Getting Young Performers to Compose, Putting the E in Ensemble (and Much more), with Alex Shapiro

A few weeks back, I wrote and podcasted about getting my general music classes to compose, make beats, write, and remix songs this past school year. Read and listen to that here.

I am thrilled to report that I also got my band students to compose for the first time this past year, with very good results. I used composer Alex Shapiro’s Putting the E in Ensemble curriculum (linked below). I am so inspired by her music, approach to composition, and general awesomeness that I invited her on my podcast. The conversation was an inspiration and a delight.

Listen to the episode and follow my podcast below. Keep scrolling through this post to see photos of Alex’s amazing recording space and to listen to some examples of my student’s compositions that resulted from using this curriculum.

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Episode Description: Composer Alex Shapiro joins the show to talk about getting young students to compose, the importance of composing repertoire for young musicians, writing electro-acoustic music, Putting the E in Ensemble, future tech, and her amazing studio space. Join Patreon for extended conversation about technology and overcoming blocks in the creative process.

Putting the E in Ensemble Links

Curriculum: – https://www.alexshapiro.org/Shapiro-E-ensemble_Syllabus.html

Wind Band music: – https://www.alexshapiro.org/ASWindBand.html

Show Notes:

The Great Hack – Netflix

The Social Dilemma

Christopher Cicconi appearance on Music Ed Tech Talk

Off the Edge – Alex Shapiro

Tight Squeeze – Alex Shapiro

Rock Music – Alex Shapiro

Count to Ten – Alex Shapiro

Toothpaste privacy Tweet thread

Apple WWDC 2021

My Scale Play-Along Tracks

App of the Week:
Robby – Magnet
Alex – Two Dots / SpellTower

Album of the Week:
Robby – Sarah Jarosz – Blue Heron Suite
Alex – O Seguinte é Esse / Howling, featuring RY X and Frank Wiedemann: Sacred Ground

Tech Tip of the Week:
Robby – Try widgets!
Alex – Back up your stuff! / Don’t get the latest version only to have paid to get the latest bugs!

Where to Find Us:
Robby – Twitter | Blog | Book
Alex Shapiro – Twitter | Website

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

Examples of student work

Alex’s studio space

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New Software Coming from Apple (And What You Can Do With It)

Its been a busy few weeks as I have been wrapping up the end of a tough school year. While I am late to getting this week’s podcast episode out, I have been working on this site and have a bunch of content to share in the coming week.

I managed to sneak in enough time during the last week of school to watch Apple’s WWDC Keynote and to talk about it on Music Ed Tech Talk with Craig McClellan (cohost of my other podcast, The Class Nerd).

It was an opportunity to take a nice break from the challenging end-of-year procedures, and to think about how Apple’s fall software updates will impact how I get work done in the classroom. Listen below.

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Robby and Craig break down the announcements from Apple’s Word Wide Developer Conference and discuss how teachers might use the upcoming features to their latest software updates.

Show Notes:

Album of the Week:
Robby – Bones by Michael Mayo
Craig McClellan – Sour by Olivia Rodrigo

App of the Week:
Robby – Timery for the Mac
Craig McClellan – Music Harbor

Tech Tip of the Week:
Robby – Transpose Chrome Extension
Craig McClellan – Feedbin

Where to Find Us:
Robby – Twitter | Blog | Book
Craig McClellan – Twitter

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

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

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        <div class="image-caption"><p class="">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.</p></div>
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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.

Bass
Percussion
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.

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        <div class="image-caption"><p class="">After multi-tracking the melody of Row Row Row Your Boat, this student moved the starting point of each region to create a round.</p></div>
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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.

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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:

Getting Performing Arts Students to Compose

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)

Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify RSS Feed

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:

Electronic Music School – PRE ORDER NOW
Ethan’s student’s songwriting projects: example 1 | example 2 | example 3
Vektroid / Macintosh Plus – Bandcamp | Floral Shoppe | Twitter | Neo Cali full album
Scrivener
OmniOutliner
MindNode
Music Ed Tech Talk #31 – forScore for the Mac, featuring David MacDonald
AirServer
Poolside.fm
Toggle Rotation Lock when Using YouTube

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 the Blog

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

🎙 forScore for the Mac, featuring David MacDonald (Music Ed Tech Talk #31)

Robby and David talk about forScore for the Mac and its new syncing feature. But also, lots of music theory.

Also included:

Loop-based music theory
GoodNotes for the Mac
Transcribe Apps
Lots of music apps and utility apps
Tech podcasts we like
Music YouTubers we like
Our favorite music, tech tips, and albums of the week

Show Notes:

App of the Week:

Robby – Soro for Sonos
David MacDonald – Diagrams

Album of the Week:

Robby – Lettuce – Elevate
David MacDonald – Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society – Brooklyn Babylon

Where to Find Us:

Robby – Twitter | Blog | Book
David MacDonald – 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

🎙Apps for Research and Remembering, with David MacDonald

Composer and teacher, David MacDonald, returns for a discussion about the apps we use for notes, research, writing, and clipping data to find later.

