Arts & Music: Technology Allows Young Composers to Hear and Discuss their own Music
By Mimi Rothschild
Ask most students to name a favorite composer and they're apt to mention the big guys in music history: Mozart, Beethoven, Bach. But ask students in Vermont and they're likely to suggest a classmate, a neighbor, or even themselves.
As early as the elementary grades, Vermont students are learning what it takes to compose and revise a piece of music. What's more, a digital network connects young composers with other musicians across the state, including professional composers who offer students gentle criticism for improving new works.
When Carol Baker came to Founders Memorial School as an elementary music specialist three years ago, she joined an existing network called the Vermont MIDI Project. MIDI stands for musical instrument digital interface. That's the technology that enables a student to write a piece of music, then hear a computer play it back.
"What's wonderful about this technology is that students can instantly hear what a piece sounds like," Baker explains. "They can compose beyond the level of what they can play on an instrument. The computer plays back whatever they write. They love it! And they can start to make revisions immediately."
The Vermont MIDI Project allows participating teachers to post student compositions to a password-protected Web site (www.vtmidi.org) for other members to hear and critique. Baker typically chooses one composition per class to add to the site. The student composer includes a digital recording of the piece, along with a short assessment. "The student describes where he is with the composition. He asks for suggestions, or might ask questions if he's not sure where to go next," she explains.
The posting student then receives what composers always crave: critical attention. "The student might get responses from music teachers, from other classes, or from professional musicians," Baker says. Many students, especially in the elementary grades, write relatively short works. A more experienced musician "can explain the variety of tools available to the composer. They might suggest some ways to expand the piece or add more variety." The student composer takes in the suggestions, makes revisions to the piece, then posts a new version. "That might go through several cycles," Baker says, with the composition evolving over time.
About 10 professional composers, all from Vermont, serve as online mentors for the project. Their involvement has added not only valuable criticism, but another dimension as well. Says Baker, "For many students, this has introduced the surprising idea that there are real composers living in Vermont. And they can have a conversation with them. It may not have occurred to students before that composing music is something a person can do as a career."
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, children's rights activist, author, and Founder and C.E.O. of online education company Learning by Grace, Inc. Rothschild and her husband of twenty-eight years reside in suburban Philadelphia with their eight children.
Feeling that “our current system of education has broken its promise,” Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. to provide families with Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children all over the world.
In addition to her twenty years of experience as a homeschool mother, Rothschild has written a number of books dealing with education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Home Education Websites Blog consists of helpful online content and activities for Christian homeschooling families.
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