MUSIC TECHNOLOGY For Primary & SEN Schools

Jeff Sawdon tvjsawdon@tvms.org.uk

Abstract This is a brief outline of the latest developments in Music Technology for schools – plus a few

old favourites if funding is really tight!

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The Music Teacher’s Toolkit

The Latest in Music Technology for Primary Schools

Overview

There are more options than ever now with a variety of platforms to carry apps and software

programmes to make and teach music. The latest development is the use of CLOUD based

software, which offers multiple licencing at a more affordable price than even a few years ago.

In addition, pupils and teachers can access their work anywhere in the world with a computer

and internet access. Many professional musicians have used this technology to collaborate

on recordings with other artists from the other side of the planet, in some cases without ever

meeting them! Here we will explore some of the applications for such technology, both for

teaching music in school and engaging children in music making outside of school.

Contents

Apple – iPads & iPhones

Garageband

Cloud Based Software

TVMS Interactive

MusicFirst

Golden Oldies - Windows Platform

PC Software

Audacity

Hardware

iDock

USB Microphones

Portable Recorders

SEN Applications

Soundbeam 5/The Beamz

Skoog/Skoog 2

Novation Launchpad

Appendix – PDF Brochure for www.tvmsinteractive.co.uk

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iPads & iPhones

GARAGEBAND, at just £2.99, is one of the most popular apps for iPAD, iPOD and iPHONE.

You can make music in four ways;

a) Arrange the provided APPLE LOOPs. LOOPS are pre-recorded blocks of music that

can be combined to create musical structures. They are usually marked to indicate

that one will fit with another so you can be fairly sure of a musical outcome.

GOOD FOR; teaching structure and how songs, particularly pop songs, are put together.

b) Use the SMART INSTRUMENTS to create music from scratch. The app features

SMART Strings, Keyboards, Drums and Guitar/Bass. You can audition a variety of

CHORDS played in several different ways just by pressing a finger on the graphic as

shown below. Then when you have a combination you like you can record it within the

app and add further instruments to build up your composition.

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GOOD FOR; a more creative approach to yield a wider variety of music.

c) Compose and play in tunes using the keyboard or guitar/bass fretboard. In this way

tunes can be added to the music made using the SMART instruments.

GOOD FOR; taking things to another level or providing an extra level of challenge for children who play

an instrument already and already have a wider knowledge of music.

d) Play in and record using real instruments using a variety of interfaces (see

HARDWARE section)

GOOD FOR; engaging instrumentalists in the classroom activities.

Work is saved automatically as you go and can be shared via email or iTunes. The app is

easy to use with few ‘behind the scenes’ windows in which to get lost. You can also use

Garageband for remote, ‘in the field’ sound recording using the built in microphone.

For more in-depth support with GARAGEBAND we can provide CPD and/or in-class support

and for reference check out; “GarageBand for Schools” The Complete Teacher & Student Step-By-Step

Video Guide to Creating a Song Using GarageBand For The iPad. Phil Heeley & David Ashworth. £7.99 from

iTunes Store.

Play chords

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TVMS Interactive (www.tvmsinteractive.co.uk)

Our own online resource, in partnership with CHARANGA MUSIC, provides a complete music

teaching resource for all key stages. It comprises of three sections;

Music Coach – self-learning with videos, scores, backing tracks and other interactive

resources.

Musical School – the site for Primary & Secondary music teachers

Music World – the site for children to access resources at home.

From the point of view of a school teacher, Musical School is the main focus. This has pre-

set schemes of work from Reception to Y6 and included all planning and assessment

documents, music & lyrics, grids, quizzes, word searches and differentiated printable scores

for all instruments. This enables children who have instrumental lessons to use their

instruments in classroom curriculum lesson activities. In SEN contexts the fact that there are

pre-set schemes of work for each year group makes it easy to adapt lesson activities for a

whole term to the appropriate level.

For more details see the included PDF brochure or call Jeff Sawdon on 01642 603600 or email

tvjsawdon@tvms.org.uk. You can also vist the site and sign up or ask for a 30 day free trial

login.

‘Cloud’ Based Programmes.

http://www.musicfirst.co.uk/ is home to a new concept in music education software. Instead

of selling DVDs or downloads from which you can install the programmes, you can now access

them directly from the ‘Cloud’ and create, save and re-open your work to your personal

workspace anywhere in the world, as long as you have Internet connectivity.

Choice of programmes is diverse from notation based to loop based to actual virtual recording

studios (with the aid of a USB interface or microphone – see ‘Hardware’ section).

This has some clear advantages;

Little set up to do

No ICT tech support needed in school

Updates are automatic

Anywhere, anytime

Online storage of student’s work for assessment

Key Stage 1, 2 and 3 beyond are all catered for with programmes such as Music Academy,

Groovy Music, Music Delta, O-Generator, Noteflight, and Soundation. Licences are available

from £149 for these and you can find out more and even try before you buy via the site.

