Tag: technology

Reviews, Technology

Review: Oontz Angle Bluetooth Speaker

Joy Morin

For Christmas, my husband gave me this handy little speaker: the Oontz Angle Wireless Bluetooth Speaker.

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In the past, I always plugged a pair of old computer speakers into my iPhone, iPad Mini, or computer when I wanted to play music during lessons, group classes, or while cleaning the house.  🙂  They worked okay, but I found that if I turned the sound up too loud, the sound became distorted.

I am so pleased with this handy little speaker because I can turn the sound as loud as I need too without hearing distortion.  I’m very pleased with the quality of the speaker!

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And, of course, it is handy that it is wireless.  It connects via a bluetooth connection.  Pairing the speakers to a device only takes a minute.  Plus, it remembers what device you paired it with last and will automatically connect to that same device if both are turned on.  I’ve owned bluetooth devices in the past and they did not connect this easily.  Technology has certainly improved.

It comes with a USB cable so that you can recharge the battery by plugging it into your computer.  The battery can last for up to 10 hours of playing time.

Just thought I’d share about this fun little gadget!  Did you receive any Christmas gifts that have been useful for piano teaching?  If so, please share about it in the comments!

Technology

My CD Project: Favorite Piano Classics for Students

Joy Morin

Here is a peek at the project that has been occupying my spare time for the last two months:

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In November, I got the idea to record myself playing some classical pieces that I were my favorite to learn as I was growing up.  I thought it would make a nice Christmas gift for my family, friends, and piano students.  The project turned out to take MUCH more time than I had originally anticipated, but I am very pleased with the outcome!  Continue reading “My CD Project: Favorite Piano Classics for Students” →

Conferences

2013 OhioMTA Conference (3) — Technology on a Budget, by Andy Villemez

Joy Morin

281857_31f839ec763f8d27163830deb17bbcd9.jpg_512Technology on a Budget, by Andy Villemez and Dr. Michelle Conda

Andy Villemez gave a great session about some of the best free (or near-free) resources available on the internet.

1. Office Suites

Alternatives to the expensive Microsoft Office Suite:

  • LibreOffice 4.1 (top pick) – very similar to Microsoft Word
  • Apache OpenOffice (similar to LibreOffice)
  • Google Drive – only basic functionality, but is cloud-based. There are Google apps you can apply to Google Drive, too (Simplebooklet looks cool. Also, Concept Board — which lets you collaborate visually in the cloud.)

2. Music Notation Software

Alternatives to Finale or Sibelius:

3. Library Cataloguing Software

Caveat: these services are free only to a limit.

  • LibraryThing – online-based catalogue, free up to 200 books.  Designed to allow you to keep track of the books in your library.  You can even “check out” books when you want to loan them to students.
  • Delicious Library 3 – companion app can act as scanner.

4. Sheet music

5. Online Pedagogical Resources

  • Pianotools.com – keyboard visualizer and more.
  • Musictheory.net – great theory lessons and tools.  Here is even a customizable exercise maker.  App available.
Technology

App Review: Treble Cat & Bass Cat

Joy Morin

imagesTreble512-300x300 (1)Treble Cat & Bass Cat ($2.99 each for the iPhone versions and $3.99 each for the HD iPad versions)

These two apps are excellent for students to practice identifying notes on the staff.  It is a great pair of apps to recommend to parents/students to use at home.   I love how simple the concept of the game is — even young piano students will be able to independently use this app.

In each level, the player is given sixty seconds to find all of a given note(s) as a variety of different notes scroll across the screen.  If the player misses more than 3 notes, they must re-try that level.

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The graphics and the background music in these apps are fantastic! Continue reading “App Review: Treble Cat & Bass Cat” →

Reading Notation, Technology

App Review & Giveaway: SightReadPlus

Joy Morin

bg-1-273140SightReadPlus — $7.99 *for iPad only*

Update: also check out my short review of SightReadMinor ($4.99).

SightReadPlus is an app for iPad for piano students.  The app not only contains thousands of sight-reading exercises, but it also “listens” to the student play on their piano and evaluates their performance based on accuracy of pitch and rhythm.  I love this technology!  SightReadPlus is a great tool to improve students’ sight-reading abilities, especially in preparation for examinations or adjudications that require sight-reading.

The 4800 sight-reading examples in this app are appropriate for beginning and elementary students.  The range of notes in each exercise is limited to major five-finger patterns, and all exercises are either for RH or LH (never together).

The exercises are divided into 10 levels.  Level 1 begins with half note and whole note rhythms in 4/4 time, with intervals limited to 2nds.  The more advanced levels contain intervals up to a 5th, rhythm values such as dotted quarter notes and eighth rests, and a variety of time signatures (2/4, 3/4, 4/4, and 6/8).  The exercises can be played in any key.  Continue reading “App Review & Giveaway: SightReadPlus” →

Technology

Annotation Apps for iPad / GoodNotes Pro Review

Joy Morin

IPadminiWhite screenshotOne of the cool teaching tools the iPad provides the piano teacher is the possibility of completing worksheets digitally during the lesson — or using the iPad like a music whiteboard with a custom background.  A few of my favorite piano teaching blogs have shared some great resources for using the iPad in this way:

  • Anne Crosby — Check out her colorful whiteboard backgrounds by searching “iPad” on her blog, and be sure to see her Music Discoveries digital method book, too (pictured at right).
  • Wendy’s Piano Escapades offers a few different types of colorful whiteboard backgrounds.
  • Susan Paradis has a variety of colorful worksheets/games that would work well on the iPad. 
  • Jennifer Fink from Pianimation has some sight-reading cards (sets of jpg files) that are fantastic.

