Music Technology in General Music:
Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before!
PAUL MARCHESE AND SAMANTHA TRIBLEY
HADLEY JR. HIGH SCHOOL - GLEN ELLYN SCHOOL DISTRICT 41
PHILOSOPHY





Opportunity for non-ensemble/general music students to create and explore musical ideas without the use of a traditional
instrument; instead, with an iPad
Inspire students to find their inner musician; all individuals have the potential to be a musician, whether performer, composer,
producer, or consumer
Exploration in creativity; re-define and develop their own creativity
New perspective; analysis in a new light; problem-solving
Using technology to do something that couldn’t be done before, rather than using it because it’s “expected”
OUTLINE OF THE COURSE [4 units]
INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC TECHNOLOGY:



Discussion of what is possible with music technology today - myth vs. reality
Discussion of what makes a good musician/performer
Discussion of how current technology can aid in expressing a student’s musical ideas
UNIT 1: ARRANGEMENT/COVER SONG [DIFFICULTY LEVEL: BEGINNING]
1. Concepts:
2. Introduction:
Overview of musical elements and styles; brief introduction to musical form; applicable terminology
Discuss the concept of cover songs; healthy debate on what makes a quality arrangement/cover song; include
examples (ex: Walk Off the Earth)
3. Composition
a. Version 1: Use an “a capella” (ex: It’s Time by Imagine Dragons or Love Song by Sara Bareilles)
b. Version 2: Use a I, V, vi, IV song; students record their own vocals
4. New Understandings
a. Chord progressions
b. How elements of music work together to create varying styles of music
c. Introduction into musical form and structure (ex: song form)
UNIT 2: MUSICAL FORM AND STRUCTURE [DIFFICULTY LEVEL: BEGINNING]
1. Concepts:
2. Introduction:
Musical form and structure; thematic vs. supplemental material; applicable terminology
Review of song form structure; diagramming musical form using pop songs; transition into an introduction of
binary, ternary, 32-bar early song form, theme and variations, sonata form (modified)
3. Composition:
Follow a (modified) sonata form; find thematic material through Apple Loops, use techniques in GarageBand to
develop themes
4. New Understandings
a. What is a musical theme?
b. Development of musical ideas
c. Understanding of musical form and its relevance to current music
d. Organization and elaboration of ideas is the same in music as in an essay, poem, etc. (Cross-Curricular
Understanding)
UNIT 3: COMPOSITION OF ORIGINAL MELODY WITH ORCHESTRATION [DIFFICULTY LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE]
1.
Concepts:
Elements of a quality melody; original melody composition that expands into a theme and variations with full
harmonic and rhythmic accompaniment; applicable terminology
2. Introduction:
Sharing of well-known melodies; discussion of what works/what doesn’t; think of your own favorite
melodies/songs and what resonates with you
3. Composition:
8-measure treble clef melody composed on NoteFlight.com (follows I, IV, V-like progression); export to WAV file to
drop in as a GarageBand audio file; duplicate the melody as necessary to fit the orchestration, style and overall
form as chosen by the student
4. New Understandings
a. How to compose original music once you set some guiding parameters
b. How a melody interacts with harmony and supplemental material
c. How accompanying musical material has an impact on the theme
UNIT 4: STOP MOTION SYMPHONY [DIFFICULTY LEVEL: ADVANCED]
1. Concepts:
2. Introduction:
Score reading; interaction of melodic lines to create harmony; note and rhythm identification
Discussion and demonstration of how a musical score is read and written; how to look up how to play individual
pitches on an instrument; how notated rhythms work in relation in time; how a video editor works
3. Composition:
Teacher-selected trio that students must analyze to discover all of the pitch names, octaves and rhythms; work
with a partner to record individual pitches to the iPad; use the video editing app to alter the length of each pitch to
create a performance of the score
4. New Understandings
a. Individual melodic lines that can be relatively simple by themselves can be combined to create complex
compositions
b. Traditional music can be re-created in non-traditional ways (opening the box, inspiring creativity)
c. Mathematical understanding and calculation of how rhythm works as a unit of time (cross-curricular)
FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT OPPORTUNITIES
1.
2.
3.
4.
Peer reviews
Quizzes via socrative.com or other similar formats
Presentations with peer and teacher feedback
Upload audio files to Google Drive, YouTube, SoundCloud, etc.
CLASS EQUIPMENT







iPads and chargers/charging dock (one-to-one is preferable; has worked for us before with one iPad for a small group of students)
Apps: GarageBand, Pinnacle Studio (Stop Motion Symphony)
Web: NoteFlight.com; Socrative.com; YouTube.com
Headphones (Student Provided); headphone splitters if not one-to-one
Projector and video adapters to project teacher and student examples (HDMI Adapter and cable, or through Airplay)
Method of sharing project packets, peer reviews, etc. (i.e. Google Drive, Google Classroom, printouts, etc.)
Stop Motion Symphony only: classroom instruments of any kind; microphones or iPad input like Apogee Jam
CONTACT
Please do not hesitate to contact us at any time. We would be happy to be of any assistance to you and your music program!
Check out our website accessible at hadleymusictech.weebly.com
PAUL MARCHESE
SAMANTHA TRIBLEY
phone: 630-534-7516
email: [email protected]
phone: 630-534-7252
email: [email protected]