Introduction
Technology
is changing the way many academic areas are taught in schools. Music is one of those areas. Teaching music with technology gives all
children the chance to create and learn about music. Using technology in the music classroom can
motivate children to learn even more about music.
There
are many types of music technology.
Computers are the most common type.
Music educators or parents can purchase and implement software programs
that will help children learn about and create music. Some types of software
include: drill and practice, tutorials, games, exploration, creation and
notation. The focus of this website will
be on notation software that allows children to compose their own music through
technology. In particular, we will look
at notation software products by Finale and Sibelius. We will also explore an online music center
where preschool children can begin learning about basic musical concepts and
create their own music using these concepts.
Although
composition is one of the National Standards of Music, it is one of the most
neglected areas of music. Part of the
reason for this is the time it takes to compose music. When music teachers only see their students
once a week sometimes there is just not time to compose music with paper and a
pencil. Software has been developed to
decrease the time it takes to compose music.
Children can create their own music, listen to it, reflect on what they
have written and make any necessary changes, then print it out and share it
with others. Some of the software
programs that have recently been developed have the ability to save the music
to a CD!
Technology
can open so many doors for educators, parents, and children. It is just a matter of choosing the
technology that will best work for you.
I hope that this website will help you in choosing the notation software
that will work best for you.