Week 1 Blog Post 4 - Heavenly Hell: Comparing the Challenges

Every February is Record Production Month. The RPM Challenge is presented to musicians around the world and, for some reason, we all sign up and take part. The challenge is to write and record an album in 28 days (29 if it’s leap year). The prize for this challenge is a complete album of original music. Everyone who participates wins.
My band participated in this challenge in 2008 and 2009. I felt like I was missing something in my life this year as we were unable to participate. What took place instead was a similar challenge that seemed to be even harder, yet will turn out to be just as rewarding. The challenge of earning a Masters Degree in just 12 months. This February was filled with reading, writing, reading a course in a new format, reading some more, and writing some more. The nest three weeks I have the same feeling I had during my RPM experiences. This is now the thesis challenge.
During the RPM challenges we were faced with many obstacles. Snow storms, technology meltdowns, writer’s block, family issues, illnesses, more technology breakdowns, and more snow storms. Somehow we were able to overcome all of these obstacles and meet our goals. In one of my posts during the first challenge, I wrote, “Go ahead life, get in the way, I’ll just write a song about you”.
I would like to welcome all of my classmates to the thesis challenge this month. We were give 21 days to write a minimum of 25 pages as well as create a media project. As with the RPM challenge, I know we will overcome obstacles and meet our goals. I would also like to share one of the songs written and recorded in my last song. I hope it motivates.


Heavenly Hell Music and Lyrics ©2009 Bob Walker, Jr. Recorded 2009 by Bob Jr & the Martini Gardeners

Heavenly Hell
Bob Walker, Jr

To wallow in the madness
An empty mind and a deadline
It’s the destiny for me
So all of the world can hear

I shut off all of my senses
To connect with my true sight
Try to listen to the silence
So the music will come to life

Welcome to my heavenly hell
I’m really tired but I’m doing well
I’m really not crazy, It’s a challenge to me
Now I’m burnin’ in my heavenly hell

Only twenty-eight days
And it comes to an end
I’ll drown in this manmade ocean
I’m way over my head

I’ll probably die penniless
But I’m doing the right thing
What’s bad for my body
Is good for my head

Week 1 Response Post to Jorge Rodriguez

I have had the fortunate opportunity to attend a workshop where Ben Zander was the key speaker. He told us this story about the A and his class (as well as others I am reading in the book). This concept really hit home for me as a music teacher. Especially in performance classes such as Zander teaches, it is often difficult to get the students to let go and perform. I used this technique with a follow-up at the end of the semester with my performance classes. The music they created was great as they were able to let go of pressure. When they did their end of the semester letter to me, they were able to communicate how they met certain benchmarks in the class as well as evaluate their own growth and shortcomings honestly. This is when the letter or number disappears and true learning takes place. Now, if we can only convince Departments of Ed that this is the way to go, maybe they can let go of the invention of grades and teachers can begin to teach again.


Original Post from Jorge Rodriguez:
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2010
From the Art of Possibility - I like this artist!


What a few positive words can accomplish in another person's life!

As I was reading the Art of Possibility, I came across an interesting section about an experiment using labels to classify character or personality. Benjamin Zanders contends that labeling and grading with anything less than an "A" may really serve to destroy or inhibit self growth and worth. One such story was about an Asian student who was raised in a culture never to question authority, (teachers, and so on). This student was given an "A" even before taking test or course and then was asked to write a letter dated sometime in the future. But to write it as though the subject matter was in the past. This student was to write about "Why he deserved an "A" in this course?"


I found it intriguing that one can influence how others respond to their environment through simple positive gestures. Since I am interested in testing for systems that would help Autistic children break into social environments, this would be an ideal concept to apply.

Sources:
Zander, B., & Zander, R. S. (2002). The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life. Boston: Penguin (Non-Classics). (Original work published 1942)

Week 1 Reading It's All Invented

        I had the privilege of seeing Ben Zander conduct in Boston, as well as attend a corporate event where he was the key speaker. The stories told in the video we watched in FSO as well as the opening story of the book with the girl in England who is going to have a perfect day. 

It is interesting to think of how the other side thinks, or even view life through the eyes of others. I think artists of all medium have a distinct advantage in this area. Artists are continually thinking outside of the box in order to create. We like to observe things around us and interpret them through our chosen art. We even have the ability to see things as they appear at time to state the obvious. An example of this is the story Zander tells of Picasso’s interpretation of a photograph. In every day life we sometimes take for granted what we see every day and how it should be perceived. In my own day to day life, I often think about how technology as helped me, but very rarely think about how someone would interpret this technology if they never experienced it. These experiences and interpretations are just a part of the re-invention process Zander discusses. The podcast attached includes two personal stories of how and where I have experienced these ideas.

References:
Zander, B., & Zander, R. S. (2002). The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life. Boston: Penguin (Non-Classics).


Music: Insomnia ©2006 Bob Walker, Jr Recorded by: Bob Jr & the Martini Gardeners

Week 1 Blog 1 - It Takes a Group to Earn a Degree

After a long day of work on a Wednesday evening (or maybe a Tuesday, Thursday, or all three), I sit at my desk, turn on my computer and log in to go to class where I join up to forty others with the same goal. The goal of earning a Master’s Degree is what bonds all of these people together, tied by the thread of the internet. Working alone late at night reading, and writing papers for the next twelve months is a long, hard, and lonely road to travel, yet an expected scenario when entering online learning. 

