by Rachel | Uncategorized
When I was growing up, my voice teacher would have me bring cassette tapes to my voice lessons. We would record warmups, new songs, and sometimes even full lessons so that I could practice more effectively at home throughout the week.
In college, I bought a handheld voice recorder for the same purpose, thought not the modern kind that allows you to download mp3 files from it.
When I started teaching lessons, and even up until this past school year, I made CD after CD for my students — each time they learned or recorded a new song. I was going through so many CDs each month that I finally decided I needed to find an alternative.
I experimented with a few different options. I tried out Dropbox as a method of sharing mp3 files with my students, but that took up too much space in my already full account. I also tried sending mp3s as download links, but that wasn’t very convenient for either of us.
And then I had a “duh” moment. I used a USB flash drive to transfer new songs from my home computer to my work computer, so why couldn’t my voice students do the same thing? I suggested it to just a few students at first, and now almost all of them bring a flash drive to each of their lessons.
No more wasted CDs or excuses about not being able to practice. Most of my students are very good with computers and know how to use iTunes, YouTube, and so on…this is just one more excuse for them to use the computer, and I’m okay with that :) Parents are happy too, because they get to hear what we’ve been working on in our lessons.
How do you share music with your students and encourage them to practice throughout the week?
by Rachel | Uncategorized
I’ve been using MusicNotes.com to purchase instant sheet music downloads for over five years now. In fact, I’m a member of the MusicNotes Digital Club, which means I save 10% on every piece of music I purchase. (That may not sound like much, but when you buy as much as I do, it adds up.)
The only bummer about buying sheet music from MusicNotes is that once you’ve printed your allotted single copy, you can no longer access that piece of music.
Enter the MusicNotes app for iPad. I discovered this last week when I was downloading yet another song, and saw on the sidebar of my screen that it was “iPad compatible”. So I clicked on the link to read more, and found that if you have an iPad, you can access your account and then view all of the compatible songs (most of which are) right on the screen. Not only that, but you can annotate and transpose the score right on your iPad.
This app has opened up an entire collection of music for use with my students, and also just for my own personal use. It even works with my new wireless foot pedal-controlled page turner, the AirTurn BT-105.
There are a couple of other music-related iPad apps that are currently rocking my world, but each deserves its own blog post. More to come soon! Which apps have you been digging lately?
by Rachel | Uncategorized
As you might have previously read, I got an iPad 2 for my birthday. The primary reason I wanted one was for use in my studio, and I didn’t waste any time putting it into action yesterday.
Up until this past spring, I’ve sent my students home with written assignment sheets and lesson or music therapy session notes in their binders. However, with so many students to see every day, I hated the thought of going through so much paper — not to mention all the time spent handwriting notes.
So I whipped up a notes template on Pages (a word processing app I have on both my Macbook Pro and iPad 2) and then created a document for each day of the week. Each document has a page dedicated to every student I see on that day, with the notes templates all ready to be completed during lessons and music therapy sessions.
At the end of the day after my last student has left, I copy and paste each student’s lesson/session note into an email to either the student (if he/she is an adult) or the parents. That way, we both have an electronic record of everything that happened in the lesson/session, as well as any assignments.
I also include a reminder at the bottom of my notes template to students and parents that they can log practice time, comments, and questions about that week’s lesson/session in their account on my website.
I knew the iPad 2 would be great for educational music apps and playing and recording music, but this use of it is worth the price alone. Do you use your iPad or another electronic device to write and share lesson or session notes, or do you stick to paper and pen?
by Rachel | Uncategorized
I am one lucky girl! Not only did my family throw a super fun afternoon cookout for my birthday, but they also gave me an iPad 2 (with a pink smart cover). It was delivered to my husband’s office today, so I can’t wait to open it up and start playing with it this evening.
I also received several gift cards and checks from other family members and even a few students’ families, which I put towards the AirTurn Page Turner and Music Reader system (which you can read more about here).
I’m looking forward to using all my new gear this summer — both in my studio and for playing gigs, my first of which is tomorrow. I’m only four days into summer vacation, and yet I’ve barely had any downtime at all. Not that I’m complaining!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
I may be turning 28 next month, but I’m still allowed to make a wish list for my birthday! With my new studio transformation in progress, most of the things I’m asking for relate directly to my work — though that is almost always the case. (Last Christmas, my parents insisted that I put at least one thing on my list that didn’t concern music or technology.)
So here are the top 3 items on my loooong list of wants. Let’s just say I would be more than pleasantly surprised if I receive them on June 5.
iPad 2: I’ve actually gone back and forth on this one. As awesome as the iPad is, I just don’t know if I really need it. For one, my husband has one and gives me free reign over his whenever I want. Also, I already have an iPhone. But the more I read about the iPad and explore the apps that are available, the more convinced I become that it would be a useful tool in my studio.
Airturn Page Turner: This is one of reasons I want the iPad. The idea of my students and I being able to play using sheet music displayed on the iPad or Mac (of course, I would also need this) and use a foot pedal to turn the pages is just awesome.
Blue Mikey: A microphone for my iPhone. I am a huge fan of Blue Microphones and have been using the Snowball for years. But sometimes during a lesson or music therapy session, I don’t necessarily want to set up my computer and microphone. I’d love to be able to just plug this bad boy into my iPhone and start recording. I do this every once in a while with the voice memo app, but it would be nice to get a more high quality sound.
What music & technology related items are on your wish list?
