Well, here we are, 2013. I sincerely hope that the New Year brings us all joy and good cheer. I want to say how grateful I am that you read my blog. Thank you, also, for the e-mails, ideas, and inquiries that you have sent to me. I very much appreciate your thoughts and I'm sorry that I can't always get back to all of you. Please accept my gratitude, though, for your correspondence.
I apologize for my short hiatus. I traveled extensively over break, and spent every second I could with my family. Our tour took us all the way across the country to sunny southern California where I proceeded to get the flu. Don't worry, I'm fairly certain I have left it there (sorry, California). When I was well, I got to get out and do a few things. I would like to "shout out" to The Chase restaurant on State St. in Santa Barbara. Those guys are always so classy. If you get a chance to eat there, don't pass it up. I very much enjoyed my time with my wife's family and their dogs.
Speaking of family...
I got a fantastic gift from my own family for Christmas this year; I got an i-pad. The new one. It is splendid! Why? Because as a musician I have, for years, carried large 3-ring binders of music. At church, in choir, and to every gig. Big, bulky, falling apart 3-ring binders of music. I no longer have to do that.
The people of Apple realize that most of their market are young (or young at heart) people that are interested in their product for the purpose of entertainment. Indeed, most of the aps are games like "Angry Birds" and "Tetris". While I purchased both of those, I also acquired a program called "forScore". "forScore" is created by musicians and for musicians for the sole purpose of having music on your i-pad. Not recordings of music - sheet music.
This is the future. This is where Music meets Technology.
Imagine going to hear your favorite orchestra in 10 years. I'm going to guess that you won't see the general music stands. No, you'll see i-pad stands. Why? Entire libraries of music can be housed in your i-pad. Need to turn the page? Just press the edge. Is your cellist going blind? Increase the screen size. Need more light on stage? Increase the brightness. The notes are there, the markings are there. You can even type in directions from your rehearsal. If you're skipping from measure 125 to measure 10 you could add a Sign and Coda. Text it in and go. If you're practicing at home and you're not sure if the rhythm that you played was right, play it back and hear whether you hit it or not. You can even sync a metronome into your playback.
This is going to revolutionize music. Already I've seen church musicians using the program to capacity. Once more musicians begin to use it, it will be common trade. Students and Teachers will be syncing songs across pads. Teachers will be able to highlight and point out special points in the music and text from continents away. Students will be able to submit variations, synthesize and improvise parts, and re-arrange scores. I imagine conversations will go something like, "Look at m.s 25 through 65, I've highlighted them for you and put in notes concerning register change and articulations. Playback if you have trouble with the rhythms. I'll be back from Asia next week and we'll go through it together. Oh, and create two improvisational forms for me..."
Can you utilize this tool in your classroom? I've got a few ideas...
Vision. See it?
I hope Apple doesn't have a monopoly, but that would be a pretty sweet future. That's kind of how I picture it, too.
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