I’m sitting now in a session by Mario Ajero of The Piano Podcast as he gives a presentation on Podcasting: Harnessing the Power of Internet Audio and Video to Educate and Motivate
What is podcasting?
* A combination of the words “broadcasting” and “iPod”
* Downloaded audio or video content that can be transferred to a mobile device, like an iPod.
* Content is delivered automatically over the Internet to an audience
RSS Feeds
* Really Simple Syndication
* Format for syndicating content on the Internet
Mr. Ajero highly recommends Feedburner as a free webservice for subscribing to RSS feeds.
Common Misconceptions
* You need and iPod in order to view or listen to podcasts.
* I use a Windows PC. You can only podcast on Macs.
What you Need
* A computer with broadband Internet access
* Podcathcing software programs
–iTunes
–Juice
–PodShow
–Yahoo Podcasts
* Software for recording podcasts
–Audacity
–Garage Band 3
Next Mr. Ajero gave a demonstration of how to find, preview and subscribe to a podcast using iTunes. He also shared that he has learned how to successfully incorporate visual images to correlate with each section of his podcast.
Now for a hands-on experience! With help from an audience member (Susanne), Mr. Ajero set out to record our own radio program. Using the microphone built into his computer, they recorded the voices and then Susanne proceeded to play a short piece using the midi keyboard plugged into the USB port of the computer. Garage Band was very user-friendly and Mr. Ajero demonstrated how easy it is to manipulate the recorded tracks and insert his artwork into the tracks using the podcast settings built directly into the program. (Unfortunately it looks like Garage Band is only available for a Mac platform…)
What if I don’t want to be a podcaster?
Podsafe Music – artists make their compositions and performances available to be played in podcasts as long as the creator is given proper attribution (This allows a podcaster to play music on their podcasts without having to go through extensive licensing procedures or play the music themselves.)
Adam Curry, known as “The Podfather,” host of The Daily Source Code was one of the first to utilize the technology available for podcasting.
Podcast technology also supports videos. Ideas for using video podcasting in your studio:
* Video Podcast your students’ recitals and performances
* Share teaching and/or piano performance tips for an open-ended audience
Free Video Editing Software
* iMovie (Mac)
* Windows Movie Maker (Windows)
* Avid Free DV (Windows or Mac)
Mr. Ajero asserts that technology has progressed to the point that many of us can become on-line piano consultants. He has received very positive feedback from many of his podcasts and some have been inspired to begin or resume piano lessons as a result of seeing them.
Questions or comments may be e-mailed to Mr. Ajero here or here.
Click here to download an interactive pdf version of Mr. Ajero’s handout from this session.
Leave a Reply