Week 4: Music Technology @ your library

The topic for this week was Music Technology, with several of the websites focusing on recording hardware and software. Initially, this topic was of little interest to me. In my head, I thought, “I am never going to record any type of music of any of this software.” However, this mode of thinking is not conducive to any kind of higher learning! I knew that I might encounter this discrepancy in this class because I am not a musician, but I am a music lover. I listen to music, dance to music, and want to share music with others.

Therefore, if I encounter a topic that seems out of my range in this class, then I try to bring it into focus: what makes this applicable to my life? How can this be used in the library setting? Is this relevant to anything I have experienced? These questions usually lead me to a deeper actualization and then I can cull out of the lesson what I need to gain a better understanding. That is why I adore the structure of this class. It allows for this flexible, self-paced learning that lets the student take control of their own education and get what they want out of the class. It’s quite fulfilling.

I had my epiphany about GarageBand this week. This recording software program by Apple is truly genius and user-friendly. No need to be a professional musician to take advantage of this program. When I first bought my Mac, GarageBand was ignored for over a year until a co-worker of mine formed a band called Catercise. They used no "real" instruments and recorded all these zany songs using only GarageBand. I thought, “I want to try that!” I played around with the software for a while and then got bored. I really had no purpose, just experimenting.

However, that’s one of the perks about GarageBand –for those who can’t read sheet music or sing a tune – this program allows you to experiment! Figure music out using your own ears and musical preferences.


Last semester, I really got to experience the wonders of music recording technology. I recorded a podcast for Instructional Media using GarageBand. It was so easy. I was able to figure out the voice recording software and record a short story within about 30 minutes. We grabbed music from a legal source … this useful website that provides copyright free tunes, at various lengths: http://freeplaymusic.com/. Then, as you integrate this music into your podcast, there are several ways to edit it: adjust volume, fading, length, looping, etc. There’s also a free program called Audacity that allows you to record podcasts in the same way. However, I’m still partial to GarageBand since there is a quality of intuitiveness about Apple software.

Knowing how to produce a podcast is such a useful, progressive skill for librarians. Having this sort of tech savvy knowledge allows you to integrate technology into library programming and stay on top of trends. Using recording software in a program can also segway into information literacy lessons about copyright laws and legal ways to share and produce audio. That’s why I brainstormed the following ways this kind of music technology could be used:

• If you have computers with GarageBand or a similar program – have teens compete with each other to see who can make the best “song” within an hour. Or spread the program out over a few weeks and allow them to develop something quality – have a GarageBand Battle of the Bands, or see if teens/patrons can compose a theme song for the library or teen advisory group using this software. This kind of “music education” would support Dr. Simon’s quote from one of the discussion boards during Week 4: “Music fundamentals can be learned and then applied to any genre imaginable.”
• GarageBand also has a feature that teaches piano lessons and "Artist Lessons" in which a musician will teach you how to play an instrument, such as Colbie Caillat's lesson on guitar teaches the user to play her song "Bubbly."
• Have children, teens, patrons, or librarians record booktalks and post them to the library website. Integrate into this program a lesson on how to use recording software.
• Have a local band come to the library and speak about music recording. They could demonstrate how this software works and then allows patrons to try it out themselves.
• Record story time programs to post on the library website. If there are particular finger plays or rhymes used frequently in children’s story times, then librarians can also record these and create a database of songs organized by names, theme, age, etc. This would be a great resource! One could even record simple songs using the piano using only GarageBand.
• Set up a booth similar to the Story Corps project: http://www.storycorps.net/

Just as librarians are encouraged to embrace new technologies, such as e-books and Web 2.0 applications, we have to be just as open-minded about other emerging technologies. By thinking out of the box, one can integrate music-recording software into the library and unite pop culture trends, information literacy, and technology. Programs like the ones mentioned above promote collaboration, educational technology, lifelong learning, music appreciation, community, and fun!