Welcome to my blog! Here I'll be reflecting on what I've learnt and made during my time in the Technology in Music Education course at the Conservatorium of Music Sydney. 

Microphones and Podcasting

This week we learnt about different types of microphones and their uses, how to use them properly and how to pair them with other recording and audio software. And what better way to do this than to make a podcast about it! So Dan, Issy and I set out to teach our many listeners and fans the ins and outs of microphone technology...

Multi-cam Filming with Audio

This weeks task was to film a music video! We had to have different cameras set at different angles and shots, and use a zoom recorder as well as other room and close up mics to capture the audio. It was tricky to be in a large group filming in a small space as setting up a shot was usually quite squishy. The other big challenge was that the microphones picked up any sound of movement, even pants rustling or a bangle bangling. I wanted to have moving shots that panned and dollied but this was almost impossible with how sensitive the microphones were. The hardest part was the file management. Getting everyone's randomly named footage and audio files into one space that we could all access was tricky. We ended up using Google Drive but all of the uploading took a long time and a lot of space. I can see myself implementing these skills for students to learn in the classroom during tasks that are recorded or even a whole music video task itself. Here is some of the raw footage we got!

Notation Software

We looked at lots of different notation software today and did a comparison of each. Here's my thoughts on each program we looked at:

Sibelius: This one is obviously the most legit. It has so many options, is set up for very efficient note input and editing, and would definitely be the best option for people who write scores and notation professionally. I think for older year groups in heavily notated projects this could be a good software, however it is very overwhelming (and expensive) for use in younger high school stages

MuseScore: A very good free option! It's also got great educational resources to help people learn the software or not even need to use the software because of how many great scores and charts have already been made! 

Noteflight: A lot of nostalgia for this one as it's what I used in my high school. It's simple yet effective. There are some things that can't be done though, or can be done for a small monthly fee. If I was back in high school when it was less popular I would say it's definitely the way to go for simple tasks, however it has grown and therefore become less accessible financially. Lots of bonus points though for being online and able to be accessed anywhere!

Flat.io: Similar to Noteflight but maybe a bit more modern and minimal? I'm very interested to keep exploring this one as there's a lot of similarities to other notation software with new features too. Like being able to collaborate on a score almost like a Google doc. I think that would be very handy in the classroom! 

At the end of the day I think it's entirely dependant on what you need the software to do, what's accessible and what software you are already used to. I say if something is working for you, stick with it. In saying that, I am keen to explore Flat.io to see if there's anything I'm missing out on. 

Video Editing