=8

$4.99 iPhone musicmaster
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/a.p.s.-musicmaster/id487715143?mt=8

This comes in two versions, an iPhone version and an iPad version. The iPad version is truly a beautiful app. What is so great about this app is the integration all within the app. You don’t need to close one app and open another. All that a musician needs is within this ONE app.

Score PDF
You can mark your score with a highlighter or pen (colors are available) You can also add notes to each pdf. Upload all your scores in .pdf and mark them to play.

Glossaries
ALL instrument fingering charts, musical terms, instrument ranges, percussion rudiments, score order, music theory from musictheory.net and vocal ranges.

Tuner
Tune your instrument

Metronome
Enough said, having a metronome within the app is great

Audio recorder
Record your playing

Stopwatch
Keep track of how long your practice time is or length of song

Calendar
It pops up your calendar from your device to add or keep track of your activities

Internet
Find a website within the app

This a musicians dream app for playing, recording, researching, studying, and keeping track of activities all within ONE app. The possible are endless. It is extremely stable and has not crashed on me yet.

Notion

$14.99 Notion iPad app
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/notion/id475820434?mt=8

This is a composition app. It has been extremely hard to find an app that will allow you compose until now. There is a cost to add some instruments, but I found that there are enough instruments without having to purchase any additional ones. You can email the file as a notion file, MusicXML, midi, or pdf. The musicXML is the real deal, that means that noteflight, Musescore, Sibelius, or Finale can read the score.

The composition is very easy to figure out and it has so many symbols and terms I can’t imagine any additional notation you would need. The playback is simple interface. There is a mixer to control the individual instrument sound and reverb. You can also add text/

These two apps used together have both worlds. One is the world of playing and the other world of composing.

I have listened quietly, then asked the question, “How will the specials (music, art, and PE) be assessed? Then there is a stare and “Yes, all students will be evaluated the same way, through testing and assessments.” They were not talking about performance evaluations, but paper/pencil tests.

Assessing the arts through testing? The funny thing is we ALREADY have performance evaluation in specials. Students perform music, create artwork, and physically perform in PE. But, now we are in the world of ONE shoe fits all. Test every subject. I see this as another way to limit the specials, because there is the a push to teach more academics. The specials are under attack across many districts, with the specials being cut.

So, I have a radical idea! Let’s do it! Let’s cut the specials completely out of the schools, eliminate the music, art, and PE classes. School will only be for learning the five subjects: Math, Reading/Writing, Social Studies, Science, and Foreign Language. The “breaks” the teachers have will be for study hall, so students can study more on the five subjects. Additionally, art and music won’t be used in any of the subjects. No multi-media projects. No music in the hallways, for we need the students to learn the five subjects.

It also means no art in any stories; students will only be allowed to write their stories and compositions. No acting out any stories, again, let the students write more. There will be no music performances and no teams. No band, orchestra, or chorus and no musical theater. Get rid of all sports. Students need to study those five subjects, so after school would be for studying, not playing on a team or rehearsing for a concert.

There will be no art work in the hallways, paint all the walls white. This is let the student focus more on learning. Didn’t you hear we have a serious problem in our schools today, students aren’t learning as much as they used to, so we need to teach more.

As adults, we need to model this behavior and eliminate art, music, and PE from our daily living. The adult population needs to study and no more attendance at music concerts, art museums, and no working out. Let’s get rid of all professional sports. We need to model learning, so all adults need read, write, and study math.

The funny thing about this is that some people think I am serious and really see that this might work, so we can educate our children today. The specials are the ONE place where testing and evaluating performance is part of the subject. The arts and sports are all about rigor and demanding excellence. We need more arts-related subjects in the schools with the students creating and developing their artistic voice. It is the place where every student can soar. It is also the place where innovation and creativity are heralded and allowed to grow freely.

The specials are special. By placing limits and making them the same as the academics cheapens them and stunts growth. We should be allowed to create our own assessments. Yes, we need a literate society, but not having an artistic and physically fit society is much worse.

Look for my next post, “How to Win the Golden Ticket in Life”

I immediately raced home download the app. It only downloads via wifi or USB. Yes, it’s the same app on the iPad. No, it is not the same program that is on the desktop. It takes a while to figure out how it all works. But, this is game-changer in the music classroom. The file can either be downloaded as a GarageBand file when you sync OR if you have an email address set up, students can email you the sound file.

Here’s my first composition on my iPhone Just a Test

Students can create! Students can record! Students can play! This is the game changer in the music classroom.

Click here to download the GarageBand universal app.