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The Pride Student Resources Composer Biographies Search Engine This search engine will access information about the composers of the music being studied by the Escambia Band. Type in the composer's name or piece of music you are researching, or other details you would like to know about the music the band is playing. |
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I demonstrated a computer software package called SmartMusic in class. This is an extremely powerful practice tool for musicians that motivates students to practice in the same way that "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" does for pop music video games. The program can be installed on your home computer, and by attaching a mic, it listens to your student practice scales, exercises, solo and ensembles, and full band pieces. It gives them immediate feedback in the form of a percentage played right score, along with green notes for correct and red notes for incorrect. It will accompany them for solos, and they play along with professional band recordings while practicing their parts. They can speed up and slow down any of these items to work them up. The most astonishing thing is that when they are playing a solo with piano accompaniment, they can set it to actually follow them on things like ritards and accelerandos - the computer listens to them through the mic and adjusts to their tempo automatically, the way a really good live accompanist does. There is a built in tuner and metronome, and we will upload the music we will be working on for District. The students can check out an installation CD from me, install it at home and activate their own subscription. The best part of this is the cost - a YEAR LONG subscription is $36, and the clip on mic can be ordered for about $20. Some comparisons - Rock band II cost $60, plus the controllers. The latest version of Guitar Hero ran $60, and an Xbox Live year long subscription is $59 - and those are essentially just TOYS. This applies that same concept, but it is REAL music using the instrument you already own to build real skill. A box of reeds will run you over $40. A professional trumpet mouthpiece will run you about $50 (and can hit as much as $300). For a single halfhour lesson with an instructor, it will run about $20 - $35. Most kids blew more than this yearlong subscription in about 20 minutes at the fair... We will be using this program to score our scale passoffs from now on, as well. We have a copy up and running on a computer in the Music Theory classroom that students will be able to access but it is only a single copy, and they would have to get one of us to log them on to it. Sight Reading Would you like to become better at Sight Reading? This website helps musicians improve sight reading by creating random measures of rhythym to practice with. www.practicesightreading.com How to access the drill online: Go to www.pyware.com/studentviewer.html Follow the instructions to download the “Performer’s Practice Tools Lite” and install the software on your computer. Click on the red text for your version of Windows or Mac OS to download the file. Once you have downloaded the file ( if you didn’t install it directly from the website), double click on it to run the installation program. Follow the onscreen instructions and then click on “I agree” button for the licensing agreement. Then click Continue. Skip the updates screen. When you see a screen asking you if you want to purchase the software, use an Activation Code or Learn More, click the round button on the left that says “Skip for Now”. On the next screen, “3D Online Account Setup” enter the following information: 3D Account Name: Douglas Holsworth 3D Account ID: 35231 Group Name: Group Password: dapride Click on the button that says “Click Here to Test Setup” In the Cast Name box, enter your name. Then click LOG IN Highlight “Download More Drills and Productions” and then click Next in the lower right hand corner, then click Connect on the next screen ( you must have an open internet connection for this to work!!!) Highlight “douglasholsworth” and click “Open” Sign On as Registered Group: Escambia Band, password :dapride Pick a drill to download- .3dz files have sound, .3dj don’t - then click download. You can download multiple files at once if you want. On the screen that says Select a 3D Performer’s Tool, click on Drill Explorer. It says you are not in the cast, so just be a “Guest Performer”. Once you know your drill number, you will be able to find it on the page and click on it to select. When the drill appears, use the controls on the left to play the drill – the spot you selected spot is highlighted! You can look at the drill and play it back and forth with or without sound, close it and come back later, and download the other drills I post. Unfortunately, to print or use any of the other features they show, you’ll have to buy the full version of the Performer’s Practice Tools. Marching Band.com - A central source for marching information and a positive voice for music education.  |
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