Random access: the 21st Century Recital Hall how internet audio and video can provide an alternative stage.

As music teachers, we view technology as either a tool to help our students learn or as an aid to manage our studios. We most often associate music technology with theory, notation or sequencing software programs. However, there is technology that we might not always consider to be relevant to our studios: Internet audio and video. The ability to consume and deliver high quality audio and video over the Internet has developed so quickly in such a short time that music teachers need to recognize this new medium for delivering content and start incorporating it into their studios. Let's explore how the development of this technology can give our students an alternative outlet for performance in contrast to traditional recitals.

Think about why we put our students in recitals or festivals. Public performances often give extrinsically motivated students a sense of purpose when practicing. Of course we also have many students who are intrinsically motivated, but we also put them in recitals as a type of reward for all the hard work they do for us. I think there is nothing quite like performing in front of a live audience. However, what if we could expand our students' audience to an even larger group? Technology can help us in this endeavor. I used to record my students' recitals on VHS tapes so that they could send it to their grandparents or other distant relatives who couldn't attend the recital. With more families using a broadband Internet connection at home, sharing this recital experience doesn't have to be slowed down with this arduous task of sending videotapes or DVDs. Friends and family can now experience the recital simply by going online.

Podcasts

We've seen all the kids going to school with those infamous white earphones stuck in their heads. What are they listening to on their iPods and various other portable digital audio devices? They might be enjoying their favorite music transferred from their personal CD collection or purchased from the iTunes Music Store. The popularization of the iPod has led to a new genre of media called podcasts. Podcasts are Internet radio or TV shows consisting of audio or video content that can be downloaded to your computer and transferred to a mobile device such as an iPod. Therefore the content can be consumed whenever and wherever the user wants. What is even more intriguing is that this technology allows virtually anyone with a computer and a microphone to create their own podcast. Some music educators assign students to produce podcasts of their compositions where the students feel they are on a popular radio show. Why can't the rest of us produce a periodic music podcast show that shines the Internet spotlight onto our students?

This past year, I had an adult piano student who stopped taking lessons with me because he was going off to medical school. So I wanted to top off our lessons with a recital for him. However, I had no other students his age. As an alternative, we recorded a performance of him that I featured on my podcast (marioajero.blogspot.com--See the "Piano Duets" episode). I thought it was a fitting end to our studies together, and the experience will leave a lasting impression on him, perhaps even stronger than if he played in a traditional recital.

Podsafe Music

Some of you teachers may not have the time or resources to set up a podcast show for your students. On the other hand, there may be some podcasters who are interested in playing some recordings of your students on their show. The whole podcasting phenomenon has raised concerns as far as the technology's capability of sharing music that the podcasters do not own the copyrights to. Yet, most podcasters do not violate copyright laws, but instead they choose to use an alternative source of the music to be featured on their shows. This music comes from independent music artists or even just amateur musicians. The music that artists share with podcasters is what is called "Podsafe Music." The artists share their digital recordings with the podcasters on the condition that they are given proper attribution for the work. Why would artists want to give away their music for free? Many times it is an intelligent way of promoting one's own compositions by reaching a larger listener base than if one got the same piece played on a local radio station.

So how do musical artists get their music noticed by podcasters? That's where the Podsafe Music Network (music.podshow.com) comes in. This website is comprised of two different groups of registered users. One group consists of podcasters who are looking for music they can play on their podcast shows without paying any licensing fees. The other group consists of musical artists who just want their music to be heard by a large amount of listeners. I registered as a musical artist at the Podsafe Music Network. I uploaded a couple mp3 files of my performances of some Schumann piano compositions to their library, and within a few days I received an automatic e-mail from the Podsafe Music Network stating that a podcaster in the Netherlands had played one of my recordings on his show!

Before you go telling your eager students to join the Podsafe Music Network and become famous, make them aware of a couple conditions. The recordings they submit should either be their own compositions or their own performances of pieces that are in the public domain. One of the reasons my recordings were quickly picked up by podcasters was because of the extreme shortage of classical-style recordings on the Podsafe Music Network. Most of the podsafe artists are either garage bands or independent pop-style performers. So there is plenty of opportunity for your students to contribute to this emerging podcasting culture.

YouTube and Google Video 

Making audio recordings available on the Internet can be motivating, but what about video? Previously, there were two obstacles when trying to share digital videos with others through the Internet. First, most people didn't possess the web server space to hold so many large digital video files. Second, there was a lack of a universal digital video format that could be played on anyone's computer. How many times has someone sent you a link to a video on a website, and it didn't work? I know it's happened to me countless times. Sure, we could probably download some plugin or media player that we'll rarely use. However, let's assume that most people are so inherently lazy when it comes to their computer that they will not even bother downloading the required plug-in.

That's where sites like YouTube.com and Google Video come in handy. First of all, it is free to upload your video files to their servers so that you are not financially responsible for the server space or the bandwidth. These sites also solve the problem of your video being incompatible with other people's computers. They take your video file and convert it into a Flash Movie format, which is as close to a universal digital video format as we're going to get. Whether it's a Windows Media video file, a Quicktime movie file, or even those MPEG video files that you recorded from that little digital still camera or your mobile phone, you can upload it to YouTube.com or Google Video, and they will make it playable on virtually any personal computer with a web browser.

The most alluring feature of these new video host sites is the interactivity that is built into them. Every video uploaded to YouTube displays how many times it was viewed. This may seem like a meaningless statistic, but I have to confess that I received some guilty pleasure from the fact that a couple thousand people viewed one of my YouTube recital videos and gave me four-and-a-half stars. So if I found it intriguing to be watched and ranked by so many people from around the world, imagine how motivated your students would be to practice if they knew that a video of their performance was available to be viewed by a global audience. If you think about it, how different is it, at least from a motivational standpoint, to having your students perform in a recital or in front of a festival adjudicator? Registered users can even leave comments and feedback for the performer. In general, I've found that most comments left by strangers are positive and encouraging.

Keep in mind that with any type of open forum like this, there is a possibility that you may get some rude or inappropriate comments. However, the YouTube site allows you to moderate comments and leave out the star ranking if desired. Then again, if your students are thick-skinned and realize that not everyone out there has proper net etiquette, then I say let them pursue their Internet fame. This generation of students is brought up with the feeling that they need to belong to sites like MySpace, Facebook and YouTube. They want to feel connected to the world through these various social networks. Most of all, these students just want to be seen and heard. Perhaps we can channel this desire for recognition into improving themselves as musicians on this new virtual concert stage.

Mario Ajero is coordinator of class piano and pedagogy at Stephen F. Austin State University. He has presented for the technology tracks at the MTNA National Conference and the GP3 Forum. Ajero is completing a Ph.D. degree at the University of Oklahoma and has taught for Temple University.