New Music Technology Resources in Focus On Sound
Focus On Sound is an incredible resource for music educators and their students, and it is included with every seat of the MusicFirst Classroom. It is essentially an interactive encyclopedia covering MANY aspects of music, including musical instruments, world music, types of ensembles, styles of music, music theory, as well as a large dictionary of musical terminology. Teachers LOVE Focus On Sound because it includes hundreds of lesson plans that all culminate with an assessment for students - PERFECT for sub plans :). This summer, we have had the pleasure of having a fantastic intern on our staff, Elaria Ipecki from Montclair State University. She is a music technology expert and has been working alongside Matt Allen helping to create LOTS of new content - specifically in the Music Technology and Music Tech Hardware sections of the software. It is the PERFECT resource for any music teacher who covers music technology as a part of their curriculum. Here’s a closer look:
After launching Focus On Sound, click on the Musical Topics tab at the top of the screen. There you will find categories of content, including Music Technology and Music Tech Hardware. If you click on the Music Technology category, the first thing you’ll see is the image above - an entry for MIDI. Every term has a variety of digital resources, including audio files, images, an videos. The Music Technology section has 7 categories: MIDI, Filters, Reverb, Delay, Compressors, Modulation, and Other Effects.
Students can dive into any of these terms and really hear and see exactly what they are and how they are utilized by musicians. For example, the Low-Pass Filter and High-Pass Filter entries include audio files that demonstrate exactly what these filters do to an audio file. Many of these entries also include great videos from YouTube that further explain the concepts.
If you click on the Music Tech Hardware category, you’ll see the image below - an entry for a dynamic microphone. This area of the site has new content being added on an almost daily basis, but what’s there right now is fantastic. Students can learn about all of the different types of microphones, their use cases, how they sound, and even useful accessories such as pop filters and windscreens.
One of my personal favorite parts of Focus On Sound are the included lessons and tests. These are perfect assignments for students to complete to demonstrate their understanding of music tech terms. You can assign students any lesson and then assess their understanding with the included test. Tests use various question types, and often include multimedia for students to hear or watch. The massive amount of time that is saved by having these pre-made lessons and tests is one of the most popular features in Focus On Sound. Here is an example of a test on microphones:
Students are asked to match the definitions on the left side with drag and drop answers from a bank of responses on the right. All student scores are automatically added to the grade book - making this a really efficient way of teaching and grading.
If you haven’t already seen what Focus On Sound has to offer - especially all of the new content on music technology - I urge you to sign up for a FREE 30-day trial. It is a resource that you’ll use over and over and your students will really love.