District/School Administration PK-16 Program Support Educational Technology
Technology Toolkit

Technology in Music Education
Needham Public Schools

Description of Activities

The class worked in the lab to complete the two steps in this music lesson. In the first step each student used Reason software, a digital music sequencer program, to record a piece of Bach instrumental music provided by the teacher. Then the students used the software to record their own creative drum tracks. The teacher wrote detailed directions [PDF] for using the software for this project.

In the second step of the lesson, students experimented with the recordings, combining the Bach music and the drum tracks. The students did not change the original music, but added variations of drum tracks to it. After the students found combinations that added modern elements of percussion and digital sound to the original keyboard melodies, they saved the new musical pieces to create their own unique versions of the Bach music.

For an optional third step, the students were able to add a bass track to the recordings that matched the "feel" of the drum track. The software provided multiple bass sounds, enabling the students to choose one that was most suited to their rhythm track. At the conclusion of the unit, the students played their final pieces [MP4] for the class.

Universal Design/Inclusion
This lesson did not require previous musical training, so all students could participate. Simple instructions could be added to the lesson plan to assist students who needed expanded directions. Integrating technology into this project gave the students a greater ability to experiment with the music, because anything the students recorded could be undone in the edit menu with a single mouse click. The students were also able to be creative as they learned to use the software with support from the teacher's technical instructions.

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