Over the last few months a niggle has started to arise in my work flow. It started out as a tiny itch at the back of my mind but over the last few weeks it has grown into a full blown melt down. That melt down is ‘Mix Tapes’.
Who remembers those? For me it started with a Sanyo portable hi fi with microphones that mounted each end of the unit on top of the speakers. Pretty much the whole thing was made of metal and glass, it weighed a ton but it was one serious piece of kit. It belonged to my Dad and I would ‘borrow’ it to create my tapes. The route to success followed two paths:
- I would set up the microphones right next to an old record player, ‘borrow’ my brothers vinyl, and play my favourite tunes acoustically out of the record players built in speaker straight down the mic’s onto my new ‘Mix Tape’. The secret was to get the volume really high on the record player, so high I recall sitting with my fingers in my ears as a song (usually Queen) made its way onto a tape.
- My favourite and I am sure many of yours too was the ‘Chart Show Technique’. It has only been in later life, actually this week, I have found only a chosen few did it quite the same as me. I would not record the whole show, no no no! I would know which tracks I wanted on my tape and try and start and finish my recording, direct from the radio to tape, without picking up any DJ chatter.
My goal with both of the above was to create a seamless mix with no disturbances from DJ’s or my Mum shouting ‘Tea’s ready’ in the middle of a vinyl transfer! It was a rare success but when achieved it created something truly special.
The value of a great ‘Mix Tape’, I believe, is in the song choice and the song order. Music is an all powerful tool which can take us on a journey in the minutes of a song. That journey can be happy, sad, exciting or relaxing. It can take us to a sunny San Francisco, cruising down a freeway with the wind in our hair, or it could take us to Hull in the pouring rain and you’re stuck on the M62 in a traffic jam. Both routes have their value in a great ‘Mix Tape’ but not if you get the order wrong…..
Picture the scene; you have just finished listening to ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, your heart has raced, you have played air guitar and now the haunting vocals of Freddie Mercury have assured you ‘Nothing really matters to me’. From out of the silence comes ‘Live While We’re Young’ by One Direction…..Don’t get me wrong, both songs have their merits, but put them together and the joy is taken from both!
Creating the perfect ‘Mix Tape’
To create a perfect ‘Mix Tape‘ you need to reflect the mood a song leaves you in with the song that follows. Take ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, in my opinion the next song needs to lift you gradually and not be quite so complex, Ben Folds ‘Underground‘ is the perfect foil. I have no idea who taught me this technique for song selection, I have a feeling it was deep in the heart of the old Leeds College of Music, I am uncertain if it was a fellow student or a tutor, but it never failed me in all the years I adopted it.
- Step 1 – Select your opening song and let that dictate the overall mood of your tape
- Step 2 – Get a great pair of headphones and listen to your song in a quiet, dark room
- Step 3 – As your opening song ends, clear your mind for a second, consider how you feel and choose your next song immediately. The trick is you must not over think your decision, if you do all is lost. Follow your heart, I promise it wont fail you.
Follow these three steps and you are on the way to a winner. You will produce a tape that at no point see’s you skipping a tune. If you want to take things to the next level, consider the peaks and troughs in any piece of quality music. You must reflect this in your tape, too much of a good thing will quickly get boring so slow things down or speed things up at key points, depending on the mood you are trying to set. Finding new songs becomes a joy as you look for that perfect track to compliment your tape. You also get a greater understanding of your current collection as you actually reflect on each song individually.
Some might say my approach to ‘Mix Tapes’ is a little OCD, think Jack Nicholson in ‘As Good As It Gets’. He adopts the perfect ‘Mix Tape’ strategy on his characters road trip with Greg Kinnear and Helen Hunt. Maybe I am a little OCD, but its the way I engage and learn to appreciate new music.
So where does my frustration lie? Now bear with me on this, but it lies in the use of iPad/iPod/iPhone/iTunes. Early last year whilst attending an educational conference in London I realised the time had come to embrace Apple, speaking to colleagues it was evident here was a range of products with immense possibilities. In February, for the purposes of research and development of course, I purchased my first iPad. To say its impact on me was a revelation would be an understatement.
The Impact of iPad
In 2010 I left the classroom to form a business, Mix Music Education. One of the purposes of that business was to help educators embrace relevant technology, then implement it in the classroom and embrace it fully in their schemes of work. We launched our business with a teaching project and method I had developed whilst at Music College. JamPod™ had begun to transform practical music making in school and we were desperately looking for a platform to tackle the dreaded music IT suite.
PC’s and Mac’s are wonderful for those who fully understand how to operate them. We found though many students disengaged with the learning of composition, production and other IT based skills because of those barriers to entry evident with the knowledge needed to effectively operate software on a desktop computer. We needed a bridge and the iPad was it.
