Ten Ideas for Using GarageBand on iPads in the Classroom

Hello strangers--it's been a while! Who knew that raising three kids while teaching full time and conducting a little orchestra on the side could be so hectic? Okay, that does seem obvious now that I write it down. Sorry to say, the blog has been on a waaaay back burner for quite some time. Time to stir the pot!

Since the NCMEA conference in November, I've been meaning to post blog versions of the handouts from my tech sessions. Today's post is from my "iPad Projects that Work" session. I know lots of teachers and students who love GarageBand, but sometimes it's hard to turn that fun exploration into a definable project. The desktop version of GarageBand is more powerful (though the iOS version is catching up quickly), but I love using GarageBand on the iPad in the classroom because kids are naturally drawn to the virtual instruments over the built-in loops. If Apple figures out how to bring a video track into the iOS version of GarageBand, I'll be in nerd teacher heaven!

10 Ideas for Using GarageBand on iPads

• Give students a chord progression that fits with a song you're singing or playing on instruments. Have them create accompaniments for the song using Smart Instruments. Optionally, record the song over each accompaniment.
• Teach about scales and modes by improvising melodies on virtual instruments with scale restrictions turned on.
  
• Explore popular styles by creating songs using a single category of built-in loops (i.e., Urban, Blues).
• Lead student songwriters through a studio recording experience as they record each part of their song onto separate tracks.
• Load a premade accompaniment into GarageBand (easily done through iCloud) and have students compose or improvise additional tracks on recorder, voice, or virtual instruments.
• Arrange students into bands and show them how to have a Jam Session.
• Teach about I-V-I, I-IV-V-I, etc. using smart guitar, strings, or keyboard.
• Have each student record one rhythmic or melodic “snippet” into an audio track. This works well with recorders or xylophones arranged into a pentatonic scale. Individually or as a class, rearrange and/or loop the snippets to create a single song.
• Keep a class collaborative song in the cloud or on one iPad that each student may add to during free or project time. Depending on the maturity of the students, you may need to create strict rules about modifying vs. erasing other students’ contributions.
• Show students the joy of your first Casio keyboard by recording sounds into the built-in sampler. Challenge students to create interesting songs from their sampled instruments.

And a few hints:

• Use headphones! Splitters are inexpensive and very useful for pairs and small groups.
• Be aware that it is VERY easy to edit other students’ songs, and that GarageBand automatically opens into the most recent song. Teach students to return to “My Songs” before quitting, rename their files to something recognizable, and sort the songs into folders by class or group. If you are not saving documents in iCloud, students will need to use the same iPad each class.
• Teach to the concept you’re covering, but don’t overteach how to use the app. You’ll be amazed how quickly students of all ages will learn all its features simply by exploring.

Do you use GarageBand in your teaching? Please share your ideas and tips in the comments!

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App Storm today at NCMEA!

This morning I'll be presenting an "App Storm" session at the NCMEA 2013 conference. Instead of paper handouts, I'm putting my list of apps right here. Enjoy! Please note that I ran out of time to finish up a couple of categories. And even with weeks more, there's no way I'd find every appropriate app! :)

Access the PDF here: https://docs.google.com/a/cfsnc.org/file/d/0BwDE_72RLZmGb3JaN1dhTnJEZE0/edit?usp=docslist_api

I'll post the full text here as soon as I have a chance. Enjoy!

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Another Long Overdue Update!

Hello world! When things get busy, my blog gets neglected. Now I have way too much for one blog post, but here are a few highlights from the past two months:

• Since Winter Break, Lower School students have enjoyed playing the Boomwhackers and ukuleles, exploring musical instrument apps on the iPads (especially Isle of Tune, which is also available as an interactive website), using the interactive whiteboard to drag-and-drop notes and to play with Sibelius Groovy Music, and learning several new songs, including "What a Wonderful World," "What Can One Little Person Do," and "You Gotta Sing!"

• An enthusiastic group of Lower Schoolers sang a 3-part version of "This Little Light of Mine" at our annual Martin Luther King Day celebration.

