BP1_Google Reader
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| Photo by prayitno |
As I began looking for feeds to follow, I really didn't know where to start. I knew there there were feeds out there, just didn't know what kinds. I figured I'd start with some topics that would make the most sense to me at this point in time. Since starting my job at Grove, I have become an avid Marching Band fan. My band competes in Ohio and it is just a great past time for me to enjoy watching even when my band has the weekend off. I came across a website called Marching.Com (go figure right??). Being a director and fan, I'm always looking for new drill ideas, horn flashes, and other ways to have a successful Marching program. This site is perfect for it. I can watch movies of other bands, find out info about upcoming competitions, and browse the list of tons of Marching Band resources. Such a great find for any Marching Band director or fan!!!
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| Photo by WxMom |
Theater has always been a huge part of my life. Whether it be going to NYC to see Wicked or performing in local theater groups, I just can't seem to get enough of it. My second feed that I found most useful is actually a Twitter feed linked to website called MTI ShowSpace. This site is a must for any theater director or participant. This site is like a Facebook for directors. On this site, directors can blog about upcoming productions, read interviews with Broadway performers, post pictures from their productions, and even post ads offering set pieces and costumes up for rental. This site is a great tool for a director looking for a little help now and then.
If I ever find the time in the future to give private lessons(which i would love to do), I found a great site that could help me organize my studio. Music Teacher's Helper is a site that organizes and takes care of the business aspect of running a studio. When looking for easier ways to manage payments of all your students, create a website, and schedule lessons, this program is a great way to keep you ahead of the game. There is a small fee for using the program. However, you can have up to 5 students using the free version.
I started teaching a Music Theory course in the High School and it has become one of my favorite classes to teach. I just recently had a student ask me where is the best place to look for information on Music Theory to supplement what they learned in my class. I began to look around the Internet trying to find a good site for them to use that was easy to navigate around and was a reliable source. Now I'm not saying this is the best site out there, but while looking today I found a blog devoted to strictly music theory. Learn Music Theory is a blog that has categorized the elements of music theory into an easy, readable outline. Reading through the material, I was surprised at how well the information is laid out and how easy it is to understand. Each topic has various visual elements to explain the content better. I will be sure to let my class know about this very informative blog tomorrow to help them further understand music theory.
Tyler,
ReplyDeleteGood choices for your initial selections for your Google Reader. As a band director myself, I was interested in seeing what you are following on RSS feeds.
Marching.com was a hit for me. I am always interested in finding a good source for information and content on marching. I really enjoyed the videos. I am always looking for good examples for the students to watch and this site had a great archive of footage.
The MTI ShowPlace site was very nice, but I do not have many connections to the theatre world, so I don’t have many comments about the content here other than it was well put together and seemed to be well laid out.
Finale is a software program for music notation and I’m sure it works well for your students in your classroom. As you say, it also has many education features as well and an active blog. I use Sibelius, a competing software program, and I find it has the same features as Finale with great content and an active blog. A good source to keep up on!
Music Teachers Helper seems to be a cutting edge Web 2.0 tool for private music teachers. If I taught more private students, I would sign up for this tool today.
Learn Music Theory is a site that seems to have shallow content with too many Google ads. I am always suspicious of sites that have lots of ads. This may work well for you and your students for theory content, but I think a better site is Music Theory.net. This is a site that was created over 10 years ago and is a great site to show music theory in a very visual way. It works great to demonstrate many concepts on my large screen.
I think that these sites will give you a tremendous amount of information and ideas for your work!