To use these wonderful resources on your iPad, you will need some kind of whiteboard or annotator app that allows you to upload custom “papers” or “backgrounds” upon which you can draw and erase.  There are many different options available.  Over the weekend, I spent some time researching and testing apps until I found my favorite.  Here are the features I was looking for:  Continue reading “Annotation Apps for iPad / GoodNotes Pro Review” →

Rhythm, Technology

Making Music Worksheets Using Rhythm Fonts

Joy Morin

A frequent question I receive from blog readers is about what method/software do I use to make music worksheets.  Since discovering music fonts (and publishing my blog post on music fonts last Spring), I have been using music fonts more and more for my printables and using Finale less and less.  Finale is great and totally necessary for printing compositions and arrangements, but it’s not quite as convenient for making music worksheets.

To help answer some of those questions about how to get started using music fonts for creating music worksheets, I decided to create a quick video showing the process for creating a rhythm worksheet using my two favorite music fonts: MusiSync and Rhythms.  These two fonts are so simple to use, you might not even need a character map (as described in the full post about music fonts).  Before getting started, you will need to download and then install both of these fonts onto your computer.  You will also need the program Microsoft Publisher (part of the Microsoft Office suite), or a similar program.

It’s my first try doing a video tutorial.  Let me know what you think.  🙂

Update: Here is a follow-up video that talks about using two other fonts, that will allow you to create melodic examples in your worksheets.  And here is one more video tutorial, showing another option for making worksheets: using png image files of various music symbols.

Technology

Color Printer Suggestions

Joy Morin

wf645_fca-cos-cn_690x460I received an email from a reader over the weekend, asking if I had any suggestions for a color printer.  I bought a new printer about a year ago, so I told her all about that.

I bought an Epson WorkForce 645 about a year ago.  I chose the Epson brand based on the reviews I read on Amazon and elsewhere.  I looked at the technical specs of Epson’s whole line of printers, and ended up choosing the Workforce 645 because it was cheapest printer in their line-up that was designed to be able to print on cardstock (which I like to use when printing flashcards, games, etc.) and can automatically print double-sided (I get confused when I try to do it manually!)  It also has a built-in scanner, which I have found to be very convenient.

I’ve been pretty happy with my printer overall — I’d give it a 4 stars out of 5.  Sometimes, the printer claims there is a paper jam for no reason when it is trying to print double-sided.  And sometimes, when printing a full page of color, there are some patchy, un-even areas.  But overall, it has performed pretty well for me.  The ink is a little pricey IMO, but it is probably no worse than any other brand’s ink.

Do you have a color printer to recommend (or not recommend)?  Please share about it in the comments!

Conferences, Technique, Technology

OhioMTA 2012 Conference (2): Music Performance and Biofeedback, by Kathleen Riley

Joy Morin

The next session was called: Understanding the Physiology of Music Performance Through Biofeedback, by Kathleen Riley.

Kathleen Riley is a pioneer in using technology she refers to as “biofeedback” to monitor movement and muscles in order to help musicians eliminate pain, tension, or discomfort in their shoulders, arms, backs, etc.  She began her session with a quote:

“Technique is the knowledge o the most economical way to produce adequately what the mind conceives artistically.”  – E. Robert Schmitz, from the 1935 book The Capture of Inspiration.

Dr. Riley discussed relaxation and the music — and the fact that although no muscle is ever completely relaxed, there is a resting point.  She discussed that we need to examine how much tension we really need when we play.  How can we release unneeded tension and follow-through on our movements?   Continue reading “OhioMTA 2012 Conference (2): Music Performance and Biofeedback, by Kathleen Riley” →

Studio Business, Technology

Business Topics for Piano Teachers

Joy Morin

On Friday, I gave a presentation for the local MTNA chapter back in my hometown, the Piano Teachers’ Forum of Grand Rapids.  This association was the first one I joined as an undergraduate music major and piano teacher.  I learned so much from the presentations I attended during those years!  It was so fun to go back this weekend and see some of my colleagues.

The name of my presentation was “Business Sense for the Piano Teacher of the 21st Century.”  Many of the topics I talked about are topics I’ve blogged about too.  Here are a few related blog posts for your enjoyment:

Reviews, Technology

iTalk app Review

Joy Morin

iTalk app | Cost: Free (with ads) or Premium version: $1.99 (no ads), for iPhone and iPad.

This app is the perfect solution when recording audio of your or your students’ playing.  In many cases, I record video of my students playing during piano lessons; but sometimes I want only audio, so that I can get better quality or so I can more easily email it.

The iPhone/iPad comes pre-installed with a Voice Memos app, so you might be wondering about the advantages of iTalk.  There are two:

  1. Higher audio quality (AIFF files), and
  2. Convenience (transferring/syncing files).

The quality of the sound recording is far better using iTalk versus the Voice Memos app.  When you open the iTalk app, it allows you to name the recording and then select between Good, Better, or Best recording quality (11.025, 22.05, or 44.10 kHz sample rates).  On the iPhone 4 (and probably 5), there is an auto-noise cancellation feature (so you won’t get as much room noise).  Pushing the big red button starts the recording.  After recording, you can browse your list of recordings, play them back, or email a file.  Continue reading “iTalk app Review” →

Music Theory, Reviews, Technology

Review: NoteWorks iPad app & Giveaway

Joy Morin

Noteworks – (Links: Free iPhone version, full iPhone version for $4.99, Free iPad version, full iPad version for $4.99)  

This app is designed for students to practice identifying notes on the staff and finding the corresponding piano keys.  Noteworks features an adorable little “Munchy” who eats the notes when the student identifies the notes correctly!

Continue reading “Review: NoteWorks iPad app & Giveaway” →