Soho Audio Link Education Headphones
The Soho Sound Company has come up with a great design for a pair of headphones specifically manufactured for the classroom setting. Are you tired of your headphone adaptors and splitters always mysteriously going missing? Need a pair of headphones that even the most enthusiastic student can't break? Their Audio Link Education Headphones are definitely worth considering.
Each pair has a dual cable system built in with both a 6.3mm large jack, perfect for keyboards, amplifiers etc., and the standard 3.5mm jack for connecting to laptops, recording devices and more. Also hardwired into every pair is a ‘link unit’ with a 3.5mm socket acting as an integrated splitter, providing you with the option to connect two or more headphones to one output source. This would allow students to work together in pairs or would give you, as the teacher, an easy way to monitor your students' work without them having to remove their headphones. Each pair is made from a fully adjustable, virtually unbreakable polypropylene housing in smart black. We think that they will last well in educational settings.
RRP: £15.50
Roland JUNO-D synths
The new Roland JUNO-D range of synthesizers features three models that grow (both physically and in terms of functionality) from the compact JUNO-D6 through to the 88-key JUNO-D8. Each model is portable, easy to use, and a joy to play. They all include a massive sound library, an eight-track sequencer, and versatile connections for you to integrate with other equipment if required. You can choose from the 61-note D6 or 76-note D7 models with synth action; if needed, a piano-style experience can be had with the 88-note Juno-D8 model and its weighted hammer-action keyboard. This ‘workstation’ type synthesizer covers so many potential uses within a busy music department.
Price: start from £819
Google MusicFX DJ
MusicFX DJ is an extension of Google MusicFX, a generative AI tool. In DJ Mode, you can create constantly evolving and generative soundscapes by entering prompts such as ‘gamelan’ and ‘harpsichord arpeggio’. Each layer can be adjusted by way of volume, EQ, density and a whole host of other features. You can even control the amount of ‘chaos’ that is applied to the generative sounds.
Fans of Jacob Collier will know that his talk-throughs of Apple Logic compositions attract a huge, worldwide audience on YouTube. His exploration of MusicFX DJ is definitely worth a watch (even if you don't have time for the near two-hour live stream!). Watching how a tool such as this can be used by a master musician, improviser and composer is a wonderfully empowering education experience for us all. I would strongly recommend this for yourself and your students too.
Price: Free
Immersive Audio Expert Guide
For students studying Music or Music Technology at BTEC or A Level, the Focusrite Group's new guide to immersive audio is well worth a read. Once the sign-up process is completed, you'll get a 16-page PDF full of interesting information about immersive audio. Written by Joseph Chudyk and Dave Rieley, the guide includes explanations about Sony 306, Dolby Atmos, mixing and mastering processes within these environments, a feature on room design and also careers in immersive audio. It will help inform your teaching of these new areas of the music technology curriculum.
Price: Free
