Sibelius Software announces the release of Groovy Music, a series of three exciting software programs for elementary and middle school students.

Fun to use, Groovy Music teaches the basics of sound, rhythm, pitch and composition using captivating graphics and animation - progressing to simple notation as well as major and minor scales. Groovy Music - Shapes, the first program to be released is appropriate for ages 5-7, while Groovy Music - Jungle is for ages 7-9 and Groovy Music - City addresses children aged 9-11.

For music teachers, the program not only serves as a fast and easy springboard to integrate technology into their classrooms, but provides simple assessment and progress management tools as well. Groovy Music is easy to use and allows more time for teacher/student interaction, making class time more efficient. The series is fun and engaging, and allows children to learn at their own pace and level – adhering to the latest standards of teaching methodology and providing vocal instructions to guide children.. The programs are ideal for a single computer, a lab, a networked environment, or an interactive whiteboard.

The graphical elements for Groovy Music are designed to provide a highly engaging experience for students, who access the Explore and Create sections of the program through a cartoon character of their choosing.

In fact, Groovy Music – Shapes is featured in the February 27 issue of Business Week. Check it out online at www.businessweek.com.

In the Explore section, students are guided aurally through a series of progressive musical exercises and games that teach basic concepts such as pitch, tone color, high notes and low notes, etc. The Create section lets students put into practice what they’ve learned by creating their own music through a drag and drop sequencer. Shapes and animals represent elements of music such as rhythm, melody and chords. Students simply drag these onto the screen to build up their creation. They can play back their piece, edit it, or even see the elements displayed as musical notation.

To learn more about Groovy Music and view demo videos click here.

 
TV and Film Composer Shawn Patterson Sees the Big Picture with Sibelius 4

Years ago, bringing a project such as Nickelodeon’s series The X’s (www.nick.com/x) to life would require months of work, reams of score paper, the help of copyists, a large soundstage with many studio musicians—and even more time for revisions.

Times have changed.

Composer Shawn Patterson works alone in a small studio one hour north of Burbank, California, in the beautiful mountains of Los Padres National Forest, surrounded by computer-based music production programs, sample libraries, and his notation tool of choice, Sibelius 4.

“I’ve been writing for film and television since 1991, and used to write pretty much everything by hand,” he explains. “Although I still do that from time to time, when it comes to mass copying or just getting some ideas generated, I tell everyone that Sibelius smokes all the other programs.”

To read the entire article, please click here.