Karen Beres holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education (summa cum laude) from Lebanon Valley College (PA) and a Master of Music in Piano Performance from Bowling Green State University (OH). In the spring of 2003, she completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma under the direction of Dr. Jane Magrath and Dr. Edward Gates. While at OU, she served as Interim Coordinator of Group Piano and Undergraduate Piano Pedagogy during the 2000-2001 year and was awarded one of three campus-wide Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant awards. Ms. Beres has also served on the faculty of Bowling Green State University in the position of Coordinator of Group Piano. Active as a solo and collaborative artist, she has performed throughout the United States. In addition, she has spent five summers as a member of the Accompanying Staff of the Interlochen Arts Camp.
Karen Beres
Department of Music
North Carolina School of the Arts
1533 South Main St.
Winston-Salem, NC 27127
336.631.1226
beresk@ncarts.edu
"The introduction of digital pianos had a significant impact on piano pedagogy and group teaching. Instructional methods centered around the capabilities of digital instruments flourished. This proliferation of literature was accompanied by the rapid improvement of both keyboard sounds and functionality, resulting in a significant body of pedagogical materials for applied and group study. Coupled with a rapidly growing collection of software tools, the resources available to us are astounding."
The above quote, which headed Julianne Miranda's handout for her conference presentation, encapsulates the premise upon which this technology presentation began and from which it expanded. Recognizing that the growth of technology in recent years has been exponential, Miranda stressed the importance of remaining up-to-date with current innovations while understanding that technology's place is simply to support the needs of the teacher and student and the establishment of strong pedagogical goals.
Six fundamental needs were identified as crucial points of continued focus for advances in music technology. These needs include: representing music visually in the form of printed scores, representing music aurally in time with printed notation, supporting musical development and effective practicing, fostering the creative process in students of all ages, enriching the learning experience through access to resources, and developing collaborative learning spaces, ensuring that pianists do not have to grow up in isolation. Miranda then divided her comments about specific innovations into the following categories: digital instruments, music software, intelligent software, office suites and productivity software, internet applications, and pen-based technology.
Digital Instruments
Two instruments of current interest are the Roland Digital HP-i series and the Yamaha DGX505. The Roland HP-i is the flagship digital piano in Roland's line, embodying the future of keyboard technology. Although it is not portable, its many benefits include an LCD screen showing music right in the music rack, tutor/replay buttons for use in creating practice drills, a specialized metronome, a touch screen, a visual lesson interactive tutor, and the ability to work with any standard MIDI file, including Finale and Sibelius files. The Wonderland feature, which Miranda says will be part of all keyboards in the future, contains educational games and different metronome sounds. Its USB compatibility allows for exportation of playing as notation for printing but does not permit editing of played examples.
The Yamaha DGX505 contains many of the same features as the Roland model such as a touch-sensitive LCD screen; its additional strengths include adjustable touch sensitivity, a "lesson mode" that gives feedback on performance, a chord dictionary function, and improved sounds. The DGX505 uses SmartMedia flashcard technology and is easily portable, allowing its use in a variety of situations.
One of the most important points that a teacher can remember about the new keyboard technology is that the more intelligently a keyboard responds to the user, the more likely it is to be a useful learning tool. The new advances in keyboard technology are certainly leading the way to such a consistent and important use by today's teachers.
Music Software
Today's abundance of software packages and MIDI disks ensures that teachers and students have access to applications useful in virtually every component of music study. Music software of note for teachers and students includes: sequencing software (Cakewalk, Band-in-a-Box), notation software (Finale, Sibelius, Notepad), studio management software (Office Suite), and presentation software (PowerPoint, Dreamweaver, FrontPage).
Intelligent Software
Home Concert and Digital Music Notebook both were mentioned by Dr. Miranda as cutting-edge technologies worthy of note in today's marketplace. Yamaha's Digital Music Notebook, offered as a free download, is a good program for people who do not live or work in close proximity to a music store. Its capabilities involve not only access to an extensive library of music scores available for around $3 each but also a keyboard learn mode, where the score will wait to move ahead until the student has played the correct note on the keyboard.
Office Suites and Productivity Software
Traditional tools, such as Office 2003, are now being used in new and innovative ways. A few of these innovations utilitze Powerpoint and Publisher, two of the programs found in the Office suite. Powerpoint now has the ability to imbed MP3 files, enabling musicians to include audio examples in Powerpoint presentations. Publisher has come out with templates useful in creating e-newsletters, a function helpful to both teachers and students in numerous settings.
Iinternet Applications
The internet is the most rapidly expanding source of tools that we have. Important additions to the musician's internet sources are Macromedia's Robodemo and open source tools such as Wiki and Blog. Robodemo, priced at under $200, captures anything that you do on your PC computer screen. Its ability to produce flash documents with no knowledge of flash is its most widely-applicable tool. Wiki and Blog also have valuable uses for musicians in their possibilities for internet collaboration, allowing students to submit entries to online journals and read similar entries from other students.
Pen-Based Technology
Dy-Know Vision, a collaborative, pen-based application, works through a tablet PC (available for around $40) to transmit teacher hand-written notes, images, and web content to individual student workstations. It can be used as a stand-alone teaching tool and also is designed for two-way transmission. The program replays the thought process of the written notes and can imbed web pages into the teacherŐs notes as well.
A lot of technologies will continue to come and go, but software and hardware applications that respond best to the needs of teaching and learning are those most likely to remain viable for years to come. The most important thing to remember when considering technology for use in the music classroom is that the technology can only be as effective as the teacher using it, and the aforementioned tools work best when driven by thoughtful teachers who place the technology in its proper context.
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