As part of my Seventh Grade General Music class, we try to look at all different genres of music as well as how music can be created using different mediums. It’s one way to show them the different kinds but to allow them to have an experience where they create their own electronic music with in the classroom is a different story. Without a Music Computer Lab, our school is very limited on the number of resources to use in the music classroom. By using Soundation, a Web2.0 tool, bring electronic music into the classroom is much simpler.
Soundation is a tool similar to GarageBand only no software to buy and its completely online. There are tons of loops to build a track to as well as a Simple Instrument Edit to create your own music loops.
I’m really excited to try out this program with my 7th graders this year. It gives the balance between strict music loops and the ability to add creativity by picking the different loops to line them up as well as create their own short musical motives. I really think this will be a great way to tie into electronic music and looping within this class. Students will really get to see how easy creating music can be by using loops and it still sound good. With this program they are able to see what works well and what doesn’t with the different loops. They can experiment with other topics we discussed including tempo, instrumentation, timbre, and dynamics. The tool also features a save feature to allow the students to upload to various networking sites or save their file for the next class period (which is helpful when working over a couple different periods). Soundation has the same look as GarageBand and offers some of the same features. By using this tool, each student can have their own personal music station at their computer. Another great feature of this Web2.0 tool is that it is easy enough for a first timer to use but advanced enough for a pro to work from as well. There are ways for you to buy more loops or add your own loops to the large assortment of preloaded loops in the program.
We do have Macs and do have Garageband. This, however, serves the same purpose. For schools forced to work on PCs and with lack of funds, this is a great thing to use.
ReplyDeleteOne thing we haven't really talked about is the cost effectiveness of these new tools. Of course, the computers and the network is not cheap, but in the past, schools had to purchase all of the different softwares. With web 2.0, it is becoming much more affordable. Great find!
I am amazed this is free. WOW! That is such a great find for the PC user. I recently told one of my students about openoffice.org. He came back to school the next day and gave me a hug. I can not wait to tell me PC users about this. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a useful tool that I could use. I am going to work with it during my class in Dance Aesthetics to try to teach students a little more about time signature and counting music. I can also use it with my students for music editing purposes. It is great to know that there are options for students with PC's.
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