This fall, I am teaching Technology in Music Education at Western Illinois University. The students are in-service music teachers who are working toward masters degrees. Here’s my syllabus.
I have left out administrative details and university boilerplate. Feel free to use any of this as you see fit, but if you do, please tell me, I’m always interested to hear.
Overview
Each week I will present a piece of technology or an idea for using it, and you will do a project: make a piece of music, do a short piece of writing, that kind of thing. Each module has a Discussions forum where you will post many of your assignments, comment on one another’s work, and ask and answer questions.
Course Materials
There is no required textbook. All readings are available online via the class web site. If you would like to dive deeper on a particular topic, I am happy to recommend books. Together with Will Kuhn, I am the co-author of Electronic Music School: a Contemporary Approach to Musical Creativity. The book is a complete guide to starting a music technology program at the middle or high school level. Let me know if you would like to see a sample chapter.
You will need access to an up-to-date, stably functioning computer to be successful in this course. Most assignments can be completed on a Chromebook; however, I strongly encourage you to have access to a Windows or Mac computer. You will need at least one Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Free demo versions are fine. Chromebook users should sign up for at least the free version of Soundtrap or Bandlab. Windows users may also use these. I suggest also installing a demo version of Ableton Live. Mac users already have GarageBand, and may also wish to consider a demo of Ableton. You may be asked to install other free software throughout the class.
You will need to record some audio for one project. A smartphone is adequate for this purpose. If you would like recommendations for microphones and other recording gear, I am happy to make them.
Course Goals
Advanced study in the utilization and implementation of technological tools prevalent in K-12 Music Education, including software and hardware for instruction and/or assessment of music performance, notation, theory, audio/video recording, and assistive technology for students with special needs.
Students who complete this course will gain a deeper understanding of current educational technology used in K- 12 schools and become knowledgeable consumers of these products with regards to the National Core Arts Standards.
Course Outcomes
As a result of this course, students will be able to…
- Develop proficiency using multiple forms of technology prevalent in Music Education including software, hardware, and other tools for:
- Music Performance Assessment
- Digital Audio Recording
- Music Theory Instruction & Assessment
- Video Creation & Recording
- Music Notation Creation
- General Music Education
- Assistive Technology for Students with Special Needs
- Design and implement effective student projects using technology in a music classroom
A variety of technological tools will be explored that enrich music instruction, student assessment, and music program administration. In this project-based course, students will develop proficiency using multiple forms of technology (software and hardware) and examine numerous resources regarding the best practices in implementing these technologies.
Semester Schedule
The instructor reserves the right to make necessary changes to this schedule to meet the needs of the class.
- Week 1: The Big Picture
- Week 2: Drum Machines and Beatmaking
- Week 3: Synthesizers
- Weeks 4 & 5: Notation and MIDI
- Week 6: Audio Recording
- Weeks 7 & 8: Mixing and Editing Audio
- Weeks 9 & 10: Remixing
- Weeks 11 & 12: Sampling and Copyright
- Week 13: Pop Songwriting in the DAW
- Week 14: Thanksgiving Holiday
- Week 15: Music Theory
- Week 16: TBA
The Big Picture
Meet and Greet
In a post on the Discussions forum for this module, please briefly introduce yourself and answer the following questions:
- Where and what do you teach?
- What experiences do you have with music technology? This can include recording or producing tracks, running PA systems, using notation editors, or anything else you can think of. If your answer is “nothing at all”, that is fine!
- What is one of your biggest pain points with music technology?
- What is your number one jam of summer 2023? This does not have to be something that came out recently, just something you have been enjoying listening to.
Resources
Respond to the Discussions thread for this module after reading these two articles.
AI and Music-Making – Are computers going to take our jobs? The answer is, not yet, though there are many music-related tasks that computers can do.
The Last Recording Artist – What happens when anyone can make a customized Drake song?
Drum Machines and Beatmaking
Drum Machines and Beatmaking – Resources
The Groove Pizza – introduction
Seeing classic beats with the Groove Pizza
Wonky – An excellent introduction to swing and Dilla time.
Groove Pizza Beat
Create a beat using the Groove Pizza. Post a link to it in the Discussion forum (not an audio or MIDI file). Tell us what genre you think your beat falls into. Listen to your classmates’ beats too.
