Web Delivery of Music Instruction:
Fulfilling the promise of technology

Steven G. Estrella

steve@stevenestrella.com

This page highlights new ways to use the web for music instruction. Please note that all links on this page will open in a new window.

1. Examples of Music Instruction Resources on the web
   1. Music Theory
      1. Ricci Adam's MusicTheory.net at http://www.musictheory.net
      2. Gary Ewer's "Easy Music Theory" at http://www.musictheory.halifax.ns.ca/index.html
   2. Music History
      1. Internet Public Library's Music History 102 at http://www.ipl.org/exhibit/mushist/index.html
      2. Dr. Estrella's Incredibly Abridged Dictionary of Composers at http://www.stevenestrella.com/composers/
   3. Music Composition
      1. Composers in Electronic Residence at http://www.edu.yorku.ca:8080/~CIER/
      2. Young Composers at http://www.youngcomposers.com/
   4. Music Technology
      1. Technology Institute for Music Educators at http://www.ti-me.org - see the Projects page
      2. Exploring MIDI at http://nuinfo.nwu.edu/musicschool/links/projects/midi/expmidiindex.html
      3. Dr. Estrella's Incredibly Abridged Guide to MIDI at http://www.stevenestrella.com/midi/
   5. Jazz Performance
      1. Hammond Jazz
2. Effective Web Searching for Music Education
   
   1. Directories like yahoo.com - music education section at http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Music/Education/
      
   2. Search engines like google.com
      
   3. Specialty music education search engine - talentz.com
      
3. Evaluating Online Music Education Resources
   
   1. Is there a primary author or responsible person? Is he or she an expert?
      
   2. Has the site content been reviewed?
      
   3. Is it free or does it require payment?
      
   4. How is the site supported financially? Will it endure?
      
   5. How recently was it updated? Is it a ghost site?
      
4. Webliography - creating an annotated list of links for students.
   Electronic reference formats recommended by the American Psychological Association. (2001) Retrieved August 17, 2001, from the American Psychological Association web site: http://www.apastyle.org/elecgeneral.html
   
5. More experienced users may wish to create their own web resources:
   
   1. Posting exercises with notation software and standard MIDI files
      1. Vermont MIDI Project at http://www.vtmidi.org/
      2. Home Practice Online at http://astro.temple.edu/~swatson/
      3. MusicTechTeacher.com at http://www.musictechteacher.com
   2. Web improvisation experiences through multiple QuickTime files
      1. Lullabye at http://www.makepages.com/lullabye/lullabye.html
      2. BluesJam at http://www.makepages.com/bluesjam/bluesjam.html
         
   3. Things you need to create your own pages
      
      1. A good text editor - BBEdit (Mac) or NoteTab (Win) - both FREE!
         
      2. Notation software - Finale, Igor, Sibelius, etc...
         
      3. Sequencing software (optional)
         
      4. QuickTime Pro to make QuickTime audio/MIDI files
         
      5. An HTML editor like Dreamweaver or GoLive or Word Processor with HTML export
         
      6. Server space from your internet service provider
         
      7. A web browser and an FTP program
      8. A little training in HTML and knowledge of the web
         
6. Advanced users may wish to delve into interactive web programming:
   
   1. Complex interactivity with Director/Shockwave or Flash
      
   2. Using Flash and Digital Audio
      
      1. Create full-featured CAI software on the web
         
      2. Creating sound experiment labs on the web for students
         
      3. Create Close Reading/Pocket Guide tutorials
         
   3. Tutorial site at http://www.makepages.com
      
7. The future of the web:
   
   1. The dominant computing platform of the future
      
   2. Increasing access to fast connections for better quality music experiences
      
   3. Distance learning in music becomes more common.
8. How to learn more
   1. Learn HTML - I recommend HTML 4 for the World Wide Web Visual...
   2. Learn web development techniques at http://www.makepages.com
   3. Curiosity - view the source code of pages you admire.