Time to look at what really happens. No one will be up late alone working on papers. Everyone will be in a group working together on creating projects in a variety of mediums. When a group project is not an official assignment, classmates and instructors are at my desk ready and willing to lend a hand when asked. Time is not a factor, the problems are not a factor, someone within this class of forty has an idea to make difficult tasks easier. These ideas are not held in secret, they are shouted from the top of the internet. Posted in social network sites, uploaded as tutorial videos, and emailed directly. If I get really lost one of these friends will put their screen on mine in order to help solve a problem. 

I did not know what to expect when entering the task of earning a degree. I did not expect to make bonds and friendships with people from throughout the world. I did not expect to be able to work together, struggle together, celebrate together, and play together for twelve months. 

The success I have experienced in this program can all be attributed the group I am on this journey with. The open sharing of talents and ideas is where the learning takes place. I did not earn this degree on my own, we all earned it collectively. Without the group, a video like the one posted here would never exist. This is not the work of one, but a creation of many. 

EDM613 Week 1 Discussion Topic #2 Tech In My Current Workplace

My current workplace is just now catching up with technology. Most students bring in their own laptops but there are a variety of operating systems, age and software packages. There currently is no standard which makes assigning various projects difficult at times.  A strategy to change this has been the implementation of a Mac Store for the school as a slow changeover is taking place. The other major flaw at my school is the network system. We are a small school and the system was initially set up with home networking equipment. Now that the numbers have increased the system runs slow or not at all at times (usually when teachers need to get online for presentations).  On a simpler note, my room does not even have a whiteboard or chalkboard, so most of my work is done on my computer hooked up to a projector (there are 2 in the school for all to use). 

Personally I have purchased a number of adaptors in order to use my computer with various available hardware. I have also made a number of software purchases in order to teach my subject area. I also bring in a lot of my own music tech equipment such as microphones and interfaces to teach recording and/or record performances. 

EDM613 Week 1 Discussion Topic #1 Tech Gone Wrong In the Classroom

There have been many times where I have worked with technology and things just did not work out the way I thought they would. Everything from a television not finding a vcr or dvd to a projector burning up during a slide presentation. One of my most memorable was working with a ProTools system while teaching a Recording Techniques class. 

I was consulted when the system was purchased but the tech person at the time found a “great deal” on a custom PC that was supposed to be better. Before each class I would set up the session for the class so our time could be used hands on rather than talk about what can be done. Most times the system would start up, but usually it took two or three re-boots to get it going and for the PC to read all of the interfaces. Once the class got started and students started getting a few tracks down, the secondary hard drive that held the sessions would disappear and this caused a crash for the entire system. This led to more trouble shooting to get everything back up and running just in time for class to end. 

Ultimately the class became a troubleshooting class instead of a techniques class as intended. The usual solution to the problem was to hook up the hardware to my Mac laptop that had my version of ProTools to run class and shift the student sessions onto an external drive. This slowed things up but at least we were able to do more than troubleshoot a system. 

This story has a happy ending. One of my past students is now earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Recording Engineering. He has emailed me a number of times to tell me how he was able to get a ProTools system up and running, even before his professor could solve the problem. The computer, after many returns, has been replaced by a Mac and the trouble shooting course has not been taught since. 

Starting the day with NPR

Keeping with the topic of waking up, I have been thinking about how to get going in the morning when I am not a morning person. (see previous post) So below are some ways I have tried to get going in the morning.

Waking Up to Music
This seems like a soothing idea, especially for a musician. Actually, it doesn't quite work for me. The music can go ignored for quite some time as I may be playing music in my dreams or there is a song in my head already and my brain is trying to process what it hears against what is in the background. I tried this method before and found myself to be extremely late for morning appointments as I slept through a few songs on the radio before realizing I had to wake up. Even turning up the volume just annoyed fellow roomates or housemates.

The Buzzing Alarm
Imagine being fast asleep at 6am dreaming about whatever you may be dreaming about. All cozy and warm in your blankets. THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN A LOUD BUZZER GOES OFF!
This really gets the adrenaline going in the morning. I hit the snooze button once and repeat the above process 7 minutes later. This buzzer forces me out of bed and I begin my morning routine.
Although effective, it is sort of a rough way to start the day. I thought maybe it was the toughest until recently.

Waking to NPR
The buzzer is to jarring, the music doesn't work at all, how about voices? My current partner listens to NPR regularly and the alarm is set at this station. Ok, I figure the voices may work well. There have been a few issues with this method that make the jarring buzzer a little more soothing. The first issue is the same as music. I sometimes just don't hear it if there is any type of music involved in the programming. The more disturbing issue is that I find myself starting my day on a bad note. Just the other day I woke up to the news that it was going to be a cloudy, cold day and there is a war going on with nuclear bombs being tested. This really isn't a world I want to face at 6am. The next morning I hear about the same type of weather and the fact that the economy is in the tank and more people are losing their jobs. The interviews of people living in war torn communities with limited food, shelter and other basic needs just isn't motivation for me to get going. I then must carry the weight of all of this news with me throughout the day.
This isn't a post against NPR, I am just suggesting a more positive approach to programming for the morning as people are getting out of bed. In the meantime, I need to have a serious discussion with my partner about how to wake up in the morning so I can try to be on time for work.