Synthesizers
Ableton – Learning Synths
Work your way though the Ableton Learning Synths site. Using the Playground page, create a short (one minute or so) piece of music. Post an audio file of your creation to the Discussions forum. Listen to your classmates’ tracks.
Resources
Recreating classic rock synth sounds
Viktor NV-1 – A synthesizer you can play right in the browser. Try typing on the bottom two rows of the keyboard.
Wordsynth – Make your own Laurie Anderson songs.
The Helm synth – A free synth that sounds great. It works as a standalone MIDI instrument or as a VST plugin within your DAW.
Notation and MIDI
Resources
Noteflight and Flat.io are notation editors that run in the web browser, so you can use them on Chromebooks.
Musescore is a free, full-featured notation editor for Windows and Mac computers.
Dave’s JS Bach MIDI page – Many works by Johann Sebastian Bach in convenient MIDI format, ready for downloading and importing into your DAW.
Short Score
Create a short (16 bars or so) notated score using the notation editor of your choice: Sibelius, Finale, Musescore, Dorico, Noteflight, Flat.io, etc. Export it as a PDF and submit it. You may also submit a composition, arrangement or transcription you have created previously. You do not need to spend a lot of time on this; I just want to make sure you know how to do it!
MIDI Song
Create a two or three minute track using only MIDI and software instruments. You can use MIDI from any source: download it from the internet, convert a notated score, play notes in via a controller, draw notes in the piano roll, etc. The only requirement is that the end result sounds good, by your definition of good. It is up to you whether you want to try to get your MIDI to sound “real” (that is, played by humans) or to have it sound conspicuously “fake” (sequenced like dance or video game music.) Post your track to the Notation and MIDI Discussion forum. Then listen to and comment on your classmates’ tracks.
Audio Recording
Resources
How sound works – Elegant interactive demonstration.
What a WAV file looks like – Great visualizations of different pieces of digital audio.
Bookmark these for future reference:
- A quick guide to microphones
- How does a dynamic microphone work?
- How does a condenser microphone work?
- Meet the audio file formats
- NPR’s ear training guide for audio engineers – Tips for diagnosing and fixing common problems with recording speech. These tips apply just as well to singing.
- Making the most of your computer mic
Found Sound
Record a minute or two of ambient/environmental sound with your phone or other recording device. Do not record a musical performance; use a “non-musical” sound from your everyday life. Then bring your recording into a DAW and turn it into a work of music. You can add instruments, loops, or other sounds. The simplest approach is to add a synthesizer drone, one or two notes that sustain throughout. You can also edit and process your found sound as you see fit. You may decide that the found sound is musically satisfying on its own! After you have submitted your track, post it on the Audio Recording Discussion. Then listen to and comment on your classmates’ tracks.
Mixing and Editing Audio
Resources
These are mainly intended for you to bookmark for future reference. Glance over them and see which ones might be useful to you.
- Sound Breaking Mixer – Mix a simple rock song in the browser and share your mix via URL.
- What the heck is a decibel?
- Dynamics and loudness – Performance loudness is not the same thing as recorded loudness.
- Frequency and EQ
- Squeeze to please: The basics of compression – Compression is one of the most important audio effects, but it takes some learning to get the most out of it.
- Voxengo SPAN – Free and excellent spectrum visualizer.
- How to make your vocal tracks pop – Techniques for using EQ, compression and layering to make pop, rock and R&B vocals sound ready for the radio.
Mixing Marvin Gaye
Download the isolated stems from “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”, attached below. Create a new session in your DAW and drag in each of the stems, one on each track. Imagine you are a mix engineer at Motown, and your job is to get this song sounding as good as possible. Set the volume levels and panning on each track. You can even silence some parts entirely if you think that will sound good. If you would like to add effects like compression or reverb, feel free. You can try to recreate the mix of the original song, or create your own mix. Post your mix to the Discussion forum. Listen to your classmates’ mixes.
Remixes
Remixes – Resources
Scientist mixes “Heavyweight Dub” – Legendary Jamaican dub producer creates a remix by “playing” the mixing desk.
My remix process – This is optional, but if you are curious about how I create remixes, you might find this interesting.
