Sometimes, I think our little music program is the best-kept secret in our town! I've been very fortunate to be able to build a fantastic band and percussion program at this school. Students are able to choose to play a woodwind, brass, or percussion instrument, and I get to teach them for all three years of their middle school experience.
Although I've been teaching for a long time, I will never get tired of seeing the look on a student's face when they hear themselves playing music on an instrument.
I also love helping students move from nervous beginners to excited intermediate players to confident veterans, playing quality music in groups and as soloists along the way.
My Project
My students specifically asked me to put up this project, and I couldn't say no! We've got an old PC desktop, standard Dept. of Education issue, and it has just about outlived its usefulness. Over the past few years I've added more technology to my band classes, which mean more students are using the classroom computer. The most exciting addition is the Composers Club, which is fast becoming the coolest group around! Students who join come up to my classroom during recess and after school and write music together that will be performed by the 8th grade Concert Band on our spring concert. I have great software for composing, and the students love using it.
However, It's become painfully apparent that our current classroom computer just can't keep up with all of the demands we make of it.
When I'm using it during instruction to display images, play recordings, or run programs, my students and I have become accustomed to WAITING as our slow, tired, old computer labors to complete even the simplest tasks. And when the composers club members are using music publishing software like Sibelius and MuseScore to bring their ideas to life, the programs sometimes CRASH before their melodies are saved!
The Apple Mac we're asking for will dramatically mprove both our classroom climate and the quality of time my students spend composing music.
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