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Abstract 1. Introduction This spring, the Center launched an interactive multimedia version of an existing fine arts course, Music Literature. This course is intended for the non-musician and uses an historical lecture and critical listening pedagogy typical of most music appreciation classes found on college campuses across America. The re-worked version of the course is intended for the "non-traditional," adult learner. Although the course in the past has been taught in a lecture format, we analyzed the course objectives and opened the palette of methodologies to include technology-based solutions where appropriate. Fully half of the class sessions have been dropped; material not covered in the classroom is delivered on the Web and from CD-ROM. ![]() 2. Process
2.2 Identifying
and Organizing Strategies and Activities Once a preliminary list of materials was generated, the project manager, the designer, and faculty member met to review their work. Technology-based materials are expensive to produce, and thus it was important to use our limited resources on those materials that provided experiences not available through lower-cost means. It would not make sense to develop page turning exercises that merely reiterated concepts and examples available in a text. A rough resource estimate was made and the list of materials was finalized. Once the content with associated materials and methods was organized into a syllabus, a development schedule was established. 2.3 Materials
Design In order to expand upon rather than duplicate material found elsewhere, a decision was made to use original compositions done by Dr. Kachian. This also meant that we could avoid possible copyright problems. Student workers do most of the programming for our projects, so the designs would be geared toward implementation in an authoring system. |
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![]() Another exercise is Experimental Composition (Figure 2). The student is asked to compose an original composition using a theme based on a tone row derived from his or her phone number. In these exercises, the design permits the student to complete numerous attempts in an effort to "perfect" his or her composition. |
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![]() 3.2 AudioGraphics AudioGraphics (our own term for one of the developed components) is a critical listening tool that is used in conjunction with the text's accompanying CD set. Students select the assigned composition and the program displays a digitally produced graphic derived from the sound wave. The graphic is color coded to display the various formal sections of the work (Figure 3). The ability to see the music helps the student identify and understand the various styles and composers and gives the student a means of more actively participating in discussions. AudioGraphics, however, moves beyond this by providing synchronization with the audio experience. When the student presses the Play button, the audio CD (in the computer's CD drive) begins playing and a cursor moves through the graphic. Significant changes in the instrumentation are listed directly below the graphic. The student may click anywhere in the graphic to hear the composition from that point. With AudioGraphics, the student has an interactive graphic representation of the piece that facilitates analysis of such aspects as formal design, dynamics and thematic development. |
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