Gone are the days when teachers only had to rely on printed lyric sheets. With the advancement of technology, teachers can now make their music lessons more interactive and enhance their classroom experience.
1. Be tech-savvy at school
Many schools are not installing technology that will help them make teaching easier and more interactive. Some schools provide tablets for their pupils to use during the lessons but many schools cannot afford to do this. Instead of providing the students with school-owned technology, some schools allow pupils to bring their own laptops and smartphones from home. This technology gives the students the opportunity to work on their own, save their work right on their own gadget, and share their work virtually. Apart from that, it also saves on the use of paper for print outs.
2. Use ear trainer apps
Music lessons greatly rely on ear training which can be tricky, luckily technology can make learning this skill much easier. There are many ear training apps available on the app store for students to download and learn from. While some of these apps are available through subscription only, they also come with a 30-day trial wherein you can access many music topics and training to see if it’s beneficial for you. Ear training apps will help you teach your students to learn how to appropriately tune instruments.
3. Don’t forget the interactive whiteboard
Interactive whiteboards are one of the benefits that technology offers in schools. It is linked to a computer and lets you share your screen to the whole class. It also comes with pens and erasers so you can use the board the traditional way. With interactive whiteboards, you can teach your class how to write music and understand notes real time; enhancing collaboration among the students.
4. Create a SoundCloud account and Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution and music sharing platform that allows users to upload, share, and promote their audio work to the world. The good thing about SoundCloud is that it is free to use and can be accessed anywhere you may be. With this, the students will be able to upload their work, listen to it anywhere they may go, and improve their skills. Another software they can use in addition to SoundCloud that is used to produce audio files is the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Using this software will help your music students to be more creative in producing and mixing music.
5. Take advantage of music education app
Another advantage that technology offers to music is that your students can now learn and improve their skills in music even outside the classroom. There are many music education apps available for you and for your students to download. These music education apps work well with interactive whiteboards so you will have no problem accessing them in a school setting.
6. Perfect the performance with technology
Once you have learned the basics of music such as reading notes and the likes, choosing your musical instrument and pieces, the next thing that you will have to focus on is how to perfect your performance. There are many apps that you can use to help you practice your musical piece. SmartMusic is a good app you can use to keep track of the performance of your students and evaluate their work.
