Tool: Launchpad Arcade
I am a big fan of the hardware devices offered by Novation. I personally own both a Launchpad PRO and a Launchpad Mini. I have always felt that just offering students a keyboard as an interface with music production and creation software creates an inherent obstacle to creativity for students who have little or no keyboard skills. While it is certainly possible to teach those skills, I love it when students can just jump in the deep end right away and start creating and composing their own music. The Launchpad series of products gives students a tactile way to interface with whatever software they are using - assigning sounds, beats, loops, effects, and more to each button. Software titles like Ableton Live offer direct connections to the Launchpads - providing students with a grid in the software where they can easily assign audio to each pad. Up until a few years ago, students who primarily use Chromebooks to make music have had a difficult time using devices with pads, as very little cloud based software works well with them. The Launchpad Arcade - a FREE tool from Novation - allows you to quickly and easily connect a Launchpad to a Chromebook and have students create music right away. And it’s free.
The Launchpad Arcade is a free website where your students can get straight into making music with Launchpad's familiar clip-based user interface. There are eight preset music “packs” for students to immediately start using. When you first get into the Arcade you land on the Viral Hip Hop set. The grid in the picture at the top of the post shows that there are 6 rows of clips - 8 clips in each row, as well as a Stop and Mute button at the bottom of each row. This grid aligns perfectly with every Launchpad. When you press any button, it will light up and trigger whatever sound is in that button. Typically, the sound will loop until you press the button again. Some sounds are known as “one shots” so they’ll just play once. Students can perform tracks from any of these “packs” for live performance (there is no way to record them directly in the app). Students can even design and play lightshows using their Launchpads (this option doesn’t work if you don’t have a Launchpad connected). Launchpad Arcade works inside the Google Chrome browser. All you need is a computer and an internet connection to get going.
Launchpad Arcade is ready for players at all levels. Whether you have zero music-making experience, or you're an intermediate or advanced user, the quick setup guide will fast-track you to the action.
Whether you have Launchpads or not, I would definitely recommend bookmarking the Launchpad Arcade for your students. It is a “cheap and cheerful” tool that your students will love - with or without Launchpads. Have fun!