Synthesizers in the classroom???
Last week our wonderful lecturer Dr. James Humberstone presented to us a discovery oriented class on synthesizers. By experimenting in groups with miniature synthesizers and synthesizer packs we were able to discover how synthesizers worked, which was a very new experience for most members in the class, myself included. Through this process of learning we discovered how each section of a synthesizer worked, including oscilators, gates, envelopes and filters.
For the second half of the lecture, we had ANOTHER guest come in (gosh aren’t we lucky) who came and discussed with us a progam called ‘Sonic Pi’. Sonic Pi is a program that teaches students how to program and is great for music making. In class we were given examples on how to program different sounds and effects and then given time alone to experiment with the program.
My experience experimenting with Sonic Pi has made me think about including an aspect of programming into my classroom teaching. In particular it has made me reconsider my teaching and to attempt to incorporate teaching students the basic aspects of programming within a music context and also teaching students how to use synthesizers.
LJS Music Education 