Use of Music Technology Software in Primary Curriculum

There are many software music packages available to schools at the moment and this article outlines some of the more popular ones currently in use in Irish schools where teachers are actively involved in their use in helping to deliver core areas of the new primary music curriculum. Judging from the feedback from teachers in Education Centres and summer schools, the use of software has introduced a new and engaging medium of teaching music in the classroom and has greatly facilitated teachers in the delivery of the three strands:(Listening and Responding, Performing, and Composing) of the new curriculum.
   
There are many benefits in using software in the teaching of music in the classroom especially when addressing the Listening and Responding, Performing and Composing strands and the developing of musical concepts through the strand units. Some of the software is free while others are relatively inexpensive and most have a short learning curve that results in teachers being able to introduce the software in to the classroom very quickly. Together with a data projector, musical information can be displayed to the class in a two dimensional way (sight and sound) which helps provide clarity in a lesson.
   
Vanbasco’s Karaoke Player has proved popular in schools as it displays words, provides music accompaniment for songs and is a great means of engaging pupils in song singing as part of the performing strand in the primary curriculum. Teachers can also use the program to change the pitch of the music up or down (unlike a CD player or tape recorder), by simply dragging a slider in increments of a semitone so as to accommodate the vocal range of the class. Developing musical concepts such as a sense of pitch, pulse, tempo and texture can be addressed with this program. Songs can be slowed down, instruments can be muted or allowed played solo and a variety of songs can be downloaded from the internet and integrated in to the program. Vanbasco’s Karaoke Player is free to download from the Vanbasco website so students can download it and have a free virtual band to accompany singing practice at home. The program also provides an opportunity to integrate elements from other subject areas such as the visual arts by allowing jpeg and bitmap images to be imported as background images for songs.
   
Ejay is another piece of software that has been very well received not only by teachers but by pupils too. It’s an ideal program for students of all ages to start with when it comes to composition and creating a piece of music. Pupils can combine musical instruments such as drums, bass, and keyboards and add chords and melodies to a song, in a very easy to use interface. Ejay has the advantage of using modern music as its medium which makes it very appealing to all students at primary level. Pupils encounter dance and hip-hop music styles and can build complete tunes using samples and simple drag and drop principles. Developing musical concepts such as structure, dynamics, pulse, texture and style can be addressed with this program and elements of the listening and responding strand unit such as clapping or dancing as a response to music are easily facilitated here. Ejay can also be used as a stand alone multi-track recorder to record student’s voices or instruments using a microphone and layer them with other sounds. The resulting compositions can then be saved and uploaded to a school website or integrated in to a PowerPoint presentation as many schools have done. Some schools have recorded their compositions on to CD, designed the artwork for the CD cover and sold them to raise funds for their schools. These same files can now be used for podcasting which has become a very popular activity or to accompany dance routines or PE exercises. There are quite a few versions of Ejay to choose from ranging from ¤29.99 to ¤79.99 (approx)  and with the newer editions providing more features each year it can make a considerable contribution to composition and understanding certain musical concepts.

Read Teachers' Evaluations of software mentioned in this article.