Music Appreciation & Music Technology

Explore a World of Music.

Music is the rhythm that keeps life full of wonder. From exciting beats to emotional songs, music moves us. In these classes, students will be exposed to various types of music and learn how to use technology to analyze, edit and produce music.

Music Appreciation and Music Technology are alternating courses at JLIA. Both classes cover topics in music, with Music Technology taking a focus on the applications of technology for creating and producing music.

Websites for Exploring Music

Course Syllabus

Music Appreciation: Curated Playlist Project

In this project students curated a playlist around a theme that they chose. The criteria for the playlist required students to identify musical facts about the song such as tempo, mood, instrumentation and how their song relates to their theme. Below are some standout examples!

Note some songs may contain explicit lyrics and suggestive themes. Students chose these songs based on their experiences and life. The goal of the assignment is understanding how the elements of music contribute to a song's overall impact. The GSE standards that deal with this are "GSE MSMA.RE.1: Listen to, analyze, and describe music" and "GSE MSMA.RE.2: Evaluate music and music performances".

Music Technology: Ringtone Creation

In this project, students were tasked with creating ringtones using loops in a digital audio workstation (DAW). Students had to create a ringtone that is in binary (two-part) form and used all the parts of a song (melody, harmony, bass, and rhythm). Here are some stand out ringtones from our classes.

Standards:

MSMTC.CR.2 Select and develop musical ideas for defined purposes and contexts.

MSMTC7.CR.3 Evaluate and refine selected musical ideas to create musical work (e.g. arrangement, composition, improvisation, mixed-media project, orchestration, sound design) that meets appropriate criteria.

From Jada*:

Lost in This World

Have you ever been lost in this world? Well Mey’yanni has and its not fun. Let's start from the beginning. Her mom kicked her out at a young age. Her Mom shouts, “Get out and never come back!” . Mey’yanni starts crying , while packing her clothing. Mey’yanni starts talking back to her mom as she’s crying. “Ok mom, just let me pack my clothes and leave!”. Mey’yanni’s mom leaves the room and SLAMS the door. Mey’yanni gets done packing her clothes so she opens her room door and closes it. “Ok , mom I'm leaving”. Mey’yanni opens the front door and leaves. As she leaves, it starts to rain outside. Boom! Thunder! THUNDER! Mey’yanni start running in the rain (SPLAT SLASH SPALT!).

Edited for clarity.

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From Kevin:

A Sunny Day in the Park

In a park in Atlanta, there's animals in the trees and in the bushes making noises. You can hear them making different sounds as the cars pass by. By the pond, there's a frog croaking as it sits in the sun. It is a peaceful day in the park.

Music Technology: Sound Design and Mixing

Students were introduced to the art of foley in class. Foley is the art of creating sounds for film and tv, often to enhance the viewer's experience. Students learned about how Jack Foley began with simple everyday objects to create unique sounds for radio. In this project, students created a soundtrack to a short story that they wrote. They had to use mixing techniques such as leveling, panning, and automation to refine their work. Here are some interesting soundscapes from our students.

Standards:

MSMTC.CR.3 Evaluate and refine selected musical ideas to create musical work (e.g. arrangement, composition, improvisation, mixed-media project, orchestration, sound design) that meets appropriate criteria.

MSMTC.RE.1 Choose music appropriate for a specific purpose or situation.

MSMTC.CN.2 Relate musical ideas to varied contexts and daily life to deepen understanding.

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From Cameron*:

The Crash

One day, I decided to go to a basketball game. I was running late so I was driving fast. I kept getting texts on my phone, I was distracted. I didn't see the curve coming. Suddenly it's like time stopped. The car was heading straight into a pond on the side of the road. I crashed into the water. I don't remember what happened next. I woke up in the hospital then they gave me something to eat. I got another notification that my family group text me. They were worried about me and sorry they had been blowing my phone up. I told them I was ok and went to sleep in the hospital bed.

*Edited for clarity.

Music Technology Final Projects (F24): Remixes and instrumentals

Students chose a final project to show their mastery of music technology. Students had choices to create a remix of a pop song, an instrumental, or write an original song. This required listening and interpreting the original version of the song and brainstorming new ideas for a remix; planning out the form and flow of an instrumental; or creating a short song using lyrics to an instrumental. Here are some standout projects.

Standards:

MSMTC.CR.4.a Share musical work (e.g. arrangement, composition, improvisation, mixed-media project, orchestration, sound design) that demonstrates a proficient level of musical and technological craftsmanship and the use of digital tools and resources in developing and organizing musical ideas.

MSMTC.RE.3.a Explain and support an interpretation of the expressive intent of musical selections based on treatment of the elements of music, digital and electronic features, and purpose.

MSMTC.CN.1.a Demonstrate how interests, knowledge, and skills relate to personal choices and intent when creating, performing, and responding to music.

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