Music has come along way in this digital age and no where
have the advancements made more of an impact than on the rehearsal time. I make
a designation between rehearsal and performing, though for the most part they
are very similar. By rehearsal I mean any time when an individual or group is
practicing when there is no audience. As a vocalist back in the day, this meant
trudging to the practice room to play warm-up scales on the piano and listen to
my recording of my lesson on audio-cassette. When I was teaching choirs at
Bloomington Christian Schools it was typically piano or nothing. Recordings
were available but they were costly and left very little room for interpreting
the music.
Now with computers hooked up to the internet, rehearsing has
become a much more engaging activity. Groups post their performances to
YouTube, allowing other groups to hear and see alternate approaches to songs.
This provides more than singing it the right way that a recording of
professional singers offers. It allows students to develop critical listening
skills and experience a broad range of approaches to any particular piece. In
addition to performances, training lessons for just about every instrument and
vocal part can be found on YouTube. While this doesn’t give feedback like a
typical music teacher can, the ability to hone skills in this manner is
affordable, accessible and practical. Maintaining skills is critical for
growing in musicianship.
The process of rehearsing can be daunting for young
musicians. Much like learning a new language, learning to sing or play requires
interpreting visual code and translating the neurological signals into muscular
impulses. Practicing without feedback can lead to bad habits and misunderstanding
music. In order for practice to be most effective it should be done over
multiple days rather than extended rehearsing on a single day. This goes
contrary to our nature which is to wait until the fear of failure or
disappointing our teacher takes over and we cram for the next lesson. However,
the student that is self motivated, finds joy in making music during practice
times usually because they are successful.
Simple technologies have existed for years that assist in
rehearsing. Metronomes help keep tempo and are essential for internalization of
rhythm. Pitch tuners are a fantastic way for vocalists and instrumentalists to
receive feedback about the accuracy of their intonation. One lat simple
technology that has been available is audio recording. This allows the musician
the ability to self-evaluate, a crucial skill.
One fantastic technology that helps overcome the hurdles of
rehearsing is SmartMusic.com. At its
core, smart music is a way for students to rehearse and receive feedback from
all the above technologies. Additionally, teachers can publish practice
requirements, pieces, accompaniment tracks to play along with and receive
practice logs for grading. SmartMusic.com offers music for every musician
except choral works. Teachers can utilize the program in their classes for
everything from warm-ups to showing how individual parts fit into the whole.
Other technologies exist to help with the rehearsal process.
Band-in-a-box and CyberBass are both geared toward accompaniment. Audacity is
an open-source multi-track digital audio recorder and Abbleton is a multi-track
audio editing software that can be used with MIDI devices for live
applications. The internet provides a host of sites that provide MIDI music,
“jamming” rehearsal opportunities and even digital versions of physical
instruments designed to aid in learning the instrument.
Teaching Music has never been so accessible and yet so
complex. Adoption of technology should be done with careful consideration and
plenty of time to learn the systems. Technology has an annoying habit of
crashing right when you need it. Preparation is the key to making the most out
of technology and utilizing it as a tool to help your students become better
musicians.
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