In this episode, we continue our foray into technology in music education – this time delving into electronic music. As our regular listeners will know, I do not claim to be a music technology person. I am a minimalist through and through, so if I don’t need to use it, I’m not going to use it. So for balance, I’ve invited as our guest one of the definitive music technology experts and teachers; Barbara Freedman.
Barbara has been named a TI:ME Technology Teacher of the Year, is the author of Teaching Music Through Composition: A Curriculum Using Technology, is an in-demand trainer, presenter, consultant, and performer, and has taught electronic music and audio engineering at Greenwich High School in Connecticut since 2001. Barbara’s motto, “Teach music. The technology will follow.” has become the rallying cry for music technology teachers around the world.
Barbara is here to help us navigate the tech that creates composers, musicians, and performers alike. This may just be the way you reach the other 80% of the students in your school, those students who aren’t in band, orchestra, or choir. This might be a great way to help the STEM-prioritized communities recognize that the arts really should be incorporated and that the acronym really needs to be STEAM. It may also be a great way to advocate for a chunk of that technology budget that seems so robust in your school, or give you a great project to write grants for!
Join us as Barbara explains how electronic music can help us create musicians.
This Episode Is Also Available On:
Key Takeaways
- Use first what your district says you must use first. That will make your life easier.
- Find what you have and use what you have, even if it’s only a little and only if it helps you and your students.
- Teach to your strengths. What do you do that you can use technology with?