Band+In+A+Box

**General Information**

 * Title: [|Band In A Box]
 * Publisher: [|PG Music Inc.]
 * Copyright 1989-2009
 * Platform: Mac OsX & Windows 98, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
 * Grade/Age: Middle School through High School
 * Class: General music, ensembles, studio
 * (Optional) Peripheral Equipment: MIDI Keyboard & microphone, MIDI Adapter, Cable

**Teacher Support**
PG Music's website includes over 240 minutes of [|Band In a Box tutorial videos] that are available for streaming and download. At http://aitt.acadiau.ca/tutorials/Music/bandinbox, there is a table of contents filled with written tutorials and sample screen shots. The user guide contains several sample screen shots giving the teacher an opportunity to copy pages for students, if necessary. There is also a Help Menu to assist the teacher and student alike..

As for lesson plans, there are no specific lesson plans or suggested activities offered. However, the software certainly lends itself to educational activities that are only limited by the creativity of the teacher and students.

**Instructional Content**
MENC National Standards addressed:
 * **__Standards 1 & 2: Singing and playing instruments alone and with others__.** By using MIDI inputs, students will gain experience by digitally recording through keyboards, microphones, and more. They can still play instruments while working on a digital composition.
 * **__Standards 3 & 4: Improvising melodies, composing music.__** This program gives students practice with improvisation and composition, based on guidelines the teacher provides. For example, students can improvise melodies over the chords they choose in the accompaniment combination they create.
 * **__Standard 5: Reading and notating music.__** By creating their own music, students are able to practice their music notation and reading skills.
 * **__Standards 6 & 7: Analyzing and evaluating music.__** In choosing instrumentation, chords, and having the opportunity to listen to playback, students gain experience in analyzing and evaluating their own musical choices. If the teacher so desires, group work can also be used to give students experiences with musical analysis and evaluating the music of their peers.

**Instructional Design and Pedagogical Soundness**
The teaching strategy used in this software can really cater to the students, the instructor, and the classroom setting. The program focuses on users exploring different features on their own. It is a discovery program. However, it also includes some drill/practice and ear training elements, where students have to identify names and extensions of chords and intervals. There is a wide range of difficulty levels in these exercises, as well as a feature that plays an incorrect answer and then plays the [correct] example so the students can improve their skills. Although it is somewhat confusing to get a new file started; the user guide is thorough and the publisher provides useful online tutorial material to help new users through the initial stages of learning this program.

Even before students know how to create new files and edit chords, by pressing the play button, the program will generate a simple accompaniment. Though the chords do not change, students are able to play with the MIDI keyboard or click the keys on the keyboard near the toolbar and play a melody along with the accompaniment. This is a fun exploration activity.

**Record Keeping**
The drills feature a temporary assessment, but there are no other permanent records kept, other than saving the compositions. Each composition created can be saved on the hard drive for future use.

**Overall Evaluation**
This program is useful and fun for simple sequencer functions. Students can practice improvisation by listening to the chord progressions that Band In A Box provides, and play along to explore what sounds are pleasing to their ears. The program can also be used by instructors to record accompaniments for soloists and ensembles alike. Additionally, It provides an ear-training section which will help students of all levels in pitch-cognition development. Despite the fact that it is not the most powerful sequencer and has limited capabilities, the program serves its purpose quite well. The menus, though well designed and aesthetically pleasing, can get cluttered with the on-screen keyboard. Despite this, the program is solid and student-friendly.

Overall: * * * out of * * * *

Created by Jeremy Gorin 4-9-06 Updated by Abigail McGreehan 10/27/08 Updated by Richard Nobbe 11/13/09