Show Notes:

App of the Week:
Robby – Stream Deck Mobile App
David MacDonald – Reincubate Camo & FiLMiC Pro

Album of the Week:
Robby – Owane | Yolo EP Vol. 1
David MacDonald – Scary Pockets YouTube channel

Where to Find Us:
Robby – Twitter | Blog | Book
David MacDonald – Twitter | Website

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

Subscribe to the Blog

Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Castro | Spotify | RSS

🎙Music Ed Tech Talk Episode #29 – Develop Performance Skills with Cloud Software

Robby explains how he uses Noteflight, Soundtrap, and Flipgrid to create engaging, asynchronous, assignments for students in his performing ensembles.

Show Notes

Subscribe to Music Ed Tech Talk:

Subscribe to the Blog

Subscribe to the Podcast in…

Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Castro | Spotify | RSS

🎙 METT Episode #28 – Rehearse Your Ensembles Remotely

Robby explains the software, hardware, and teaching strategies he uses to run engaging and effective music rehearsals in a remote or hybrid environment.

This information was presented earlier this month at the Maryland Music Educators Association conference. The notes and links below are from the session notes of that presentation.

Learn More From Me About Technology

Website – robbyburns.com

Blog – Music Ed Tech Talk (musicedtechtalk.com)

Subscribe to the Music Ed Tech Talk podcast Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

Subscribe to my email newsletter here

Buy my book, Digital Organization Tips for Music Teachers, here

Buy my Scale Play Along Tracks here

Abstract

Learn the strategies and technologies to run engaging synchronous rehearsals. Engage students visually and speed up your flow using Open Broadcasting Software. Pump the sound video/music/play-along tracks directly through Zoom or Google Meet for a lag-free experience. Explore play along with resources, student reflection with Google Docs, effective camera/mic practices, and have students working collaboratively in synchronous chamber ensembles with Soundtrap! Software discussed includes: Keynote, Google Slides, Loopback, Soundsource, Farrago, AnyTune, Soundtrap, Smartmusic!

🎙 Music Ed Tech Talk #27 – Catching Up With Shawna Longo, with Shawna Longo

Shawna Longo joins the show to talk about our hybrid teaching gear, social emotional learning, cloud-based music tools, and our favorite apps/albums/tech tips of the week.

Topics include:

COVID hybrid teaching strategies
Teaching hardware (on a cart!)
Teaching performance virtually
social emotional learning
music tools in the cloud
the Canvas mastery grade book

Show Notes:

Tech Tips of the Week:
Robby – Command+K (or Control+K) will create a hyperlink
Shawna – Mute All for Google Meet | Use AirPod mic as input in Google Meet

App of the Week:
Robby – TIDAL
Shawna – Scannable

Album of the Week:
Robby – Future Nostalgia – Dua Lipa
Shawna – Happiness Begins – The Jonas Brothers

Where to Find Us:
Robby – Twitter | Blog | Book
Shawna – Twitter | Website

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

Subscribe to the Blog

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

🎙 METT Episode #26 – Featuring Katie Wardrobe

Technology trainer and speaker, Katie Wardrobe, joins the show to talk about producing technology training and resources for music teachers. (And way more)

Topics include:

Katie’s exceptional website: Midnight Music
Free vs. paid software
Teaching facing / student facing software
M1 and Intel Macs
Tools Katie uses to make content
Canva
File Management on iPad
Podcasting
Managing big projects
Our recent favorite tech tips, albums, and apps

Show Notes:

Katie’s Home Screen

Robby’s Homescreen

App of the Week:
Robby – CalZones
Katie – DaVinci Resolve

Album of the Week:
Robby – Tye Tribbett Apple Music Essentials Playlist
Katie – The Arcadian Wild | Cory Wong & Metropole Orkest

Where to Find Us:
Robby – Twitter | Blog | Book
Katie – Twitter | Website

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

Subscribe to the Blog

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

Support Music Ed Tech Talk

Putting the E in Ensemble Links

Show Notes:

Examples of student work

Alex’s studio space

Support Music Ed Tech Talk

Show Notes:

C Melody and Loop Audition

Row Your Boat Multi-Track

All-Star Remix

Episode Info

Description

Chapters:

Show Notes:

App of the Week: Reeder 5

Album of the Week:Alison Balsom – Paris

Subscribe to Music Ed Tech Talk:

Description

Chapters:

Show Notes:

Subscribe to Music Ed Tech Talk:

Show Notes:

App of the Week:

Album of the Week:

Where to Find Us:

Subscribe to Music Ed Tech Talk:

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

Show Notes:

Subscribe to Music Ed Tech Talk:

Subscribe to the Podcast in…

Learn More From Me About Technology

Abstract

Links

Broadcasting Software

Audio Routing

Making Play Along Tracks

Visual Presentation

Recommended Hardware

Subscribe to Music Ed Tech Talk:

Show Notes:

Subscribe to Music Ed Tech Talk:

Show Notes:

Katie’s Home Screen

Robby’s Homescreen

Subscribe to Music Ed Tech Talk:

App of the Week:
Reeder 5

Album of the Week:
Alison Balsom – Paris