A lot of this stuff was already familiar to me. Pictures, oddly enough, were something that I studied in the context of binary in math and computer programming. Sound files likewise I had previously learned about when I had had to make recordings for various auditions. The section on text had some interesting an useful tidbits, especially for making things line up, an annoying problem that makes many websites look stupid and unprofessional.
However, the article on sound suffered from one of the usual problems: it sounded quite outdated. Broadband connections are pretty much standard today, which is why YouTube is so popular. Audio files are almost a nonissue now, in a day when anyone can host videos for free on the internet with someone else picking up the bandwidth. Admittedly, YouTube has problems with profitability, but I personally don't see it going away. The same goes for audio. All sorts of people host all sorts of stuff on myspace, social networking sites, their personal sites.
MP3 compression has actually been going the opposite direction recently. Apple recently rolled out new higher quality MP3 download options for iTunes because even with the higher bitrate, connections are so fast that the downloads don't take long at all. BitTorrent as well has made sharing files on networks easier, though this is not applicable for personal websites. MIDI is still useful because it is a set of instructions and such for notation purposes, but size of files is less and less of an issue. Hulu even streams entire episodes of TV shows, and sunday night football can be watched via a live stream.
Anyways, the point is that while understanding audio is useful, compression will continue to become less and less important as computers and networks get faster and faster.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Social Bookmarking
This is certainly a useful idea if undertaken by a collective that is actively trying to find and share relevant information. It certainly is easier than searching google. Thus, under the concept of a PLN or music educators sharing resourcres, it could be effective.
I tend to wonder though about wider uses simply because thye require that everyone uses a sort of universal logic and systemizes their tags. I know that my personal bookmarks on my computer are not organized in such a way as to be easily followed by anyone other than myself. They are split into divisions, but the divisions often have to do with associations I have with the sites that may not be obvious to others. It's certainly possible to tag by subject, but I also tend to organize bookmarks by how useful I think the sites are. So two sites could both be relevant to music education or flute playing, but one might be useful enough that I visit it once a week, while another might be more like once a month.
The idea of social bookmarking doesn't really solve this problem, unless one starts tagging things as "useless" or includes in the description the limitations of the entry. So, in some sense, one is still back to analyzing and sorting through the material, just with a higher probability of relevance. Certainly this is an improvement from search engines, users just shouldn't expect their accounts to be bombarded with heavenly manna in the form of universally relevant and useful bookmarks as identified by tags in every instance.
I tend to wonder though about wider uses simply because thye require that everyone uses a sort of universal logic and systemizes their tags. I know that my personal bookmarks on my computer are not organized in such a way as to be easily followed by anyone other than myself. They are split into divisions, but the divisions often have to do with associations I have with the sites that may not be obvious to others. It's certainly possible to tag by subject, but I also tend to organize bookmarks by how useful I think the sites are. So two sites could both be relevant to music education or flute playing, but one might be useful enough that I visit it once a week, while another might be more like once a month.
The idea of social bookmarking doesn't really solve this problem, unless one starts tagging things as "useless" or includes in the description the limitations of the entry. So, in some sense, one is still back to analyzing and sorting through the material, just with a higher probability of relevance. Certainly this is an improvement from search engines, users just shouldn't expect their accounts to be bombarded with heavenly manna in the form of universally relevant and useful bookmarks as identified by tags in every instance.
PLN Addition - Alex Ross's Blog
http://www.therestisnoise.com/
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/alexross/
Alex Ross is a music critic for the New Yorker as well as the author of "The Rest if Noise," an interesting, accessible, and engaging book about listening to music of the 20th century. On his blog, he points out interesting events, reviews, CDs, and includes some of his own ideas about the state and direction of classical music in modern times.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/alexross/
Alex Ross is a music critic for the New Yorker as well as the author of "The Rest if Noise," an interesting, accessible, and engaging book about listening to music of the 20th century. On his blog, he points out interesting events, reviews, CDs, and includes some of his own ideas about the state and direction of classical music in modern times.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
PLN - musictheory.net
www.musictheory.net
Nothing groundbreaking, but this is a nice set of tools for theory and composition purposes. It has printable staff paper, interval identification, tone matrices, basic theory, and quite a few other goodies. I used the interval and triad ear training functions to practice for my own theory tests.
Nothing groundbreaking, but this is a nice set of tools for theory and composition purposes. It has printable staff paper, interval identification, tone matrices, basic theory, and quite a few other goodies. I used the interval and triad ear training functions to practice for my own theory tests.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
PLN Addition - ArtsBeat
ArtsBeat is the music blog of the New York Times. It deals with all sorts of musical topics, but some recent posts touch on the interesting question of whether operas should be performed always aiming to replicate the period performances and presumably the composers' ideas or whether there is flexibility and that directors should have some leeway.
This touches the surface one of the deepest and most fundamental debates concerning the philosophy of applied music. What matters most: the intent of the composer or the experience of the listener? If Beethoven intended "Eroica" to express triumph and heroism, but I, as a listener with no prior knowledge, experience the piece as an expression of tragedy, is my experience invalid or "wrong" because it is not what the composer intended? Or is my experience valid because it is authentic for me despite the implications this has on the composer's authority over his own creation?
This touches the surface one of the deepest and most fundamental debates concerning the philosophy of applied music. What matters most: the intent of the composer or the experience of the listener? If Beethoven intended "Eroica" to express triumph and heroism, but I, as a listener with no prior knowledge, experience the piece as an expression of tragedy, is my experience invalid or "wrong" because it is not what the composer intended? Or is my experience valid because it is authentic for me despite the implications this has on the composer's authority over his own creation?
