Sibelius In The Classroom Online Course

About this course

During this 4-week online course we’ll look at a range of progressive notation-based activities (more than 35!) you can use with your students to listen to music, identify patterns, reconstruct songs, harmonise melodies, identify song form, compose original melodies, and create rhythmic, melodic and harmonic variations on a melody.

The course will demonstrate adaptable activities that suit a wide range of student ages and levels of experience. Through these activities students will learn the elements of music, compose melodies, create accompaniments and arrange songs and gain an understanding of the way notation software works along the way.

You’ll also learn a series of insider teacher tricks: behind-the-scenes tips that will help you use Sibelius effectively (and successfully) with your students. For more information about the course content, see the full Course Outline below.

Who is this course for?

Teachers who want to introduce notation software to their students
Teachers that want to enhance music literacy skills in their classes
Teachers working with upper-level students who need to submit assessments that incorporate notation
Teachers who want their students to learn notation software skills “accidentally”

Pre-requisites

No previous Sibelius experience required.

Course length and delivery

4 x 75 minute sessions
This is a live, online course. (read more about how online courses work)
There will be Q & A opportunities in each session
“Homework” tasks in between sessions which will help you get the most out of the course (nothing too heavy!)

Course dates

Next course in February 2012. 4 sessions as follows:

Note: all times are Australian Eastern Daylight Time (UTC+11). Check your local time by using this time zone converter.

Wednesday 8 February 2012, 8pm – 9.15pm
Wednesday 15 February 2012, 8pm – 9.15pm
Wednesday 22 February 2012, 8pm – 9.15pm
Wednesday 29 February 2012, 8pm – 9.15pm

What you will need

A computer with internet access
Headphones
Any version of Sibelius, although version 5, 6 or 7 is strongly recommended for this course

Provided materials

Step-by-step course notes plus a Sibelius shortcuts list and a Quick Note Input Guide
Scores and other files required for homework tasks
Full 6-month access to video recordings of each session. Watch them at your own pace, whenever you like
Professional development certificate of attendance provided

Cost and Payment Terms

Cost: AUD$200. Payment options as follows:

EFT (Electronic funds transfer)
Credit card (via the Paypal website. No Paypal account necessary. May incur a transaction fee)
Paypal
Invoice option available (schools and businesses only)

Payment must be received before the first course date. Please also note the course cancellation policy.

Places

Limited to 15 places only.

Course Outline*

Session 1: Beginner activities

Start simply by providing students with partially-made scores and discover ways to “accidentally” teach software skills.

We’ll run through a series of adaptable activities that will suit Sibelius beginners of almost any age from Year 3 – Year 12 including:

basic transcription and ear-training tasks
easy ways to introduce compositional techniques like retrograde, augmentation, diminution, and inversion
pentatonic compositions for elementary students
composing simple rhythmic accompaniments

Behind-the-scenes teacher tips include: setting up Sibelius scores effectively for student use & ways to approach note input skills.

Session 2: Moving on – next steps

Using Sibelius to teach arranging skills:

discovering and reinforcing repetition in music
re-writing lyrics to a well-known piece
adding or changing dynamics
varying tempo and musical style
experimenting with instrumentation
using Sibelius playback for instant feedback

Behind-the-scenes teacher tips include: quick copy and paste methods; entering text objects correctly in Sibelius to affect playback.

Session 3: Ideas, Ideas, Ideas

Learn effective ways to use the Ideas window – one of Sibelius’s most under-utilised features – with your students.

Use Ideas to:

rebuild a song from a series of short “building blocks”
create an accompaniment to a 3- or 4-chord pop song
make your own minuet
create a compositional scrapbook

Behind-the-scenes teacher tips include: learning all about the Ideas window; creating and capturing Ideas; editing Idea info; limiting access to Ideas.

Session 4: Working with advanced students

Tips for using Sibelius effectively with senior or advanced students. Example projects for students include:

compose your own 12 bar blues, export from Sibelius and import into Acid, GB or Mixcraft to add own performance, or other drum parts
step-by-step approach to teaching and writing drum notation: listen, transcribe, play, notate
improvisation projects – create a backing for a jazz standard, then play and/or notate an improvised section over the top
reharmonising a melody
presentation of notated student compositions: common mistakes, formatting and layout tips, adding student commentary/narration, tracking compositional progress over time using Versions
tips for teaching transcription: workflow, using audio software to slow down or transpose audio, shortcuts

Behind-the-scenes teacher tips include: exporting audio files, utilising the mixer, Versions, working with voices

*Midnight Music reserves the right to alter course content when necessary.

Presenter

All sessions will be presented by Katie Wardrobe. You can read more about Katie here.

Bookings

Registrations are now open.

What happens once I’ve paid?

Once your course registration and payment have been received, you can sit back and wait for the first scheduled session.

A reminder email will be sent ahead of session 1 which will include login details and a link which allows you to access the online course.

Questions about this course?

Contact Katie.