October Program: Accessible Audio Recording Techniques

You won't want to miss our next Bluebonnet MTA meeting on Tuesday, October 11, when the University of Texas-San Antonio's Dr. Courtney Crappell joins us to share about accessible audio recording.  His presentation incorporates lessons learned from research on the use of practice recordings with modern recording and audio editing techniques to offer a comprehensive guide to creating effective practice recordings.  We'll start promptly at 9:30AM at the Austin School of Music North, 13945 N. Hwy 183.


Read more about Courtney's presentation--
As audio recording and playback technology grew popular in the mid-twentieth century, researchers in music education began exploring the effectiveness of its use in music study. One of the pedagogical applications of this technology was to create recordings to which students listened and played along. Decades of research showed that practicing with recordings increased performance accuracy more than “traditional” practice and that they improved students’ listening abilities. Reflecting their popularity today, modern teaching materials frequently include recordings that function as practice and performance models outside of formal lessons. The common format includes a performance tempo and practice tempo of the entire notated work. However, playing along with the entire piece at a fast or slow tempo can be an inefficient practice strategy when learning new and challenging material. Our beginning students need more varied and intermediate steps. Fortunately, we now have access to inexpensive recording hardware and editing software and can edit recordings we own and create in countless ways. We can easily change the tempo, splice in repetitions, and even add verbal cues.  Incorporating lessons learned from research on the use of practice recordings between 1950-2010, this presentation examines how we can produce recordings that will help our students learn music faster and make them better listeners. Attendees will leave with a brief introduction to audio hardware and software along with a comprehensive technical and pedagogical guide to creating effective practice recordings for their students.


Dr. Courtney Crappell serves as Assistant Professor of Piano Pedagogy at UT San
Antonio where he coordinates the class piano program and teaches piano and piano
pedagogy.