Ableton introduced the Push 3 last month and it looks amazing. The MPE-enabled touch sensitivity features are huge improvements to what was already a very playable and expressive piece of hardware. I appreciate that Ableton is making this a standalone production device by building an audio interface into it. So many products in the “colorful grid of squares” category already are, and it makes sense that a device as powerful and loved as the Push goes in this direction.
Dorico 5 Released
Dorico 5 was released last month! The Dorico blog has a a thoughtful introduction to version 5. I find these posts and videos so insightful and clarifying, that I almost enjoy reading and watching them as much as I do using the software. You can see the love and intention they put into every detail.
Dorico 5 helps you create music that moves – Dorico:
We are delighted to announce the immediate availability of the brand new generation of our music notation and composition software, Dorico, with updated versions available now for macOS, Windows, and iPadOS. Dorico 5 is packed with powerful and useful features throughout the application, all designed to help you get great-looking and great-sounding results as quickly as possible. Let’s dive in. Keep reading here…
My school year is coming to a busy close this year, and I haven’t had enough time with Dorico 5 to generate anything more meaningful to say here. So, as usual, I recommend you read the excellent review at Scoring Notes.
Apple Music Classical (Mostly) Plays the Right Chords -- TidBITS
Kirk Mcehlhearn wrote a detailed breakdown about Apple's new classical music app for TidBITS last month.
Apple Music Classical Mostly Plays the Right Chords:
Apple Music Classical is a free app for Apple Music subscribers to access this new, enhanced collection of music. Inexplicably, it is only available for the iPhone. One would expect Apple Music Classical to be available for desktop computers, especially since many people listen to classical music from a Mac, or a PC running iTunes, connected to a stereo. Since Apple Music has added a lot of high-resolution music, which requires an external DAC (digital-analog converter) to play at its full quality, it is quite difficult to play that sort of music from an iPhone. You can stream music to an AirPlay 2-compatible receiver with a DAC attached, but most people don’t have that hardware. You can, of course, stream Apple Music Classical from an iPhone to a HomePod—the second generation of which also supports Dolby Atmos, or what Apple calls spatial audio—but overall, this focus on the iPhone limits playback options considerably. Keep reading here...:
Introducing MusicFirst Elementary — Dr. James Frankel
Introducing MusicFirst Elementary — Dr. James Frankel:
After 4 years of work, thousands of pages of lessons plans, more than 1,000 interactive resources, and the tireless work of an amazing team of teachers and developers from our award-winning partners Charanga, I am so very proud to introduce you to a truly revolutionary music curriculum for Grades K-5 - MusicFirst Elementary, powered by Charanga. Unlike other online collections of resources that are targeted to the elementary music teacher, this is the first complete sequential K-5 music curriculum to hit the market in over a decade, and it is truly spectacular. The following provides an overview of what the curriculum includes, and most importantly, how you can preview it for yourself. Keep reading here…
What Does It Mean To Be Creative? - Off the Beaten Path
Theresa is addressing important questions on her blog this week. Stay tuned for a near future episode of Music Ed Tech Talk. She is the next guest.
What Does It Mean To Be Creative? - Off the Beaten Path:
Creativity is a word we hear often in education, especially in music education, and it’s something I’ve become quite passionate about in the last few years. How are we, as music educators, offering opportunities for students to be creative? When do students get to create their own music and make their own musical decisions, instead of only recreating someone else’s music and performing music as dictated by someone else? Keep reading here…
9to5 Mac: Notability for iPad adds new ‘Pencil’ feature for a ‘lifelike handwriting experience’
9to5 Mac reports on an update to Notability. For a few years, I have been solidly in the GoodNotes camp when it comes to handwritten notes on iPad. It is great to see that there is still competition in this space.
Notability for iPad adds new ‘Pencil’ feature for a ‘lifelike handwriting experience’:
Notability, the popular note-taking app for iPhone and iPad, has been updated today with a new “Pencil” feature. According to the company, this feature brings “the most paper-like sketching experience to digital notetakers,” including support for the Apple Pencil as well.
MacStories -> The Practicality of Art in Software
This blog post from Federico Viticci over at MacStories is worth a read.
This part jumped out at me:
In bringing this back to software, it’s evident that – again, historically – Apple doesn’t believe in art as a veneer to make something “look good”. Art – whereby “art” we refer to the human care behind the design of software – is intrinsically tied to the technology that powers the computer. It’s the intersection of technology and liberal arts: skew toward one side more than the other, and you risk of losing the balance many of us like about Apple. Art in Apple’s software isn’t some secret ingredient that can just be added at the end of the process, like a spice: great design _is_ the process itself. Case in point: the Dynamic Island.
Federico argues that the iPad is not striking a balance between beautiful and useful. I agree with this point. After trying to use it like an equal counterpart to macOS in 2016-2019, I have been back to the Mac (so to speak) ever since.
The iPad makes a great digital piece of paper. And I think I am leveraging its strengths best when I use it exactly like that.
A few AI music proejcts
On a recent episode of Music Ed Tech Talk, David MacDonald and I discussed the possibility of AI Chatbots coming to music.
The future is already here, apparently, as numerous AI music projects have made it on to my radar over the past few weeks. Here are links to a few intersting (or terrifying) ones, depending on your perspective.
NAMM --> John Mlynczak Named President and CEO of The National Association of Music Merchants
Congratulations John!
After a comprehensive year-long search, The NAMM Executive Committee and CEO Search Committee is pleased to announce industry veteran and music education advocate John Mlynczak as the next President and CEO of The National Association of Music Merchants.
Read the entire announcement here.
Listen to John as a guest on the Music Ed Tech Talk Podcast:
Eric Jimenez Joins Hal Leonard Team
Press Releases - Eric Jimenez Joins Hal Leonard Team | Hal Leonard Online:
12.16.22—Hal Leonard is excited to announce that Eric Jiminez has joined their education team as Account Manager - Education Technology. In this role, Eric will focus on serving school districts with the resources, curriculum, technology, methods, repertoire, and professional development that Hal Leonard has to offer.
Congratulations to Eric! Check out his podcast The Score.