A new software + hardware combination for learning to play guitar in a game-like environment is announced. You can use a real guitar and color-code the fretboard, and add a midi-pickup and connect it to a computer (a mac in the demonstration) to play the game. It seems you can load any song and use it in the game (really?). The company also sells songs to upload to the program. It seems like a combination of Guitar Port and Guitar hero. Read more to see a video introduction provided by Engadget. Read the rest of this entry »

www.songfacts.com is a nice site offering information about many popular songs. There is information about the origins and backgrounds of the songs, as well as interpretation about the meaning of the lyrics and so on – depending on the song. And there are discussions about the songs by the users, of course. I see some educational use for this: students are often interested about what the lyrics actually mean. These meanings are often discussed in music classrooms.

I purchased an iPod Touch (8gb) to experiment with in various settings. One of the main uses will be for piano students (and perhaps other instrument students) to evaluate and especially reflect upon their lessons or single songs played in both practice and teaching situations. We are already recording lessons on video and evaluating them in a web-based evaluation system. The mobile device will allow students to see and hear their lessons after the lesson or practice situation in a bus going home or where ever they desire. I will also evaluate a Nokia N810 for comparison. But more on that later. Read the rest of this entry »