This is a guest article written by: Elisabeth (Lisi) Bottoms.
“Yet another music tech website” – that was my first thought when I was introduced to EarSketch. I already know and use so many different programs! I was honestly a bit reluctant to invest the time into learning another program.
However, this program has some great features, which are truly amazing.
What this program can do:
- composing beats
- remixing sounds
- manipulating loops
- applying effects to a multi-track digital audio workstatio
- teach how to code with Python or JavaScript.
As a teacher, I am chronically short of time. While many other websites/programs can do this, here are some points that really convinced me to give the EarSketch program a try.
- It is 100% free and online. No need to download anything or request any funds to get the students going.
- Our school is a STEM school. This program is quite useful in getting the STEAM (added arts) into the program.
- It is a super simple way to participate in the Hour of Code event.
Getting Started
Let me walk you through the website – it is surprisingly easy. A feature that I LOVE is that right at the starting page, there is a clear link to the tutorials:
The landing page featuring the link to all tutorials
Each of the learning elements come in two versions – Python and JavaScript. When it comes to deciding which code to learn, there is no clear recommendation, as both coding languages have different strengths and weaknesses. If you are interested in a comparison between Python and JavaScript, there is a website called educba, which lists the differences very clearly.
Following the findings of educba, Python is better suited for data analytics, machine learning or math-intensive operations, while JavaScript might be more useful for building websites or native applications.
The website comes with an amazing amount of tutorials and specific teaching suggestions, even full units! One needs to register as a teacher – it is free.
Registering as a teacher is quick and for free!
Starting to code can be intimidating, especially if one has no prior experience. I was really skeptical – after all, I am a musician, a teacher and not a computer genius!
When you open the website, you see something like this. I love the fact that it offers the tutorial immediately. This is especially handy when you work with students. They have the instructions right in front of them.
Tutorials are shown when you log in.
Since I work with international students, I truly appreciate that there are several languages to choose from.
Different languages make this program even more accessible.
The tutorial is written in simple words with very clear instructions. The tasks are very simple and direct. By following the steps, the students start to understand the different parts of coding.
Step by step instructions make this program really easy to use.
At any given time, one can access the “curriculum” by simply clicking the toggle switch to view the curriculum and the Welcome bar to navigate through the content. I find this especially useful, as my brain cannot retain new information for longer than a few seconds.
A really nice feature is that information is presented in written form as well as video form. And one can slow down the video. The sound quality suffers a bit, but I find this truly useful, especially if you (or your students) are not yet familiar with some of the terminology. Simply click on the three dots and then a panel appears where you can choose your desired speed. It also works to play it faster – this is particularly useful if you have watched the video already and you are just looking for one specific bit of information.
Built in tutorials in video format help the more visual learners.
Throughout the tutorial, there are plain and simple explanations of important music technology words. Here is one example.
If you prefer written instructions – all information is also provided in this format.
Teaching tip:
I try to make it even simpler, especially for students who are a bit timid. I let them choose a sound file and only change the tempo in the code. It is super easy and yet very effective.
The sample is set at 120. By changing the blue colored number to a different number (higher for faster and lower for slower), pressing “run” to apply the code changes and then the green triangle for “play”, the student can immediately see how their code affects changes.
I find it also important to teach the students to only change one component at the time. This avoids errors in the code and makes it easier to revert changes, if the result is not to their liking.
Example of changing the tempo in the coding section.
Using EarSketch to teach aural discrimination skills
Being a successful creator of music requires distinctive listening skills. Especially when it comes to current music as the features of different genres are often fluid nowadays. I personally really like that the sounds in EarSketch can also be filtered by genre.
Next, your students should have an understanding of the musical elements of their chosen genre. My students, for example, really love EDM music. In order to get an overview of what kind of EDM styles are out there, I like to direct my students to the websites Complex, (general overview) edmsauce, (very detailed) or for those who prefer infographics, glofx. There are lots of other websites out there for your chosen genre too, which will help your students hear the primary defining elements of each!
Once they have identified the main features of their preferred style, they can then set the filters on EarSketch to limit the choices of suggested loops.
Some useful choices of different styles are available.
Using EarSketch to enforce harmonic relationships
All loops can also be filtered by key. Despite the fact that many of my students prefer to go by which keys “sound good”, I always enforce the idea of harmonic relationships. Over the years, I have discovered that students advance much faster, if they not only “feel” what is right, but also have a theoretical understanding of what is happening in the music.
A simple exercise is to code very short segments of music – using just two loops. Once in related harmonic keys and once in not. This is a very powerful (and easy) way of teaching students with little experience the importance of harmonic relationships. For more advanced students, one could even go into teaching modulation with these loops.
Students can also refer to different keys when choosing their loops.
However, if the chosen loop is not in the desired key available, one can easily change the pitch of the loop by using the parameter PITCHSHIFT_SHIFT. Not only can these be adjusted by semitones, but also fractions of semitones thus using micro-intervals. These are super helpful when one wants to incorporate Non-Western tonality, such as some ragas from India, or maqams from the Arabic music tradition. .
Going a step further
Once students have the basics down with choosing the loops, adding and subtracting tracks, changing tempo and the pitch, one can get into the real interesting part. Anything to do with changing the timbre of the loop is feasible with EarSketch.
For example, one can add a phaser by using the parameter PHASER_RATE. One can also adjust how dry or wet the sound should be by using the parameter MIX. Bypass, feedback etc is also fully manipulable.
Detecting errors in the code
Another really good feature is the help section when the code is faulty. Often, it is something as minor as a missing comma that is the issue and causes the code not to work.
The error detecting function is so useful!
Hour of Code
Looking for a fun way to jump in with music tech and EarSketch in your music classroom? A very great way to start is to use the ready-to-use “curriculum” designed for the Hour of Code, which is an international event to open students up to programming, by having them participate in just one hour of coding!
Final Thoughts
EarSketch is a great tool to teach coding, help students develop their composition skills and an excellent free tool for your classroom. Do you have another free coding tool that you’ve used in your classroom? What coding music lessons have worked well with your students? We would love to hear about it! Leave a comment below!
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Looking for More Resources for Music Teachers?
Hello! I’m Katie Argyle – an Australian music technology trainer and consultant with a passion for helping music teachers through my businessMidnight Music.
I’m a qualified teacher but no, I don’t currently teach in a school. I help teachers through my online professional development space – theMidnight Music Community– where there are tutorial videos, courses, links and downloadable resources.
I like to focus oneasyways to incorporate technology intowhat you are already doing in your music curriculumthrough a range of creative projects. I also run live workshops and have presented at countless conferences and other music education events.
If you want simple, effective ideas for using technology in music education, I would LOVE to help you inside theMidnight Music Community.
3 Comments
great post
EarSketch is an amazing platform! I learned it through an online course in music tech, and have been using it in one of my elective courses ever since. I even used it to create a few sounds effects and tracks for one of our theatre productions!
That sounds fantastic Margaret! I definitely want to spend some more time with it.