Talking Heads Remix
Download the acapella (unaccompanied vocal stem) from “Burning Down The House” by Talking Heads. Create a new DAW session and set the tempo to 103 bpm. Then drag the acapella onto a new track. (It begins with eight bars of silence, so don’t be alarmed if you press Play and don’t hear anything right away.) Create a new instrumental backing for the song, using loops, MIDI instruments, live instruments, or whatever else you see fit. Feel free to edit and rearrange the vocals, too. The song is in G but you may get interesting results from reharmonizing it in other keys. Post your remix to the Discussion forum for this module. Then listen to your classmates’ remixes.
Sampling and Copyright
Sampling and Copyright – Resources
Shed The Music: Public Domain Samples – Please scroll down a bit and read the brief history of sampling.
Jonathan Wolff and the Seinfeld theme – This is what digital samplers were originally designed for.
Tracklib sample breakdowns:
- Mobb Deep – “Shook Ones Part II”
- Kendrick Lamar – “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst”
- Kanye West – “POWER”
- Pogo – “Alice”
- Futurama Theme
9th Wonder on Rhythm Roulette – From a series where producers choose three records blindfolded and have to sample them to create a beat.
Citizen DJ – Make beats in the browser with public domain audio from the Library of Congress.
Philharmonia sound samples – Free orchestra samples.
Rhythm Lab Breakbeats – Huge (and hugely illegal) breakbeat collection.
Sample Genealogy
On the Discussions forum for this module, submit two examples of songs/pieces based on other songs/pieces. One should use at least one direct audio sample. The other should use at least one quote or interpolation. I recommend using WhoSampled.com to find examples. Include YouTube/Spotify/Bandcamp links to all the songs you mention.
Sampling Ethics
In 1000 words or fewer, answer the following question in a post on the Discussion forum for this module: Do you think that sampling music without permission is ethically acceptable? For the purposes of this assignment, imagine that there is a compulsory license for samples similar to the system for cover songs, and that licensing is cheap and effortless. If you think sampling without permission is acceptable, what do you say to the creators of the original works? If you think that it is unacceptable, what do you say to would-be producers of sample-based works?
Pop Songwriting in the DAW
Pop Songwriting in the DAW – Resources
Novation Launchpad Intro – Create loop-based music in the web browser. Click the squares to start and stop each loop.
RJD2: Playing with Loopy Math – The creator of the Mad Men theme talks about how to create interesting musical structures with loops.
From GarageBand loop to Grammy Award – How a royalty-free loop spawned Rihanna’s first hit.
Loop Song
Create a two to three minute pop/dance/hip-hop instrumental using the loops that are included with your DAW. You may also use loops from other sources (Splice.com, etc) but please only use loops, no live instruments or MIDI. You may edit and process the loops as much as you like. Make sure that your track has a structure with contrasting sections (“verse”, “chorus”, “bridge” etc.), and that it has an intro and an ending. Post your track to the Discussion forum for this module. Listen to your classmates’ tracks.
Music Theory
Resources
The aQWERTYon – Play scales and chords on the computer keyboard.
How to record from the aQWERTYon
You should bookmark these sites for future use:
- Musictheory.net – Many free lessons and exercises
- Teoria – Free lessons, ear training and analysis articles
- Ableton Learning Music – Music theory for DAW producers
Ableton – Learning Music Assessment
Work through the Ableton Learning Music site up to the Playground page. (If you want to look at the Advanced Topics, feel free, but that is optional.) On the Discussion forum for this module, write a brief (1000 words maximum) assessment of it as a music theory learning and teaching tool. Would you use this site with your students? If so, why? If not, why not? Are there other student populations who this would be better suited to? Do you agree with Ableton’s decision to show everything using the MIDI piano roll rather than notation? Read your classmates’ comments as well.
It’s so great to see this, Ethan! I will have to steal some of your ideas next year. I’ve often thought that I’d love to get your feedback on my Technology in Music Education course at the Sydney Con. Here’s my outline: https://www.craft.me/s/yZWOidAENuoJsM (NB this is not the same course that we teach your book in, although we do explore it in this one!)
Your students are in a more technologically sophisticated place than mine are, apparently. I like all the focus on culture and fragmented attention, I hadn’t thought about doing that.