It has never been easier or more fun for students to compose, improvise, arrange, and produce music than with today's technology. Perfect for pre- or in-service music educators, Using Technology to Unlock Musical Creativity offers both a pedagogical framework and a description of the technology tools for engaging students in creative musical projects.
It has never been easier or more fun for students to compose, improvise, arrange, and produce music and music-related projects than with today's technology. Written in a practical, accessible manner, Using Technology to Unlock Musical Creativity offers both a framework for and practical tips on the technology tools best suited for encouraging students' authentic musical creativity. Author Scott Watson makes a compelling case for creativity-based music learning through eight teacher-tested principles that access, nurture, and develop students' potential for musical expression. Example after example illustrates each principle in a variety of music teaching and technology scenarios. Watson also includes practical ideas for technology-based creative music activities, locating lesson plans and other resources, and assessing creative work. The book provides detailed plans for dozens of attractive projects, each linked to MENC National Standards, and also offers suggestions for making adaptations according to grade level and technology proficiency. Additionally, it includes a valuable section of resources with tips for setting up a computer music workstation, a plain-language description of how digital audio works, and a music education technology glossary. Most of the activities described can be carried out by novice users with free or low-cost music applications. The book also features a comprehensive companion website with dozens of audio and video examples as well as many downloadable worksheets, rubrics, and activity files. Visit the companion website at www.oup.com/us/musicalcreativity.
This book is a full multimedia curriculum that contains over 60 Lesson Plans in 29 Units of Study, Student Assignments Sheets, Worksheets, Handouts, Audio and MIDI files to teach a wide array of musical topics, including: general/basic music theory, music appreciation and analysis, keyboarding, composing/arranging, even ear-training (aural theory) using technology.
This book represents a new approach to musical creativity, dealing with the semiotics, mathematical principles, and software for creativity processes. After a thorough introduction, the book offers a first practical part with a detailed tutorial for students in composition and improvisation, using musical instruments and music software. The second, theoretical part deals with historical, actual, and new principles of creative processes in music, based on the results and methods developed in the first author’s book Topos of Music and referring to semiotics, predicative objects, topos theory, and object-oriented concept architectures. The third part of the book details four case studies in musical creativity, including an analysis of the six variations of Beethoven's sonata op. 109, a discussion of the creative process in a CD coproduced in 2011 by the first and second authors, a recomposition of Boulez’s "Structures pour deux pianos" using the Rubato software module BigBang developed by the third author, and the Escher theorem from mathematical gesture theory in music. This is both a textbook addressed to undergraduate and graduate students of music composition and improvisation, and also a state-of-the-art survey addressed to researchers in creativity studies and music technology. The book contains summaries and end-of-chapter questions, and the authors have used the book as the main reference to teach an undergraduate creativity studies program and also to teach composition. The text is supported throughout with musical score examples.
A national bestseller, Let the Elephants Run is the essential guidebook for anyone looking to reignite their creativity. Creativity is in everyone’s DNA, not a select few. Award-winning musician and founder of CloudID Creativity Lab David Usher believes we just need the right tools to help us reconnect with our imaginations in our day-to-day lives, whether in the head office, the home office, or the artist’s studio. Using a mix of personal anecdotes and professional examples from the worlds of industry, technology, science, music, and art, he shows us that creativity is not magic; it is a learnable skill that any person or business can master. The dynamic full-colour design includes photographs, artwork, and illustrations, as well as action pages to help readers start cultivating the habit of documenting their ideas for future execution. Based on his wildly popular speaking engagements, Let the Elephants Run is the essential guidebook to reigniting and nurturing our creativity in accessible and productive ways.
The co-founder and longtime president of Pixar updates and expands his 2014 New York Times bestseller on creative leadership, reflecting on the management principles that built Pixar’s singularly successful culture, and on all he learned during the past nine years that allowed Pixar to retain its creative culture while continuing to evolve. “Might be the most thoughtful management book ever.”—Fast Company For nearly thirty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as the Toy Story trilogy, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, and WALL-E, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner eighteen Academy Awards. The joyous storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: In some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is. Here, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar so widely admired—and so profitable. As a young man, Ed Catmull had a dream: to make the first computer-animated movie. He nurtured that dream as a Ph.D. student, and then forged a partnership with George Lucas that led, indirectly, to his founding Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter in 1986. Nine years later, Toy Story was released, changing animation forever. The essential ingredient in that movie’s success—and in the twenty-five movies that followed—was the unique environment that Catmull and his colleagues built at Pixar, based on philosophies that protect the creative process and defy convention, such as: • Give a good idea to a mediocre team and they will screw it up. But give a mediocre idea to a great team and they will either fix it or come up with something better. • It’s not the manager’s job to prevent risks. It’s the manager’s job to make it safe for others to take them. • The cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them. • A company’s communication structure should not mirror its organizational structure. Everybody should be able to talk to anybody. Creativity, Inc. has been significantly expanded to illuminate the continuing development of the unique culture at Pixar. It features a new introduction, two entirely new chapters, four new chapter postscripts, and changes and updates throughout. Pursuing excellence isn’t a one-off assignment but an ongoing, day-in, day-out, full-time job. And Creativity, Inc. explores how it is done.
