Introducing the MusicFirst Modern Band Solution
I am SO incredibly proud to announce that over the past year we have been putting together something truly special - our brand new Modern Band Bundle. This new offering, exclusively from MusicFirst, provides everything a music teacher might need to either start up a modern band program at their school OR an existing modern band program. Beginning this August, we will offer this new bundle which includes incredible new content and resources, from some of the BEST partners in the industry, including School of Rock, Music Will, the Drum Channel and so much more! In addition to these existing resources, we have hired some of the most forward-thinking music educators in the space to write new courses and content - including Dr. Steve Holley, Steve Giddings, Dr. Ethan Hein, and Mike Packer. In addition, we will offer a BUNCH of resources from Music Will - the organization formerly known as Little Kids Rock. Music Will is the premiere organization in the popular music education space, and we are very excited to be partnering with them. We will also be adding some new sites to our Resource tab, including Teach Rock, Ultimate Guitar, as well as InTune Monthly, YouDJ, Shed The Music, MusicEDU, and more!
Some of the most exciting new content that will be available in our new Modern Band bundle are the amazing method books created by the folks at School of Rock. This 3 level method books series includes books for Guitar, Bass, Drums, Keyboards and Vocals. We are going to be offering these books both within the MusicFirst Classroom as fully functioning lesson plans and tasks, and PracticeFirst - our incredible performance assessment software. If you are an existing MusicFirst Classroom user, you will start to notice new content within the MusicFirst Content Library in the all new Modern Band section (see below). Because PracticeFirst is able to assess polyphonic instruments like guitar and keyboards, this new solution is the ONLY comprehensive offering for modern band!
We will also have some other fantastic software offering INCLUDED in this bundle, including AuraliaFirst and MusitionFirst to provide the theoretical understanding behind the popular music that students will be performing. Both of these incredible software titles have new content focused on popular music, allowing students to learn ear training and music theory concepts using the music that they listen to outside of school. And with the ability to create custom content, including embedded YouTube videos, teacher will never run out of engaging content and assessments for their students.
We will also be including the all-new OGenPlus - a complete reimagining of O-Generator. This new version allows students to learn various popular music styles - focusing on how these genres are structured - from rhythms to melodies and everything in between. Students will also be able to compose their own beats and songs using three innovative interfaces - including a grid, a traditional DAW, and the original O shaped composition tool. Rather than using pre-made loops and beats that are included with DAWs, students can create their own and then export them into the DAW that you already use with your students.
We will also be including Focus On Sound with a newly expanded library of popular music instruments, terms, and concepts. And finally, the bundle will include a new DAW from our good friends at Charanga Music called YuStudio. This DAW is the only online DAW that currently offers the ability to compose music with video - making it possible to create new music and soundtracks to existing videos that you find on YouTube. If you prefer to use another DAW like Soundtrap, no problem! We can swap out YuStudio to provide your students with Soundtrap for an additional charge.
Our MusicFirst Content Team has also been hard at work updating and revamping some of our existing content - including the amazing new Intro to Popular Music course. In this year-long course, students will explore the cultural, historical, and musical background of American Popular Music, as well as various cultural connections, how music reflects social & cultural awareness, and technological developments that impacted the evolution of popular music. Each unit focuses on a different genre musical, or decade, and contain four lessons based on the National Core Arts Standards of Creating, Presenting/Performing/Producing, Responding, and Connecting with variable tasks.
I will be showing this new Modern Band Bundle at the upcoming APME Conference in Los Angeles this June. I’ll also be sharing it at the Modern Band Summit in Fort Collins, CO in July. I can’t wait to start showing teachers what we have put together!
Our new Modern Band bundle will be available beginning August 1st, and for now we plan on offering it at $15 per user with a minimum of only 25 users. That means that for an opening price of only $375 you and your students will have exclusive access to all of this new content, as well as a huge selection of software and resources - everything you need to teach modern band in a connected world. Best part? It will work on ANY internet-connected device, including mobile phones, tablets, Chromebooks and desktop computers. Your students will be able to practice anywhere, anytime, on any device. We will be posting more information on the MusicFirst website on June 1st - so stay tuned for more updates!