Bach and the Lutheran Legacy Video Part 6

Bach and the Lutheran Legacy Video Part 5

Bach and the Lutheran Legacy Video Part 4

Bach and the Lutheran Legacy Video Part 3

Bach and the Lutheran Legacy Video Part 2

Watch the video here:

Bach and the Lutheran Legacy Video Part 1

Watch the video here:

Screen recorder project: How to use a choir website

I used the windows media encoder software to record a "how to" video of how to use the musicpracticetracks.com website, which is something that the Schola Cantorum choir I direct is using.

Here's the link to my wiki page that includes the video: http://kantorhildebrand.pbworks.com/Schola-Cantorum-Page

It was actually quite easy to download and use, and I'll definitely be using this with my choir students.

Using Flickr

I like the idea of a kind of "digital yearbook" that you and your students could create for your class on Flickr. And I appreciate the privacy settings, letting you limit the access to your students and their parents.

One immediate use of this can involve my college choir tours. Usually one of the students becomes the unofficial "tour photographer." Some years we have had some quite advanced photography students in the choir, and their photos have been really quite good. Flickr would be an ideal way for the entire choir to share these photos.

I also can envision this being used to supplement my college teaching. One of my dreams is to finally visit and study in Germany, where J.S. Bach lived and worked. This "virtual field trip" via photos from myself or a colleague who has been in Germany could make the lectures on Bach's life and work really come to life.

Some videos for my students

This first set of video links was recommended to me by a fellow Lutheran blogger. It is from a BBC series entitled Bach and the Lutheran Legacy. It includes some very good performances, along with stunning video. This would be a good introduction to the course on J.S. Bach I teach, as well as any introduction to the life and work of Bach for someone who's interested.

Episode 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dAC1lLYJpg

Episode 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7-fUPwPHaE

Episode 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu1rfLUTzow

Episode 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gZKv19KEtA

Episode 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lecMZDofRw

Episode 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wr6g9B4nCnI


In my Bach class, I constantly am joking that our class should plan a field trip to Leipzig, where Bach was the Kantor from 1723-1750. Instead of just dreaming, we could watch part of a recent recital at the St. Thomas Church, the principal church of the city where Bach did most of his performing and service. Here's a good example of the organ of St. Thomas. Note that the pedalboard is flat, not radiating, as they were in Bach's day.

Toccata and Fugue in F Major, BWV 540/1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WX5PPRotSc


Finally, here is an example of one of the Bach cantatas our choir performed last year. I actually sent this link to all the choir members as a way for them to rehear and prepare the music inbetween rehearsals.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JY2RsBYSEM

Examples of choral podcasts

Ach, why didn't I think of this before? What a better way to promote the choirs than by providing podcasts on our website, or providing examples on a wiki for the choir members and families to listen to?

Here's an example:

http://www.citychoir.org.uk/mp3/ChristusFactusEst.mp3

And here is a radio podcast about a British recording project which had a choir and orchestra record all 200+ Bach cantatas in the course of one year. It's a reporter telling the story, along with musical examples along the way.

http://blog.naxos.com/wp-content/uploads/cms20100420.mp3

More thoughts about podcasting

As a music teacher and choral director, I have some ideas of how podcasting might be used:

First of all, I wonder if it would be possible to record part of a choral rehearsal as an mp3 for absent singers to listen to. It would be a way of "making up" a missed class, rather than missing all the material that was presented.

I think this would be an ideal way for singers to be able to practice their individual voice parts at home. I have done this via an external website in the past, which required lots of uploading and passwords. The wiki format makes this easier for me to use, and easier for the students to access.

As a college instructor, podcasting would also be an ideal way to record a class lecture for an absent student, perhaps only with advance notification, e.g., we ocassionally have students traveling for academic purposes, and I could record my lecture in class that day and be able to deliver it to them. (You wouldn't want students to miss class on purpose, using the excuse of "I'll just listen to the podcast!)

First Sample Podcast

Here is a link to the first sample podcast on my wiki:

http://kantorhildebrand.pbworks.com/Podcasts

I think this went quite well for my first podcast. First of all, I was already acquainted with Audacity and have used it for some other professional projects. I had the add-on already installed to export files in mp3 format, so that saved a bit of time.

I was able to figure out how to adjust the input volume on the microphone, which made the sound quality a bit better.

I recorded some music right from my piano onto the podcast, and that worked well. As far as sophistication, however, it was not as good as if I would have a separate mp3 or wav file with the audio sample. I think using the piano might be good for a short example; but if I would use a podcast format for students to practice a music part at home, I would give verbal instructions on the podcast, and then save an audio mp3 file from my music notation program for their assignment.

Blogs, Social Networking, and Schools

As far as I know, there are no restrictions on blogs or social networking sites on our university network. I'm not sure what filters are in place at our K-8 school, but as a parent and as a teacher, I should find out this information.

I'm of two minds on this issue when it comes to elementary and secondary education: On one hand, of course a blog can be useful for a type of class project, with specific instructions and clearly-stated educational objectives. (E.g., this blog!) On the other hand, I'm not sure if access to social networking sites has any usefulness for students in an educational setting. I'm sure we're all too familiar with stories of students who are surfing Facebook instead of taking notes or doing class work.

I suppose it comes down to the teacher monitoring behavior and activity -- regarding internet use, behavior, classroom management, etc. No matter what the issue, we need to be good and responsible teachers.

Thoughts on Internet Safety

It's simply common sense to be as safe as you can on the internet, just as you would exercise as much safety as possible in other parts of your life. Even with constantly-updated security software, my computer got a terrible trojan virus last December. Fortunately, I was able to find how to disable this terrible dilemma and get my computer back to normal.

I also recognize that you must be careful when forwarding links to students and families, because you cannot control what kind of pop-ups, advertisements, or other suggested links might be associated with what you are recommending. For instance, I was going to forward a link to parents of my junior-high students, which has some material related to our class. However, I discovered that many of the advertisements on the website came from a singles dating site. The content of the ads were rated PG, but I still did not want to be associated with sending families to that website.

Has anyone else encountered this kind of issue? How have you dealt with this?

The Noble Art of Music

The title of this blog is reflective of my work as a Lutheran church musician, and comes from a 1538 poem with this title by Johann Walter, the first Kantor of the Lutheran Church.

In this poem, Walter summarizes the thoughts of Martin Luther on the subject of music. The introduction to this 332-line poem concludes:

I have just named two reasons why God gave us music from on high.
Those reasons teach us we must use The gift from heaven as God would choose:
By it let God be glorified; Then let it be our help and guide.
Since this high art most certainly Was given by God, as all can see,
It outshines other arts in name, Nobility, and lasting fame.
For music and theology Were given by God concurrently.
No other arts with it compare For it breathes purest Gospel air,
Exalting Holy Writ on high And earning highest praise thereby.