• Each Forest and Mountain music class (3rd and 4th grade) has created a collaborative song in GarageBand. Each student came up with a melody "snippet" on their recorder or ukulele, then we combined the snippets into longer melodies, recorded them on virtual instruments, and added accompaniment. We're now adding our own recorders and ukes to the mix, but in the meantime you can have a listen:
• Mountain class 3rd-years
• Mountain class 4th-years
• Forest class 3rd-years
• Forest class 4th-years

• Lower School challenge: While creating these collaborative songs, a group of 3rd-years tried to convince me that repetition makes music boring. I have challenged them to find me a song that does not repeat ANY melody. It needs to be in a genre they might hear on the radio (not counting contemporary music hour on the classical station). They aren't allowed to write the song themselves, and it has to be a full-length song (i.e., no commercial jingles). If there's a winner, there will be a big prize!

• Middle School is nearing the end of the 2nd trimester--wow! This week is the MS play, "Inherit the Wind," which will include a performance of 4 songs by my MS Gospel Choir. It's a small group (10), but they sound awesome singing in 2 and 3-part harmony. We even have a guest fiddler! If you're local, come enjoy the show Friday or Saturday night at 7:30, or the open dress rehearsal on Wednesday.

• I can't believe I haven't already posted this, but my first Middle School Service Day with my advisee group was a blast. We made dog and cat toys and collected treats and delivered them to the fabulous Orange County Animal Shelter. Much to my advisees' delight, I (accidentally?) adopted a dog. Here is Jilly:

How could I resist that face??? 3 dogs is barely more trouble than 2...

• Last week we had a Staff Development Half-Day on the topic of technology. I led two iPad workshops focused on apps for teachers to use for themselves or in teaching, but not necessarily for students. What a blast! As always, I learned as much from the workshop participants as they learned from me. If you have an interest in iPads, check out my Prezi here, or my iPad Mega List.

I'll post some more specific updates soon, and in the meantime, have a lovely week!

NCMEA Annual Conference Links and Notes

This weekend, I attended the North Carolina Music Educators Association annual conference in Winston-Salem. In addition to attending some inspirational workshops, exploring the exhibits (and making quite a few purchases for my program), and hearing various all-state ensembles and choirs, I presented three music technology clinics as a part of NC TI:ME. Below are some notes and links from the presentations.

iPads in General Music

Here is a link to the Prezi I created for this workshop. In it, you'll find the names and prices of all the apps we discussed, and some ideas for integrating iPads into your curriculum.

Please also visit my iPad App Mega-Lists to read more about apps and see some screenshots.

Using iPads to teach a composition-based curriculum

Many of the ideas in my Prezi are for composition-based projects. I frequently write about my students' composition projects on my blog.

Using What You Have: Technology for the Imperfect Classroom

The best resources for the online music educator: the Music Educators' Personal Learning Network, and the National Association for Music Education

Two of my favorite tools for the classroom, planning, and personal use: Curio (Mac only), and Evernote (works on any platform including mobile)

For flexible, paperless lesson planning on the Mac, PC, or iPad, I use Jeff Hellman's Planbook

To keep a database of my students and their work, I use Bento

The eBeam Edge, a less expensive interactive whiteboard option

For the handy type, create your own interactive whiteboard with a Wiimote!

Portable, affordable, and durable MIDI entry keyboard: the Akai LPK 25

My favorite USB microphone for podcasting or performance: the Blue Snowball

RC Trackpad--turn your iOS device into a magic trackpad for your computer

Sibelius Groovy Music suite

Noteflight--free, web-based music notation software.

Indaba Music--free, web-based DAW, for audio recording and/or MIDI, with social networking features

Soundcloud--share audio tracks in the cloud

The Petrucci Music Library--a huge collection of public domain scores and recordings

ArtsEdge--activities and lesson plans

Ricci Adams Music Theory Net

Morton Subotnick's Creating Music site

Explore the orchestra at Play Music

I'll be putting my recorder and ukulele Keynotes online soon. In the meantime, you can check out my beginner's ukulele tutorials on YouTube.

And, finally, I must put a link to my incredible school, a magical place that encourages teachers and students to explore their passions!