Both of these articles have practical and immediate applications in the classroom. Capturing Sound is a great step-by-step resource for recording. Substantial work is required on the front end of incorporating this technology into your performance routine. However, once established, consistent use is possible without a large time commitment. The inclusion of students in the process, as suggested by Clukey, would be a great way to develop leadership and/or skills in technology for students with special interest in the recording industry. The only information lacking in this article is suggested brands and models of recording equipment. Perhaps this information was not included for ethical or legal purposes.
Picture This provided many ideas for future University Singers rehearsals. I have spent a great deal of rehearsal time on supported, legato singing, as well as developing rhythmic accuracy. The use of mental imagery has been my most successful tool in dealing with these concepts. The use of concrete imagery in waveform may make further connections for my students. Last evening, I recorded part of the rehearsal to provide a file for student evaluation of their own work. After students have listened to their performance on Blackboard, I will use the GarageBand file to establish the visual connection to our sound. I am hoping this activity will provide another layer of understanding for the ensemble.
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I agree that the Clukey article is a great and detailed resource for starting a recording routine. When I was teaching I ran into some interesting situations regarding recording performances and copyright laws, so I'm glad that Clukey made a note in the article about checking the current guidelines.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to hear how your "Picture This" experiment goes with the University Singers. While I was reading this article I was thinking of all the times that I could have used this strategy with my middle school band students. Many of the expressive comments that we give to young students are abstract and this certainly gives them a more concrete depiction of where we're aiming.
I appreciate your comment about the "mental imaging" available through programs in the article "Picture This." What an exciting way to think about music, and a great way to check to make sure that we are singing/playing the music with accuracy. I look forward to using this technology in the future.
ReplyDeleteWow Vanessa! I'm so impressed that you're taking the time to try some of these techniques with your university group - I'm sure the results will be worth it. The students were probably very excited to have a recording of their sound. I believe that recording our students and teaching them how to evaluate their music is one of the most important things we can do in our curriculum. I was a little confused with the technology jargon used in the articles and I'm hoping that I'll have the opportunity in the future to walk through the process of obtaining a quality recording of an ensemble performance with a recording professional. Students are much more motivated to work for improvement when they actually hear the problems they may be having. Keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to know how your experiment with the University Singers goes. Sounds like it could be the makings of a good research study :-)
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