On SMART Boards
While many educational technologies have potential, they often require some thought and planning for implementation, and in some cases can tempt teachers to make the curriculum serve the interests of the technology instead of the other way around. In contrast, SMART boards have so many readily obvious uses in so many different types of classrooms that anyone with the resources to acquire on could easily jump right in. Without even considering whatever groundbreaking implications they might have, SMART boards make many of the little tasks of teaching easier.
No longer waste time scribbling illegible chicken scratch on chalkboards. Prepare visual aids ahead of time and focus in class teaching attention on other things. Need to change something? Quick type or create it on the spot, it's probably no slower than writing on a chalkboard anyways, and unlike transparencies, files are easily altered.
Instead of needing to buy expensive computers for each child and having to monitor them individual on internet use or whatever else, easily connect a computer and have the class focus on computer media together. The interactive functions allow the students to participate to some small degree as well.
The list goes on.
As someone who is used to using a computer connected to the internet as a workplace/media center, the SMART board presents a logical expansion of this concept to the teaching environment. I could easily imagine myself finding plenty of use for a SMART board in a classroom without needing training or having to attend focus groups. Honestly, I could find uses for a SMART board in my own room, though some of its functions would certainly be wasted in that setting.
The SMART board seems like a good choice for a piece of technology that could serve as a workhorse in the classroom, and is certainly something I would be interested in having as a teacher.
No longer waste time scribbling illegible chicken scratch on chalkboards. Prepare visual aids ahead of time and focus in class teaching attention on other things. Need to change something? Quick type or create it on the spot, it's probably no slower than writing on a chalkboard anyways, and unlike transparencies, files are easily altered.
Instead of needing to buy expensive computers for each child and having to monitor them individual on internet use or whatever else, easily connect a computer and have the class focus on computer media together. The interactive functions allow the students to participate to some small degree as well.
The list goes on.
As someone who is used to using a computer connected to the internet as a workplace/media center, the SMART board presents a logical expansion of this concept to the teaching environment. I could easily imagine myself finding plenty of use for a SMART board in a classroom without needing training or having to attend focus groups. Honestly, I could find uses for a SMART board in my own room, though some of its functions would certainly be wasted in that setting.
The SMART board seems like a good choice for a piece of technology that could serve as a workhorse in the classroom, and is certainly something I would be interested in having as a teacher.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Picture This
The idea of using recordings for pedagogical purposes is something that musicians are often told to consider but rarely actually execute, often simply due to the hassle of using and setting up decent equipment. Thankfully, as technology improves, getting effective recordings is becoming easier. While a truly professional recording still requires a studio and expensive equipment, these days, even a computer and a few well placed mics can capture something more useful to players of all levels.
For all players, recordings have value in showing what was occurring rhythmically and dynamically. It's actually very difficult to play evenly, and a lot of musicians don't realize how bad they are at it. For the advanced player, some of the better recording devices accessible today can also be very useful for working on sound. Many of the nuances are captured, and one is able to gain a valuable "audience perspective" of oneself. Most instruments sound different from 10 feet away than they do from one foot away. Am I projecting? Am I obsessing too much over slight unclarities in the sound that I can only hear because of my proximity to the point of origin? Recordings can help us as musicians answer these questions.
Perhaps most interesting to me was the idea of using pictures of wave amplitudes in teaching. It fits in with the idea of those who learn best through visual stimuli, and even on an intuitive level, makes a lot of sense considering all the time musicians spend trying to translate music, which is inherently sounded, into visual and tactile images that assist achieving certain nuances. I could definitely see the use in not just asking for big rounded notes as a band director, but using the visual stimulus of a wave chart to show students what their notes look like.
The rest of the article, as well as the guide to recording equipment, was interesting, but may be a bit outdated. Hard drive space, as is discussed with respect to recordings, is hardly an issue these days. External devices capable of holding several hundred GB of data are available at very reasonable prices. Of course, this is simply all the more reason to use recording, especially digital recording. These days, even large amounts of space online are fairly easy to come by. This makes for a convenient way to distribute recorded material. I have used my Case filer a couple times to distribute my own recordings of recitals that I played on. It's much quicker and easier than having to take the time to burn CDs.
For all players, recordings have value in showing what was occurring rhythmically and dynamically. It's actually very difficult to play evenly, and a lot of musicians don't realize how bad they are at it. For the advanced player, some of the better recording devices accessible today can also be very useful for working on sound. Many of the nuances are captured, and one is able to gain a valuable "audience perspective" of oneself. Most instruments sound different from 10 feet away than they do from one foot away. Am I projecting? Am I obsessing too much over slight unclarities in the sound that I can only hear because of my proximity to the point of origin? Recordings can help us as musicians answer these questions.
Perhaps most interesting to me was the idea of using pictures of wave amplitudes in teaching. It fits in with the idea of those who learn best through visual stimuli, and even on an intuitive level, makes a lot of sense considering all the time musicians spend trying to translate music, which is inherently sounded, into visual and tactile images that assist achieving certain nuances. I could definitely see the use in not just asking for big rounded notes as a band director, but using the visual stimulus of a wave chart to show students what their notes look like.
The rest of the article, as well as the guide to recording equipment, was interesting, but may be a bit outdated. Hard drive space, as is discussed with respect to recordings, is hardly an issue these days. External devices capable of holding several hundred GB of data are available at very reasonable prices. Of course, this is simply all the more reason to use recording, especially digital recording. These days, even large amounts of space online are fairly easy to come by. This makes for a convenient way to distribute recorded material. I have used my Case filer a couple times to distribute my own recordings of recitals that I played on. It's much quicker and easier than having to take the time to burn CDs.
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