Opus one: critics of computers in education often argue the investment in technology detracts from the arts. This does not need to be the case. Increasingly powerful and easy-to-use music hardware and software can rejuvenate any school music program.

Publication: District Administration

Publication Date: 01-MAY-02

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Did you ever wonder how Stevie Wonder can play just one keyboard and yet produce an orchestra of sounds? The easy answer is because of the Musical Instrument Digital Interface. The MIDI is essentially a networking protocol that allows musical instruments, synthesizers, recorders and computers to communicate. In the case of Stevie Wonder, the one keyboard he plays triggers a variety of synthesizers and generates a remarkable collection of sounds.

Now, why should K-12 schools care about any of this? Because the same tools that allow Stevie Wonder to impress his audience also can make music composition, expression and performance a part of the educational process. These tools provide the scaffolding required to allow even young children to realize the most sophisticated of musical ideas. For less than $500 any classroom can be equipped with a composition/performance/recording studio consisting of a musical keyboard and powerful music software. This technology offers an opportunity to reinvigorate arts education and help schools come alive with the sound of music.

Unlike many high-tech standards, MIDI has withstood the test of time. Since 1983 synthesizers, controllers and computers have spoken the language of MIDI.

MIDI is a bi-directional pipeline allowing connected devices to share data. That data is a series of numbers describing a musical note--its pitch, volume, length (sustain) and instrument. Anytime you turn an event or data into a code remembered by a computing device you are digitizing that information. Striking the key on a MIDI keyboard turns that middle-C into a set of bits capable of being manipulated. It is the potential for the manipulation of musical gestures that makes this technology so powerful in an educational setting.

Most people are familiar with the popular electronic keyboards that allow the player to change instrument sounds or play-along with accompaniment. Some of these keyboards are MIDI controllers as well. That means that it can be played like a piano and be...

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