I have been using Logic Studio extensively with my students for about a year now. My students are Special Needs students in a self-contained Special Ed. school in NYC. Self-contained means that there is no inclusion. These students have severe learning and/or behavioral disabilities and would not be appropriately placed in an inclusion setting.
One of the main topics of discussion in the blog posts found here will be to explain how I use Logic Studio, and other tools of modern technology, to enable my students to experience the joys and benefits of music. The many ways that technology facilitates my ability to encourage and enhance student participation on every level of the music experience, from listening to performing, will be emphasized.
In speaking about Logic, I will not hesitate to discuss how I use the Environment. Yes, this is what scares some away from Logic, I know. However, the great power and potential of Logic lies therein. Amongst other topics, I will endeavor to explain clearly and simply various ways that the Environment can be used to facilitate great music lessons and performances for and by students at any level of ability! Some basic but powerful uses of Chord Memorizers will be covered first.
Before I start posting about Chord Memorizers, or anything else, there are two important points about where I'm coming from as a Logic user and musician that I should share.
First and foremost, since I didn't learn about Logic all by myself, I must mention what I've found to be an invaluable resource for learning Logic, and many other Mac-based products (SnowLeopard, iLife, Pages, Numbers, the list goes on…) as well. MacProVideo.com has taken me from complete novice to competent user, simply by watching their videos and trying out what the videos are demonstrating on my own. I am no longer reliant upon the Logic manual (well over 1,000 pages!), because these videos are so clear and easy to follow, and they are indexed in such a way as to make it easy for the viewer to be able to hone in on a desired topic, and get right to the specific video that covers it. I will be mentioning MPV (MacProVideo) more in subsequent blog posts, but for now I'll just say that MPV is a very well run company that gives a lot of value at very reasonable prices. Check out their site. If you create an account, you will be able to receive updates and notifications about sales that they frequently have on their video products. You will also gain access to their forums, which I have also found to be a tremendous source of information. They also have an impressive and ever-growing library of informative blog posts.
Now don't get me wrong - I will be endeavoring here to impart my knowledge and experiences about using Logic and other technology in the classroom. I will not just refer you to other sites. But a great resource is a great resource, and these will be linked to whenever I feel they can contribute to achieving the goal of using technology to facilitate learning, or music making in general.
Now, on to the second point. As a musician, I think it's important to mention that I did not come to using technology easily. The idea was very foreign to me for a long time. I grew up learning to play classical, jazz and pop piano. I am a graduate of Manhattan School of Music, with a B.A. in Classical Piano. At the time, I felt that playing anything other than an acoustic piano was somehow downgrading to me. I had no choice but to purchase a Yamaha DX-7, because I was gigging in places that didn't have a piano, and had to play something. To many at the time, it was a joy to play the DX-7, but all I wanted to do was finish the gig so that I could go back to playing acoustic. So, I don't want the reader to think that I'm just another techno-musician, or that I don't appreciate the value of learning and playing acoustic, traditional music. I still treasure this. However, we are in the middle of a music revolution. Yes, it's true! Nothing is going to stop it, and there is now too much good sound, and too many viable new ways of producing this sound, to ignore or deny it. And, where my students are concerned, there are so many new opportunities for them to experience music in ways that they never could before, so many new ways to put huge smiles on their faces through these music-making experiences, who is anyone to deny them by saying, 'this is not legitimate' or 'this is not traditional'?!
Below is a podcast illustrating just one small aspect of how Logic and accompanying technologies can be applied to the Special Needs population. (Please bare with the quality of production, it was my first podcast, done about a year ago.
Below is a podcast illustrating just one small aspect of how Logic and accompanying technologies can be applied to the Special Needs population. (Please bare with the quality of production, it was my first podcast, done about a year ago.
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