time – WILL KUHN

TI:ME Free Online Symposium is Happening NOW

TI:ME Members and non-members alike can logon to check out our free Symposium on Music Tech Pedagogy that is happening right now. I’ll be speaking at 3:00pm EDT about the types of projects I like to teach and the methods I use to teach composition to kids with little or no music experience.

I’m absolutely thrilled to be a part of this – it’s an honor to be in such great company. A quick rundown of the participants today:

Jay Dorfman – TI:ME’s national president and all around great guy from Boston U.

Mike Medvinsky – a former electrical engineer turned music teacher, who has in middle school kids making some cool things and really maker-faire kind of stuff

Bill Bauer – Bill used to serve on the Ohio TI:ME board before moving to sunny FL. He’s one of the smartest and most earnest people in the field, and his research into music learning methods in the digital age are second to none.

The other two speakers, Chris and Adam, I don’t know as well but I wouldn’t be surprised if their accomplishments are right up there with the others. Be sure to log on today to check out what’s going on right now in our field.

The 10,000 hour theory

Dennis Desantis has some interesting writing about the 10,000 Hour Theory, stated in which it takes roughly 10,000 hours of practice/training to achieve master level at any activity, be it playing an instrument, sports, etc.

From his blog:

If 10,000 hours sounds like a lot of time, keep in mind that it’s not a switch; it’s a process. On your way to expertise, you will get better and better, and you will feel progress happening all the time.

And most importantly, 10,000 hours is what it takes to be elite. Simply getting good will happen much sooner. But it will not happen without putting in real, focused time.

What are you waiting for?

Of course, there are differing opinions, but it’s still interesting food for thought.

He has some great case studies on musicians who actually did this.

I did a little back-of-the napkin math: If you practiced your new thing for an hour a day only, it would take roughly 28 years to achieve greatness. At two hours per day, more like 14 years. At 3 hours per day, we’re getting dangerously close to “cramping one’s style” but you can get there in about 9 years. So maybe it was true in college – the people who put in 4 hours a day in the studio really did get a quality payoff for their efforts. I was never convinced enough to put that kind of time in – maybe I should have read the article back then.

Mike Lawson tells it like it is

Great Q&A with TI:ME’s executive director in SBO this month. I sometimes have trouble defining what exactly TI:ME does, and this paragraph really nails it down:

There are a lot of band directors moving towards retirement. The older band directors are the ones who are least likely to adapt. Many of the newer ones coming in are already familiar with some of the more widespread music software, but they still haven’t spent a ton of time doing audio production or recording. Those educators could still benefit from some training on a basic understanding of the physics of sound and how to explain that to kids. The bottom line is that TI:ME wants to help teachers figure out how to solve these problems.

Bottom line: if you’re a music teacher and your classes are losing modern relevance, TI:ME will help you drag yourself (kicking and screaming?) into the 21st century.