Technology is Changing the Way Students Create Music

Steve Adubato goes One-on-One with Robert Clark, Director of Bands at Long Branch High School, who shares how technology he has implemented in the classroom is changing the way students are creating music.

7/3/18 #2154

 

 

 

 

Excerpt:

"Hi, I'm Steve Adubato, for this very special edition of NJTV's In Your Neighborhood series. In this one, we look at the iconic Jersey Shore town of Long Branch. Long Branch has seen some very tough times. But today, there are some great things going on in this shore community. Tonight, you'll see some of these special things, special places, but most importantly, some very special people making a big difference. We're In Your Neighborhood Long Branch. Robert Clark, who is Director of Bands at Long Branch High School. How you doing? I’m doing well, thank you. This is part of our series we do in cooperation with the New Jersey Education Association, Classroom Close-up a great series on NJTV, right? Wonderful. In about a minute we're gonna be seeing a video of you doing something with SmartMusic? SmartMusic, yes. What is it all about? Well, it's... the classroom is changing, and you have to keep up with the changes. So technologically, SmartMusic is an online tool where we use it to kind of gauge the student's progress, they have method books that we used to use, you used to have to go to the music store and buy them. Okay. Now they're all online, and a student can kind of play into the computer. It'll, they can play it back, they can maintain it online as a portfolio of their accomplishments, tells 'em which notes they're getting right, which notes they're getting wrong, they can send it to me, I use it as an instructional tool, and I’d say about half of my music library is also in SmartMusic, so anything I assign for the band to play, they can access it and use it as a rehearsal tool It's exciting? It's great. You're ready to see this video? I’d love to. It helps tell the story from Classroom Close-up? Yes. Let's take a look at the video. [music playing] Art education is important. The music education is ridiculously important. The students can succeed because they feel secure here. They feel secure enough to experiment, to fail, and they have enough pride to want to get better. For Robert Clark, helping his band students get better is a top priority. Be careful with your anvil part, you have to list it back so that you line up with the quarter note triplet. As Director of Bands at Long Branch High School, Mr. Clark rehearses with the marching band, both on and off the field. He's also using some interesting technology during rehearsals. Okay, moving through, here we go. [music playing] Nice, you held it to the end. The software they're using is called SmartMusic. With SmartMusic, there is immediate feedback. When a..."