At Mount Sinai College, our music program is an intrinsic part of the school with over 200 of our 320 student body learning an instrument each year.
One of our wonderful music teachers Chris Wilson uses GarageBand for private tutition students to help them by planning for performances, practicing the timing of songs and giving all students the taste of the recording process, even beginner students! Chris shared with us some of the ways he uses Garageband to assist.
GarageBand is used by Chris because it is an efficient tool he can use instantaneously during a lesson “There are a lot of advantages to going through the recording process if it can be made efficient and speedy within the lesson time. For really tidying up pieces and making them work, it is a great tool.”
Chris uses GarageBand to assist students who are planning to perform a duet. Each student records their parts separately during their lesson with Chris and then he puts these together in GarageBand. This assists students in having a better understanding of what the piece should sound like when their partner is accompanying them. In this way, technology is redefining the practice experience of a group performance. Students can essentially practice on their own and together without being in the same room at the same time.
Chris sometimes records beginner students in GarageBand playing a simple riff. He then adds extra instruments to create a complete sounding song. This way students who are at the very early stages of learning the instrument can still experience the thrill of recording a song and they are also able to get an idea of what they might be able to create one day if they continue learning their instrument.
GarageBand is also a great tool to assist students who are having difficulty with the timing and the rhythm of a song. Chris says that providing bass and drums tracks for a student to play along with, “really give a great context for students to engage with rhythm in a really close way, almost as if they are playing with a small ensemble.”
Chris recorded some videos discussing this process.
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