Michael Fein’s Music and Technology BLOG

Today we focused on GarageBand at the National Jazz Workshop. GarageBand is a piece of music production software that comes with every new Mac. PC/Windows equivalents are Acid Music Studio by Sony and Mixcraft by Acoustica. Both items can be purchased for academic institutions through SoundTree - $50 for each program.

Here are some activities we completed with GB today:
- Import an audio file by dragging and dropping into a GB file.
-Add effects to an audio file using presets and also by designing a personalized preset.
-Import a standard MIDI such as a MIDI file created in Band in a Box software. I commonly do this to improve the sound of a BIAB file.
-Record bass, drum, and chord parts to create an arrangement of a standard tune. I have used GB to create a reference audio file of an original tune that I could email to the other players in my jazz combo so they had an idea of how the tune went before we rehearsed together.

Remember…if you primarily want to see notation, use Sibelius or Finale; if you primarily want an accompaniment file to playalong with, use Band in a Box or SmartMusic; and if you primarily want to hear audio playback of a file, use music production software such as GarageBand.

Yesterday we focused on Band in a Box software at the National Jazz Workshop. Here are some things we did in BIAB software:

-Enter simple or complex chords to create a quick accompaniment file. Use this file to practice improvisation!
-Record the melody of a tune using a MIDI keyboard and print a lead sheet. You can also change the key of the tune after you enter it…great for vocalists who do a tune in a non-standard key.
-Play a solo using the WIZard using the first row of keys (all chord tones) and the second row of keys (non chord tones) on the QWERTY keyboard
-Generate a solo using the soloist generator built-in to BIAB.
-Export a BIAB as a standard MIDI file and open this file in Sibelius or Finale to print individual parts. I often use this to help a bass player who can read music but has trouble creating a walking bass part based only on the chord symbols. I also use this to print the keyboard part to help the piano player with voicing.

Today at the National Jazz Workshop we worked with SmartMusic. Here are some of the ways you can use SmartMusic to help your jazz practicing:
–Tuner and Metronome included
–Jazz Exercises…scales, arpeggios, patterns…cycle through keys by pressing the Option button in SmartMusic
–Play by Ear exercises play a phrase and you echo. SmartMusic evaluates your performance
–Wynton Marsalis pieces – 3 volumes of tunes including an entire volume of standards. Lead sheets include chords and melody and the rhythm section parts include the actual transcription of the piano, bass, and drum parts.
–Aebersold – about 10 volumes of Aebersold books. You can adjust the tempo and key…great for learning tunes in all 12 keys!
–Jazz Ensemble examples – SmartMusic now has lots and lots of big band pieces including Basie, Ellington, and more modern stuff such as Goodwin. You can see each individual part and play along with an MP3 recording of the tune.
–SmartMusic interfaces with Finale. Create any file in Finale and save it as a SmartMusic accompaniment. Open this file in SmartMusic and you have created your own custom accompaniment file.
–Audio files - Import a jazz solo recording and slow it down to help you transcribe difficult passages; Import a playalong (such as an Aebersold) and slow it down or change the key

This week I’m teaching the music technology track at the National Jazz Workshop at Shenandoah University.  Our focus for today was Sibelius music notation software.  We learned the basics of note entry and entered in a jazz lead sheet with chords and a melody.

Sibelius is a powerful but challenging application.  For help getting started with Sibelius check out these resources:

–Sibelius Hints and Tips (the Sibelius 5 Quickstart is EXCELLENT!)
–Sibelius a Comprhensive Guide by Thomas Rudolph and Vince Leonard