Written by Katrina Proctor, Content Manager at Midnight Music
Introduction
Every year, we release an updated version of our Ultimate Free Music Tech Resources Guide, which features hundreds of free tools for music teachers across the web. Two innovative free tools featured in the Ultimate Free Music Tech Resource Guide that have gained popularity among music educators are Defonic and Soundscape. These sound generators offer unique opportunities for creating immersive soundscapes and background sound. In this blog post, we’ll explore both tools, provide an overview of their capabilities, and suggest four creative ways music teachers can incorporate them into their classrooms.
A Brief Introduction to Defonic and Soundscape
Defonic: Crafting Serene Soundscapes
Defonic is an ambient noise generator designed to create immersive soundscapes for various purposes, such as relaxation, study, and work. It offers different sounds, including ocean waves, rain, thunderstorms, wind, chimes, cafe ambiance, trains, libraries, and more. Defonic enables users to customize their soundscapes by selecting individual sounds and adjusting their volumes. While the basic version is free to use without needing an account or login, premium access, priced at $ 29 USD/year, provides access to additional sounds.
Soundscape: Composing Melodic Atmospheres
In contrast, Soundscape takes a different approach by offering a more musically inclined ambient sound generation experience. It comprises three generators—Swamp, Mornings, and Moonrise—each with its own background sound. Users can layer various elements in five categories: Rhythm, Harmony, Bass, Melody, and Extras. These elements sync together to create unique soundscapes, and users can activate randomize/background mode for an ever-evolving musical atmosphere. Soundscape is entirely web-based, free to use, and doesn’t require a login or account.
Comparing Defonic and Soundscape
Before delving into how music teachers can employ these tools, let’s compare and contrast Defonic and Soundscape to help you determine which suits your classroom needs better.
Customization
Defonic: Offers straightforward customization through the selection and layering of individual sounds and basic volume adjustments.
Here is an example of a cozy winter cafe ambiance made with “Cafe,” “Snow Storm,” and “Crackling Fireplace” sounds:
Soundscape: Provides in-depth customization with the ability to layer musical elements in various categories, allowing for the creation of complex compositions.
Purpose
Defonic: Primarily focuses on ambient background sounds, making it ideal for creating a neutral environment for different activities.
Soundscape: Offers a more musical experience, making it suitable for music composition and creative exercises.
Limitations
Defonic: No limitations on the number of sounds that can be played concurrently.
Soundscape: Imposes limits on the number of sounds that can be played simultaneously in each category.
Saving Compositions
Defonic: Premium subscribers can save their custom soundscapes but cannot save in the free version.
Soundscape: Does not provide an option to save compositions.
An example of Soundscape’s Swamp Machine
Pricing
Defonic: Free to use for basic features. Premium access is available at $29 USD/year or $39 USD for two years, offering additional sounds and features.
Soundscape: Completely free to use, with no premium option.
Now that we’ve explored the fundamentals of Defonic and Soundscape and compared their features, let’s move on to four creative ways music teachers can integrate these tools into their classrooms, along with recommendations on which tool might be more suitable for each use case.
4 Creative Ways Music Teachers Can Use Soundscapes & Defonic
1. Music Composition and Arrangement
Use: Encourage students to compose their own music or soundscape.
Tool of Choice: Soundscape
Why Soundscape: With its ability to layer rhythm, harmony, bass, melody, and extras, Soundscape empowers students to experiment with musical elements, fostering creativity and composition skills. The elements also sync automatically, making it easy for students to create music that fits together in time.
An example of a student composition in Soundscape’s Moonrise machine
2. Setting the Mood for Music History Lessons, World Music Lessons, Stories, or Themed Music
Use: Enhancing the atmosphere during lessons about specific historical periods or world music, setting the scene for musical story-time, or accompanying songs like sea-shanties (add a background of ocean waves), campfire songs (add crickets or a crackling fire sound), and many others.
Tool of Choice: Defonic
Why Defonic: Defonic’s diverse selection of background sounds can transport students to different time periods or locations and can be used to enhance the ambiance of story-time, performances or to provide white noise for independent work time.
An example of a sound machine for a sea shanty using sounds of ‘Ocean Waves,’ ‘Rain,’ ‘Thunder,’ and ‘Wind’
3. Background Music for Independent Work-Time or Lesson Planning (Longer Listening)
Use: Provide students with background music as they work on individual tasks for an extended period, such as independent reading, centers, sub days, or testing. The teacher can also use it as background music during prep time or lesson planning.
Tool of Choice: Soundscape
Why Soundscape: Soundscape has a randomization tool that automatically starts and stops different elements to design a constantly changing atmosphere and song.
Soundscape’s background mode for randomization
4. Relaxation and Mindfulness
Use: Promoting relaxation and mindfulness in the classroom.
Tool of Choice: Defonic or Soundscape
Why Both: Defonic’s soothing sounds can be a relaxation tool, helping students unwind before performances or exams. The customizable nature of Defonic allows for tailoring the ambiance to suit individual preferences. Soundscape, being more melodic in nature can also create a soothing ambiance or soundscape for mindfulness activities.
Final Thoughts
Both Defonic and Soundscape offer valuable resources for music educators, each catering to different aspects of music education. Defonic works well for creating ambient backgrounds for various activities, while Soundscape’s musical focus makes it a great choice for creative exploration or long-term listening. By understanding the unique strengths of these tools, music teachers can harness their potential to enhance their students’ learning experiences. Whether you are fostering mindfulness, nurturing musical creativity, or diving into music exploration and basic composition, these tools open up exciting possibilities for making your music lessons more immersive.
The choice between Defonic and Soundscape ultimately depends on your specific teaching objectives and the musical experiences you want to provide for your students. Both tools offer many opportunities to enrich music education, making them valuable additions to any music teacher’s toolkit.
Have you tried Defonic or Soundscape in your music classroom? What is your favorite sound generator? Leave a comment below!
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About the author
Katrina Proctor is the Content Manager at Midnight Music and is also a former music teacher from Colorado, USA. She taught middle school music for nearly 10 years in northern Colorado, where her passion is low-income students in Title 1 schools. Katrina has taught 5th-8th grade chorus, advanced-level chorus, class piano, general music, band, and orchestra. She has her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education & Master’s Degree in Music Education-Choral Conducting from the University of Colorado at Boulder. You can connect with Katrina on Facebookor via her website, She The Teacher.
Want more resources for music tech teachers?
Hello! I’m Katie Argyle – an Australian music technology trainer and consultant with a passion for helping music teachers through my business Midnight 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 – the Midnight Music Community – where there are tutorial videos, courses, links and downloadable resources.
I like to focus on easy ways to incorporate technology into what you are already doing in your music curriculum through 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 the Midnight Music Community.
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