Web Tools

Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Audacity is free sound recording and editing software and is available for almost every operating system available. With audicity, the user can record sound from a microphone, CD's, vinyl records, iTunes, or even streaming audio. It is entered into the program where it can be edited. Sounds can be enhanced or modified, vocals can be erased, background noise can be deleted, and special effects can be added. The file can then be saved in a different format, such as an MP3, so it can be easily stored on your computer, burned onto a CD, or turned into a ringtone for your cell phone!

I have been using Audacity at home for a couple of years now. I received the software with an LP converter (converts vinyl records into an MP3 file on the computer), so I had no idea the software was free on the internet! Now that I know it's a free program, I can download it onto my school computer and use it in a lot of different ways. I can record the students' performance dress-rehearsals and play back instantly for immediate feedback. This way students could hear how they sound for themselves rather than listening to me tell them what needs to be fixed. Band students can record themselves and save their file to be used as a playing test. Often students get very nervous playing for the teacher, even if it's not in front of the rest of the class. This would take away that fear factor. I could (potentially, depending on the format of the song), take any song the kids know and take the voices off, turning it into a possible program performance piece. This alone is a feature I would pay big money for! I could use it for group projects where my older classes create a song and record, edit and "produce" it, and present it to the class. Or the project could be that they must edit a song or major work by a specific musician or composer. The list is endless!

Karaoke Party http://www.karaokeparty.com/en/

Karaoke Party is a website that is, literally, a karaoke party straight from your computer. This site has over 1000 songs in various genres that are available depending on the user's account. To access all the songs on the site, as well as singing lessons, party mode, battles, and recording capabilities, there is a fee of $50/year, or $5/month. For users with the free account, many of the songs are still available, the user can participate in a limited number of battles and recordings, and the user can get a trial party mode pass. When a song is selected, there are prompts to let the singer know how long until the words will begin (introduction and instrumental section cues). Then the lyrics are displayed with a symbolic staff -- not a real musical staff, but one that uses bars to indicate the pitch and duration of each note. At the end, the singer is given a score based on their pitch accuracy if a microphone is connected to the computer. The songs may still be sung, but the singer will get a rating of zero.

This would be a fun site to visit on reward/fun days as a class activity (all the students sing selected songs) or as a small group (students take turns). This would also be a good tool to use for my sixth grade students. At this level, I begin taking selected students to clinics and festivals as my choir students and we work more on proper singing technique. Unfortunately, students at this level are "too cool" to sing "stupid old choir songs." With Karaoke Party, we could focus on a specific technique, such as proper breathing, do some warm-ups, then sing some songs that the kids might know, focusing on the breathing technique we just learned. I would have a chosen student or two sing with the microphone, with the rest of the class singing along. This would help students work on singing in front of the class in a non-threatening way, since students could choose the song they want to sing. The downside to Karaoke Party is that are some inappropriate songs, so the teacher would need to know what the songs are before students chose them.

Music Sheet Workout (available on the Android app market)

The music sheet workout is a free app that I have downloaded onto my Kindle Fire (an e-reader developed by Amazon). This app allows the user to practice their note reading skills. The user can choose to display treble, bass, or alto clefs (or any combination of the three), as well as showing the correct answer in practice mode if the user gives an incorrect one. The app shows the user a note on a staff and is given a list of note names to choose from (A-G). After practicing for any length of time, the user may take a quiz. The quiz is ten questions long and records correct and incorrect responses. The questions will not advance until a correct answer is given. At the end of the quiz, the app displays how many wrong attempts were given, the time penalty for those wrong attempts, and the total time it took the user to complete the quiz.

This would be a fun tool to use when I am teaching third graders the notes on the staff. I have a set of centers that students rotate through to give them extra practice with note names (as well as giving me a way to assess student learning). I could have the small groups take the quiz and keep a list of high scores. Over a period of time it could become a fun contest. I could also use it in beginning band to quickly teach low brass students the note names of the bass clef. Five minutes of practicing and quizzing for the first few weeks of class would be enough to make the note names come to them as naturally as treble clef note names come to the other students.