1. Golden Oldies - PC Based Software

Although disc-installed software is becoming a little passé now, there are still some useful and

very affordable programmes for PC, and if that’s all you have….

AUDACITY – is now a well-established, free and legal programme developed for

educational purposes and based on the professional audio editor SoundForge. You

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can get the latest version as a download from http://sourceforge.net/projects/audacity/

and there is also a video clip that gives you a brief tour of the features.

E-Jay For Schools – a LOOP based programme dating back to the late 1990s. Now

in a content-vetted ‘for schools’ version, the programme is installed from a DVD while

the actual sound samples stay on the disc to save space. As such, in my experience

it has been less successful on networks. Can be found on Amazon for around £10 per

copy and add on loop discs are available or its £335 for a site licence. You can

download a free version to try from www.ejay.com.

Music Ace Deluxe – Theory Training Software in which a ‘Professor’ cartoon character

guides pupils through a series of interactive lessons and tests. Works as an ICT suite

activity or a whole class lesson. Costs around £54.99 from Amazon.

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MAGIX Music Maker is a fairly complex programme that lets you combine LOOPs,

virtual instruments and images or video clips to make multimedia compositions &

presentations. Once again a disc based product that requires a copy for each PC but

at prices from £12 on Amazon it is a powerful programme for the price. Definitely for

the more technical though.

The MAGIX Music Maker main screen. Drag loops onto TRACKS

Hardware

iPad Docks.

If you want the option to use the iPad linked up to a PA system or school Hi-Fi system for

sharing in class or in the hall etc, an iPad Dock is a good solution. Its professional connections

allow top quality microphones, guitars or keyboards to be connected and play in while proper

output sockets are a huge improvement over the flimsy 3.5 mm mini-jack provided with the

unit. Given the multi-track capability of Garageband this also gives you a portable recording

studio to record anything from whole class instrumental sessions to the school choir.

Two main types on the market are the Alesis iO-Dock at £129 and Focusrite i-Track Dock at

£149. Both are available from online outlets such as Dawsons, Thomann and of course

Amazon.

Focusrite i-Track

Alesis IO-Dock

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ZOOM H2

This small, portable microphone/recorder is very useful for all basic single track recording

applications if you don’t have access to iPads or iPhones etc. The recording goes straight to

an internal SD card which can then be easily transferred to a PC for editing with AUDACITY

or other such programmes. This can also be used as a USB mic to record direct to AUDACITY

or Garageband etc.

The Zoom H2

USB Microphones

If you are using AUDACITY on laptop or PC you will benefit greatly from a USB microphone.

These are instantly recognised by the computer with little to set up and give very high quality

results so you can keep good recordings of activities in class and, along with videos, track

progression. These range in price from the Logic ‘Quill Pen’ style to really good condenser

microphones.

‘Pen’ style mics can be found very cheaply on E-Bay or Maplins while the more professional

type ranges from £50 for the SUB-ZERO (above) to the AKG P120USB at £129. Unless you

plan to record the school choir to CD quality the former gives good results in a classroom

context.

Soundbeam 5

This was designed especially for SEN contexts and has been refined considerably over the

years. The latest ‘5’ version comes with a booklet containing lessons plans to go with pre-set

sound samples and themes. Sounds are made in two ways; by interrupting the beams (pulses

like Sonar, generated by one or more sensors that then convert into musical notes. Which

note is played depends on where the beam is interrupted – like an invisible keyboard. The

‘keyboard can be so small that the slightest movement can play a scale or set so wide that

wheelchairs can be driven through it to play notes. For this reason the unit is effective in SLD

and PMLD contexts and several case studies exist on www.soundbeam.co.uk. TVMS has a

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Soundbeam 5 Unit for hire or for TVMS led sessions. A new and slightly different version

called Beamz is now on the market www.thebeamz.com.

Skoog/Skoog 2

This is a soft cube shaped object with inbuilt sensors so that pressing in different areas and

with different force can trigger sound samples on a computer. Linked by USB it can be used

with its own software or in conjunction with Garageband and other software to create and

record music. Version two is now available with wireless capability. Skoog costs over £300

from the Apple store but is the subject of a campaign to reduce cost for educational use.

Novation Launchpad

This uses pads to trigger pre-recorder sound samples and loops as well as create a light show.

By connecting the unit to a computer via USB you can link the unit to other software such as

Ableton Live for increased functionality and recording. Costs £129 from Amazon.

If you would like any further information, help or training in any of the items mentioned here,

please contact Jeff Sawdon on 01642 603600 or email tvjsawdon@tvms.org.uk.

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