The Music Tech Teacher Podcast

Today we're going to look at some of the options for free and low-cost notation software which can be used by you - the teacher - or by your students. We'll discuss some of the things you need to consider when choosing notation software and then look at 6 different options which work on a variety of devices.

In this episode of the Music Tech Teacher podcast, I share a fantastic free software tool that you can use to easily create your own playalong videos that have synchronised notation showing on the screen.

Back in December we asked music teachers to share a favorite tech tip or tool by recording a short message. A number of teachers contributed their tips and I'm going to share 10 of them in today's episode.

Today I thought I'd tell you about my desk and the tech gear I use on a daily basis. I've included the useful, simple and inexpensive accessories and organizational items that have helped simplify and streamline the gear and cables.

In this episode of the Music Tech Teacher Podcast, I'll be sharing 5 of the 10 rhythm reading apps that I shared in a recent live webinar. This one is a follow-up to the previous episode where I talked about 5 Note Naming Apps of 2023.

Today I'll be sharing note naming apps that you can use with your students. There are many note naming apps available and each has different features and functionality. I've chosen 5 of the 10 apps that I shared in a recent live webinar which was called 10 Top Note Naming Apps of 2023 which is available to members of the Midnight Music Membership Community.

I know many of you are interested in plugging a keyboard into your laptop so that you can play notes into your music software, but you're not sure….

• what to buy

• how you would connect the keyboard to the laptop if you had one

• whether it will work if all you have is a Chromebook

• which software it will work with

• and what to do if you've connected it but you can't get it to work

Today we'll cover all of those areas and more.

In this episode of the Music Tech Teacher Podcast, I'll be sharing some tips for using the random spinner called Wheel of Names. At first glance, it's a very simple free tech tool. You can easily add some names to a wheel and then spin it to randomly pick someone. What I love about Wheel of Names is the ability to think outside the box and use it for more than just a name selection tool.

In this episode I'll cover two areas:

• How to set up and customize your wheel

• Music-education specific ideas and examples for using the wheel

If you've ever wanted to learn some basic video editing skills, this episode will give you some tips and ideas for application in music education. I'll run through 5 easy skills you can learn that will apply in any video editing software - including the free software Clipchamp which works for all devices. For additional step-by-step training there is a webinar recording available inside the Midnight Music Membership Community (you can earn a PD certificate!).

Adding music notation to worksheets, documents and presentation files is a necessary skill for music teachers, but what are the options and which one is best? In this episode, I'll discuss a range of easy techniques for including notation in your teaching resources, plus share my best tips for making your notation look good.