Noteflight is excited to showcase Bob Habersat and Paul Levy from Shed the Music! Not only have they utilized Noteflight and its media sync capabilities to the fullest, but they are helping to modernize jazz education.
What is Shed the Music?
Shed the Music was started by Bob Habersat and Paul Levy, two high school music teachers that were searching for resources to use in the 1:1 classroom. They wanted something that had concise videos and articles that could assist instruction in general music and ensemble classes. When they couldn’t find what they were looking for, they took it upon themselves to create a place, using Noteflight, where everyone could access high quality music education resources and The Shed was born.
The Shed teaches music theory for the modern musician and starts at the most basic of musical concepts such as how to read simple quarter note rhythms and sequentially advances to composition and jazz improvisation. All videos are three minutes or less and are perfect for remediation and enrichment. The sight rhythm page offers an additional way for students to learn what rhythms sound like based on their appearance. The artist spotlight page has a collection of video interviews of famous musicians and the classroom page offers free courses through LRNG. The jazz section of The Shed is extensive and includes guides on etude writing, rhythm section features, and an archive of transcribed and original licks.
Guided Transcriptions with Noteflight
The most effective and also the most difficult thing a jazz student can do is to transcribe solos. The most challenging element of transcription is rhythm. The Shed offers a growing library of solo transcriptions that are meant for the developing musician. They offer the rhythm of the solo in addition to a few helping pitches to allow students to achieve success in transcribing. You can find an example of this in the video below.
By importing and audio syncing these guided transcriptions with Noteflight, it is now possible to hear the original recording and see the playhead move in time with the score. The new interactive nature of the guided transcription helps students transcribe faster and more accurately. Students can find a link to a Noteflight version of the score on each guided transcription page and can even make a copy of it to their Noteflight account for editing. Because the score is already formatted for editing, the guided transcription scores can be used as an introduction to music notation using Noteflight.
Stay Close To The Shed
New materials are released often, so stay connected to The Shed by signing up for their newsletter and by subscribing to their social media channels. It is an open source project, so feel free to contact The Shed for any suggestions on what topics should be added/changed. Check out the below example of one of the great videos available to you from Shed the Music.