Category Archives: Technology Tips

Monday Mailbag – Video Recording on the iPod Touch

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I’ve been looking into buying a tablet or something similar to use in my studio.  I would like to be able to record video and watch it back right away, and then later upload to YouTube.  Would the iPod Touch work well for that?

At this point I pretty much feel like the iPod Touch can do anything, including transport you into the galaxy. :-) I use my iPod Touch almost every day to do video recording in the studio. Here are a couple recent videos I’ve shot in the studio using the iPod Touch exclusively:


This is a short compilation I put together using the free Splice app.


This narrated video was done using the free Videolicious app.


Here’s a simple, straight from the device, rendition of What a Friend We Have in Jesus that I recorded in preparation for the Christmas Recital. It’s as easy as finishing the recording and then selecting the option to upload it directly to your YouTube channel. The iPod Touch does all the work of connecting and uploading while you can move onto something else. Within minutes, the video is live and accessible to the world!

I’ve done lots of video recording over the years and this is by far the simplest and most efficient approach I’ve found!

Remember, if you have a question you’d like to contribute to next week’s Monday Mailbag, leave it in the comments below or send me an e-mail sometime this week with Monday Mailbag in the subject line!

Another Fun Video Editing App!

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While the Videolicious app that I posted about several weeks ago is great for creating narratives, I’ve been looking for a video editing app that would retain the original audio from the video files. Splice is just what I was hoping for! It is super simple to create a timeline of video clips, edit them, add transitions, and either keep the original audio or add a different audio file. I love it! Here’s a quick compilation I put together from some videos I had on my iPod Touch just to get a feel for how it works:

Theory is the Grammar of Music

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As many of you know, I rarely use theory books with my students, but we are constantly discussing theory concepts as they relate to the scales and music they are playing. It is so fun to do a chord analysis of a piece with a student and watch the proverbial light bulb come on as they discover that the passage that looked so intimidating is really just a progression of I-IV-V chords with which they are already well acquainted!

In this video clip introducing his new app Music Theory Pro, developer Dr. Joel Clifft makes the poignant observation that you wouldn’t ask a student to memorize a speech in a foreign language, having no idea what it means. Likewise, he calls music theory “the grammar of music” and encourages the use of fun games to teach and reinforce important concepts.

I haven’t downloaded the app yet, but it is next on my list. I’m excited to check it out and give it a try with my students!

HT: Megan’s Piano Lessons

Giveaway of Princess Piano App!

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Light up the imagination of your young girl students with this fun princess-themed piano music reading app! From the developers, “In this melodious adventure, Princess Piano introduces the notes of the scale and how they are written on the staff. As Princess Piano climbs the skies towards the Cloud Kingdom, you will start with simple melodies, but will soon progress to be able to play well-known folk songs and selections from classical masters such as Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Debussy.”

Can’t you see your budding elementary girls just loving this? What a fun way to introduce and reinforce note recognition and reading!

The developers of the Princess Piano app have generously offered to giveaway five codes for a free copy of this app to Music Matters Blog readers! Just leave a comment below to be entered in a drawing to win this for you (or a student!). The winner will be drawn using a random number generator at noon (CST) on Thursday, October 27.

Studio Website Advice Worth Hundreds of Dollars!

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I don’t know how I missed this Powerhouse Website Suggestions post by David Cutler (author of The Savvy Musician) back in May because I love keeping up with everything he writes, but I’m glad to have recently come across it (via his latest newsletter – you can sign up for it on The Savvy Musician home page).

Anyway, if you are thinking about designing and launching a studio website, already have one and want to improve it, or are considering a complete revamp of your studio website, you can get hundreds of dollars worth of fabulous advice just by reading his post with links to existing websites and his critique of each one. My studio website is badly in need of a revamp, and I know I’ll be studying this collection of websites and suggestions as I develop my new site. In fact, just reading the post inspires me to get a move on with several redesign projects! Hopefully the Music Matters Blog revamp (that has taken forever!) will be done soon and I’ll be able to spend some time working on a new studio website.

Also, if you have a studio website and want to include it on the Studio Website Listing, just send me an e-mail with your studio location and website address and I’ll add it to the listing. This page of websites will be much more prominent in the new blog design!

My Favorite New Technological Device

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My idea of a shopping excursion is spending several hours surfing Amazon looking for cool technological gadgets. And even more exciting is the arrival of the anticipated package after an order has been placed. I know, that probably makes me a geek. Oh well! :-)

A while back I embarked on just such an excursion and ordered a collection of accessories and related gadgetry for my recently acquired iPod Touch. I was thrilled when my extensive searching turned up this Sony Clock Radio/CD player with an iPod dock!

Since my CD player bit the dust about a year ago I was waiting to replace it until I found something I really liked. This is an awesome little device! The footprint is unbelievably compact, especially since the iPod dock slides into the base when its not in use. It also comes with a handy little remote that works great for navigating to different tracks and adjusting the volume. Even though I use YouTube all the time to search for performances and recordings, there are still numerous selections in my personal collection that I want to be able to play for my students. Nothing beats having a quick little device like this where I can stick in a CD or pop on my iPod Touch to provide a few minutes of quality music listening during a lesson!

 

Free YouTube to mp3 Converter

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ManiacTools.com is my latest greatest find on the world wide web! :-) Tagged “The Best Music Tools,” you’ll find a treasure trove of helpful software programs for a variety of needs. I was impressed with their free m4a to mp3 converter, so I signed up for their newsletter to be alerted to new developments and additions.

They just released a free YouTube to mp3 Converter Studio that I’m super excited about! YouTube has become my go-to site for musical performances and I have often wished there was a good way to capture the audio for later listening. ManiacTools.com has made that wish come true! You can add multiple YouTube videos just by copying the links and then download them all simultaneously. By default, the downloads are saved to the My Music folder as an mp3, but you can change the output folder and also elect to download as a WAV file instead.

The program is intuitive and easy to navigate. And so far it works seamlessly!

Review and Giveaway of The Classical Melody Book

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Have you ever had a tune stuck in your head and you wished there was a way you could figure out what it was? Imagine if there was a handy little app where you could just play in the first few notes and it would automatically search through a database of songs and find the one that matches that tune. Well, guess what? You don’t have to use your imagination because there is now an app that does just that! And more!

The Classical Melody Book app is ingenious! In addition to alleviating the mind of those nameless tunes, the Classical Melody Book also enables you to store hundreds of pieces of sheet music right at your fingertips for easy access. You can search through it by title, composer, instrument, or even the year it was written!

You can add personal notes to any piece of music, e-mail it, or print it. And any pdf file can be added to the collection by clicking on an e-mail attachment or importing it from a website. The app is designed for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. What a truly amazing app for any musician or music educator!

The best part? You can win your own free copy of The Classical Melody Book App! Just leave a comment below and you’ll be entered in the drawing to win one of three free copies of the app that the developers have set aside for Music Matters Blog readers. The drawing will take place on Thursday, September 29, at 12:00 noon (CST) using a random number generator.

Setting Up Your Own Recording Studio

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It’s been quite a few years now since I first learned how to record CDs in my studio. What a milestone moment that was for me after years of searching! We do some manner of recording in the studio at least several times a week, and my students love doing audio recordings of their pieces. We primarily use the direct line recording from the Clavinova, but I would sure love to get to the point where the sound quality is just as good recording acoustically.

I was excited to come across this brief post on Cheap Sound-Proofing Techniques for Small Home Studios. It’s not something I’m going to do any time soon, but it’s great to know that there are viable options for producing higher quality audio recordings right in a home studio!