Electronic Music School: A Contemporary Approach to Teaching Musical Creativity is a practical blueprint for teachers wanting to begin teaching music technology to secondary age students. Will Kuhn and Ethan Hein inspire classroom music teachers to expand beyond traditional ensemble-based music education offerings to create a culture of unique creativity and inclusivity at their schools. Part One offers an overview of the philosophical and institutional aspects of starting a music technology program, with a particular focus on the culture of electronic music surrounding digital music creation tools. Part Two dives deep into curricula for music lab classes, including several lesson examples and techniques. This section also includes abbreviated project plans for teachers who have fewer contact hours with their students. Part Three discusses how music technology courses can grow into a larger media creation program, how such a program can contribute to the broader school culture, and how project-based music learning effectively prepares students for careers in media. Electronic Music School also includes narratives from music technology students themselves, who often have an intuitive understanding of the future directions music technology programs can take.
'Groundbreaking' Amy Cuddy, bestselling author of Presence 'A roadmap for innovators, entrepreneurs and those seeking new avenues for exploring and reimagining the future' Deepak Chopra Musicians are masters of innovation, constantly finding new ways to adapt to accelerating change and staying ahead of the beat. ------------------------------------------------------------------- In Two Beats Ahead, Michael Hendrix and Panos Panay demystify the artistic process of some of the greatest creative minds of our time and reveal what they can teach us about creativity. Drawing from first person interviews, you'll learn the secrets of collaboration from Beyoncé and Pharrell Williams, grasp the value of experimentation with Radiohead and Imogen Heap, learn how to prototype with Jimmy Iovine, hear why Justin Timberlake thinks you should 'dare to suck', understand the power of reinvention from Gloria Estefan, and the art of producing from T Bone Burnett and Hank Shocklee, co-founder of Public Enemy. A musical mindset is a revolutionary framework for creating and innovating in a dynamic world. Two Beats Ahead shows you how ------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Inspiration for anyone looking to expand the reach of their creativity' Tim Brown, author of Change By Design 'Based on their course at Berklee, Michael and Panos show that a musician's perspective, much like a designers perspective, can unlock inspiration and innovation, no matter who you are' David Kelley, founder of IDEO and the Stanford d.school
An Introduction to Music Technology, Second Edition provides a clear overview of the essential elements of music technology for today’s musician. This book focuses on the topics that underlie the hardware and software in use today: Sound, Audio, MIDI, Computer Notation, and Computer- Assisted Instruction. Appendices cover necessary computer hardware and software concepts. Written for both music technology majors and non-majors, this textbook introduces fundamental principles and practices so students can learn to work with a wide range of software programs, adapt to new music technologies, and apply music technology in their performance, composition, teaching, and analysis. Features: Thorough explanations of key topics in music technology Content applicable to all software and hardware, not linked to just one piece of software or gear In-depth discussion of digital audio topics, such as sampling rates, resolutions, and file formats Explanations of standard audio plug-ins including dynamics processors, EQs, and delay based effects Coverage of synthesis and sampling in software instruments Pedagogical features, including: Further Reading sections that allow the student to delve deeper into topics of interest Suggested Activities that can be carried out with a variety of different programs Key Terms at the end of each chapter What Do I Need? Chapters covering the types of hardware and software needed in order to put together Audio and MIDI systems A companion website with links to audio examples that demonstrate various concepts, step-by-step tutorials, relevant hardware, software, and additional audio and video resources. The new edition has been fully updated to cover new technologies that have emerged since the first edition, including iOS and mobile platforms, online notation software, alternate controllers, and Open Sound Control (OSC).
Ideal for introductory music education, philosophy and psychology of music education, and music education methods courses, Teaching for Musical Understanding explains current research-based theories of how students learn in order to show prospective and practicing music teachers how to teach effectively. Author Jackie Wiggins draws on her twenty-two years of experience teaching K-12 music and twenty years of teaching in higher education to demonstrate how theory applies to music education. The text is deeply grounded in the work of social constructivist theorists and researchers in both education and music education. The third edition takes a cultural psychology perspective, giving more attention to sociocultural influences and to the roles of learner agency in learning process. It includes in-depth examples of assessment practices in music classrooms, stories "from the trenches," and more extensive use of endnotes and citations.