From February to June 2012 we designed, tested and subsequently launched our iPad based music IT Suite, JamClassHD. The effects of app’s like:
Proved to be profound in the learning and teaching of all who are experiencing them, crucially, in the setting of JamClassHD. The absolute key to success with using the iPad, in fact any technology, is applying it in the right setting. Many see the iPad as just a toy, something that engages but no ‘real’ learning is undertaken. If we don’t apply it in a measured way, blending it with our pedagogy I would agree with you wholeheartedly.
JamClassHD takes the iPad and blends it with what you would expect, QWERTY keyboard, midi keyboard and headphones etc. This gives you an environment you understand and a solid foundation to work from. Then things can get really exciting, Jam Sessions in GarageBand, the effects of the amazing Notion app making music notation a joy instead of a chore, Progression engaging those students who always claimed ‘We don’t need to read music’, Cubasis making advanced production achievable for all and the ability to dock your iPad with JamPod bridging the practical seamlessly with the notational. The iPad provides a perfect platform to light up elements off all education that have historically felt stale and unengaging. But like any new technology, it must be embraced in the right way.
I bet you are wondering how all this effected my ‘Mix Tapes’? iTunes is the answer. Prior to iTunes I had continued to produce my tapes with my tried and tested approach. Yes I had changed the format a little using compact discs and Windows Media player, but the format stayed the same, they had just become ‘Mix Discs’.
Within a couple of months of acquiring my first iPad I began subscribing to iTunes Match. For the uninitiated, this put my complete music collection in the cloud. I could listen to what I wanted, whenever I wanted…..Sounds great doesn’t it? iTunes also produces what it calls ‘Genius’ mixes so I don’t have to worry about putting together my ‘Mix Discs’ anymore. So last May everything changed, and my niggle began.
I stopped undertaking my ‘Mix Disc’ ritual, iTunes did all the work for me so why should I take the time anymore? Initially the novelty was fun, then I started reaching for the skip button. Then it dawned on me I had ALL my songs with me, so I started skipping. I started skipping a lot. By December I was skipping so much I actually stopped listening to my music. It was frustrating me, always looking for something better, a tune I would enjoy more. My human instinct was taking over. By January of this year I had become disengaged with my music collection and I couldn’t work out why. I wasn’t listening to old OR new music and that creates a problem. Music is a huge part of my life, as I am sure it is yours. Not only that music is my job, I write about, teach it and perform it. I began to panic….
I tried so many different ways to reengage, I stopped listening to mixes, I started just listening to albums, I tried radio but something huge was missing. Now I am blaming iTunes here but actually, as is so often the case with technology, we should blame ourselves. The beauty of the iPad is it puts you firmly in control, of everything. This is its potential downfall. Like my daughter in the cuddly toy shop I wanted everything at the same time, so nothing was good enough. So I have taken a deep breath, I have embraced the fact all my music is there for me whenever I want, but you get out what you put in. To fully reengage with my music I have readopted my old techniques, and its wonderful….
I don’t need to find the tape, disc or record from the radio anymore. Everything is there at my finger tips when I need it, finding tracks is simple, grouping them for easy reference is easy. I have embraced the technology in my pedagogy instead of adjusting my pedagogy to the technology. Listening to new music is learning, and we all know everyone learns differently. The trick is to find out how you and your students learn best then allow the relevant technology to dance to your tune!
We live in a unique time of cloud based learning with the internet providing us with opportunities and resources we could never have dreamed of 10 years ago. Our job is to ensure we channel that learning effectively in and out of the classroom. I am sure we have all seen families out with parents engrossed in their iPads, iPhones, Androids and Blackberrys, its so easy to do, I know I’ve done it! But we must take a step back and use these amazing new resources productively whilst remembering the world right there in front of us.
Embracing the Right Technology
As soon as I experienced the iPad I knew it could have a profound effect on learning and my company set about developing the project that is JamClassHD. I was so busy thinking about the classroom application that I never stopped to consider how best to use it at home. So what’s my message?
Don’t be afraid to embrace new techniques and technologies in all aspects of your life, but never forget who you are and how you learn. We have immense power at our finger tips, we must remember to use it wisely!! As teachers (and learners) we regularly encounter new resources that could enhance the way we deliver our lessons. For the sake of ourselves and most importantly the students we teach, we must not be afraid to use these new resources, but in the right way!
Sadly time is not our friend in the classroom and its difficult to keep up with what is appropriate for us and what is not. That is one of the reasons we formed Mix Music Education, to help educators identify the right technology then support them as they embrace it. After many years adverse to technology, I have found when you make it dance to your tune and not you to its, technology enhances not just my life in the classroom but in the wider world as well.
Delivering a session to teachers from across the North West of the UK
Dan Jones, Director, Mix Music Education
