Soundation Project-"Spring Cleaning"

                 This week, I was extremely uplifted by the warmer temperatures here in Connecticut!  The snow is finally almost melting, the birds are chirping, and the air smells like spring rain.  Along with spring, comes all the necessary clean-up, both inside and outside the house.  In honor of my rekindled motivation to air-out, dust, and organize, I decided to title my composition “Spring Cleaning.”  My main consideration in creating this short piece was to have it sound like a soundtrack, something I would listen to while cleaning around the house.  I began with a fun drum track, added some claps, wrote a simple bass line and chord progression using the midi features, and then added some lead guitar (everybody has a dance party to a lead guitar while they’re cleaning, right?!?).  The goal was really to come up with something lighthearted, celebrating the warmer weather that is coming!

                I signed up for the free version of Soundation and was extremely surprised at how much it actually has to offer.  There were many pre-recorded sounds and loops to choose from and I had no problem creating and mixing as many tracks as I wanted to.  I actually spent a lot longer on this project than anticipated because I got so distracted listening to all of the loops available.  It was really entertaining and, after I had completed the musical part of the project, I actually went back and found some sounds to add to the beginning and end of my composition.  The sounds of the birds chirping, church bells ringing, and coffee pouring all helped add to the “spring cleaning day” theme.  I also found a pre-recorded clap which I triumphantly added at the end as I pictured a productive, successful day’s work.  I did discover a couple of challenges.  The program was not picking up my microphone, though I have one on my laptop.  I also could not get the program to let me use my midi keyboard, even though I downloaded the plug-in that it asked for.  I used the built in midi keyboard, but it would have been more efficient to use my own.  However, at the very basic level to which I used it, I was very pleased with how user-friendly it really was. 

                Soundation has some really exciting educational implications.  I love that it is free and web-based, so you can access your work from any computer, anywhere.  The program is very easy to use and I believe students would be quick to learn and explore all the possibilities.  I was thinking, especially as I was listening to the prerecorded sounds, that students could create an entire musical story that includes sound effects, loops, midi, and digital audio recording.   This composition project would go beyond putting “beats” together, and would really challenge them to share original, creative ideas about a given topic with their audience.  Students need no knowledge of music notation, so it takes the pressure of the signs and symbols out of the equation and makes it really easy to transfer their musical ideas from their mind to the computer.  Students could then publish, share, and collaborate about their projects, giving peer feedback and support.  If I had access to this in my classroom, I would most definitely try a project like this.  Overall, I feel that this is an extremely valuable program for music students and would love to add this to my curriculum.

Listen to "Spring Cleaning" Here!