Hi all,

I've recently discovered an organization that is quite organized and has great training materials.

http://www.littlekidsrock.org/

http://www.littlekidsrock.org/for-teachers/free-resources/

I live in NYC, and there's an affiliate organization that's been offering free Saturday workshops for NYC music teachers and anyone else interested in attending. There are also music instrument grants for NYC music teachers that attend the required 2-day workshop on their programs.

http://www.littlekidsrock.org/ampupnyc

If you're in the NYC area - check out the meetups and grants, and if not - check out the free online teaching materials : )

Now to the question...this organization takes very beginning students and tries to teach them how to play an instrument in NYC classes of 30 students (sometimes more, sometimes less). They have a bunch of great suggestions to keep the kids engaged, but there are periods where it would be great to allow software apps to give the students some feedback on their playing - whatever instrument, regarding accuracy of reading, accuracy of playing on the downbeats (e.g. in rhythm) - maybe singing accuracy. What apps would be best for this ? Does BB offer any such real-time performance feedback ? I know there is some singing feedback - but on second thought, this is not easily used in a class of 30. Something where the students can use headphones and a computer would of course lend itself much better.

Ha, the first thing that jumped into my mind after reading your thread title was "Your dog". If it runs out of the room howling, the kid isn't very good...

Other than that I got nothing.

Bob

I hope we don't get to the point where we can't have real teachers doing this work. Anyway, I do have some experience with this concept back in 1996 with a combination program & hardware package called Amadeus. It would track a student's timing and pitch using the built-in mic. It was more accurate when using a MIDI keyboard. It would give a "grade" as a percentage that the performance matched the music presented on the screen.

I don't know of anything current.

Joe,

You don't need a program giving feedback. All you need is human being in the form of a teacher, or at least another musician.

Shucks, ... even an educated listener is preferable to a "program"!

It never ceases to amaze me when a handful of folks on this forum relish the idea of removing humans from the process of teaching, learning and playing music.

Hey Joe! Don't be coming around here with all yer dang newfangled ideas about "teknologic" solutions. If'n some kid you know is needin' some music training then they need to hook the horse up to the buggy and git on over to town and see old man Trebleclef about some lessons! Oh and, "Git offa my lawn!"

Well worded Bob!

A computer program can not tell if a student is using the proper technique when playing the notes. All it can tell is if the notes are correct or not, well maybe it can tell. If a student learns wrong techniques they may not go far as a musician; yes I know there are exceptions, especially in the guitar world. But if that student wants to improve and goes to a teacher that teacher will have hard time getting the student out of those bad techniques. So one should start learning an instrument with a good teacher IMO.

The stated purpose of this organization is to be:

"...a national nonprofit that transforms children's lives by restoring and revitalizing music education in disadvantaged public schools."


Music programs have been cut or eliminated in schools, and while a one-on-one teacher/student situation is preferable, neither the schools or these kid's parents can afford that. A program like Joe suggested would be useful, and would allow the kids to progress on their own.


It has absolutely nothing to do with "... a handful of folks on this forum relish the idea of removing humans from the process of teaching, learning and playing music."


It has to do with getting inner city kids interested in music, which is a good thing, whether through human teaching or technology.

The most developed programs I've seen are by Yamaha and Casio. Both offer online "learn keyboard" programs. Both are directed more to self directed, learn-on-your-own and mass education situations. Roland also has a strong educational program but it is geared more toward the traditional one-on-one or small class size.

Essentially, age and ability appropriate midi songs are uploaded to a keyboard then, by either following along to a screen, or by following lights embedded in the keys, students learn by repetition. There's more to it than that but you get the picture. The computer screen replaces reading sheet music. The midi files help with learning the keys, scales, tempo, etc. The teacher can move between students helping overcome hurdles.

While perhaps not ideal, the Yamaha and Casio programs should easily conform to the New York program.

Its an interesting question, and while I agree with others that one-to-one tuition from a good teacher cannot be beaten, it does come at a cost and the context of the original question makes it clear that funds are limited.

A quick Google search found this, www.smartmusic.com , which at first sight seems to offer some sort of solution. Whether it fits the budget or not is another matter. I have no idea how good it is but it may be a starting point for you, Joe?

Thank you 90dB for reading between the lines. Many schools do not even have a music program, and if they do, they're scheduled just like a 'cluster' science teacher or gym teacher, meaning that they get a class full of 30 to 35 students 5 or more times a day (actually, I don't know exactly hoe many per day) - all different classes and age levels, from K to 6 in an elementary school. Sometimes they only meet once a week, maybe twice. The sessions are about 40 minutes. Keeping 30 kids ENGAGED is pretty damn difficult - but the School Kids Rock guys have taken all these things into account and come up with their music lessons accordingly. A classroom music prep is an ENTIRELY different thing than an individual music lesson - there is no comparison, but it may inspire children to love music, or even look forward more to coming to school.

...and this is for the schools that DO have a music teacher, else they get no exposure.

School Kids Rock insists that people with music degrees get their music instrument grants and become certified in the program - so they're actually promoting the music majors. I am not a music major - so I don't qualify for the program, though I would have loved to conduct it in an after-school program. I'm just a lifelong student and lover of music.

"Ten-year-old Ashley Nunez, a student from PS 98 Shorac Kappock elementary school in Manhattan who performed an original song featuring Jake Clemons, summed up the night best, saying, “Little Kids Rock gave me the chance to learn to play music, and now they are giving me the chance to play a song that we wrote in school in front of all of these people. This has been such an awesome experience, and a night I’ll never forget.”



It doesn't get any better than that.

Hey Joe - do you know any programers? It shouldn't be too difficult to write a simple program to do what you need.


Regards,

Bob