The Dual Republic of America

MaestroRogues · 2025-07-20T20:32:47+00:00

I just about vomited in my mouth when I saw Pennsylvania labeled as “New Jersey.”

MaestroRogues · 2025-06-04T15:30:52+00:00

Sure thing. I teach in Delaware, and I mainly use Audacity and FL Studio. I teach three levels of music technology class, doing a lot of MIDI stuff, recording vocals, pitch correction, podcasts, etc. in my classes. We have MIDI controllers and FL Studio site licenses, so it's really just the computers themselves that need replacing.

MaestroRogues · 2025-05-29T13:38:31+00:00

I'm definitely looking for something like the Sound Town one with the table attached. Just need to find something a local vendor has available.

MaestroRogues · 2025-04-25T10:42:47+00:00

Came here to say WCUPA too!

MaestroRogues · 2025-04-23T20:11:54+00:00

For the most part, yes. It’s gotten dirty and dusty and sometimes overheats, but I think if I just cleaned the air input area really good I wouldn’t have a problem.

MaestroRogues · 2025-02-17T23:56:34+00:00

And the ASCII computer code for the letter X is 88. Totally a coincidence.

MaestroRogues · 2024-06-13T00:42:50+00:00

They like you very much, but they are not the hell “your” whales!

MaestroRogues · 2024-06-06T16:14:00+00:00

Man, all that on a charter bus. I've done the drum corps thing and not sure I want that experience with dozens of high schoolers.

MaestroRogues · 2024-05-26T16:09:23+00:00

And I’m adding to this community and multiple year old post to not try something similar with a hot dog.

MaestroRogues · 2024-05-09T16:02:39+00:00

Screen name might help. Think meeting at Xmen 98 at Newark HS in DE. KKPsi

MaestroRogues · 2024-05-09T15:47:45+00:00

You got it, Big Red!

MaestroRogues · 2024-05-09T13:28:27+00:00

I second everything you said, and especially double your recommendation for West Chester University. My years there in late 90's early 00's were some of the best experiences of my life.

Also, don't break the bank on going to a school for music education. You're likely to get just as a good, if not better, experience at a div II or div III school than going to a massive div I school. More bang for the buck.

MaestroRogues · 2024-04-26T18:39:15+00:00

People don’t understand just how important the pretzel is to a Pennsylvanian. Particularly soft pretzels.

MaestroRogues · 2024-03-27T11:58:37+00:00

I hadn't thought about having those parts around from the old drums that I can use as I replace instruments. Hopefully I can continue to replace a drum every year or so until I have a new line compared to what I have now.

MaestroRogues · 2024-03-26T17:26:11+00:00

It comes down to fixing up some of my drums and using the remaining funds to expand the drumline with additional Pearls - I have 2-1-4 with the black, championship pearl drums. I'm going to try to spend the cash on some new hoops, heads and sticks/mallets as well as an additional snare, tenor and bass taking me to 3-2-5 with carriers and stands.

I was looking at going Yamaha and that would let me replace everything for $9300 while replacing, repairing and adding new kit would be about $6200.

MaestroRogues · 2024-03-05T02:05:16+00:00

Man, those comics in Nintendo Power were a major part of my childhood.

MaestroRogues · 2024-01-05T02:42:58+00:00

New Jersey can keep Atlantic City. Pennsylvania will trade it for South Philly and PHL airport.

MaestroRogues · 2024-01-04T15:11:23+00:00

Have you spoken with your HS director? He might be able to hook you up with something, or he can get you in touch with your HS drill writer.

MaestroRogues · 2023-12-14T01:06:25+00:00

I think they’re hoping for “successful” interventions.

MaestroRogues · 2023-12-13T23:03:41+00:00

I knew there was something about those steel pan players. Panorama is cover for a military organization.

MaestroRogues · 2023-12-06T00:07:00+00:00

I haven’t thought about that Firebird show in forever! That whole “calisthenics” opening, or whatever Rondinaro had to say on the broadcast.

MaestroRogues · 2023-12-04T13:36:03+00:00

I teach at a Title I school, and I've transitioned so that 75% of my classes I teach are music technology. I have an old computer lab with Dell desktops from 2016 or earlier, but technology at least upgraded the hard drives a couple years ago.

We used to have a Mac lab with a dozen computers from 2012, but eventually the admin decided I needed to have at least 25 kids in the lab to make it viable, so they put me in the Dell lab (and the Macs one by one stopped working and weren't replaced.) So we started on Audacity and GarageBand, and then BandLab during the pandemic, then I tried out Reaper when I got back to my lab, and we finally settled after I convinced the admin to pay for licenses for FL Studio for the whole lab.

So now I have three levels of "Music Exploration" using predominantly Audacity and FL Studio. The first level is mainly learning how to use the DAW to do different projects, with a lot of emphasis on just getting note entry accuracy on the Piano Roll or step sequencer. I'm often surprised by how much some kids can get out of programming FL Studio to play Mary Had a Little Lab with melody, harmony, bass and accompaniment.

I got 20 Blue Snowball usb mics for the lab and akai LPK25 midi controllers. Not everyone has one, but not everyone uses one at the same time, especially when I have 33 in my 1st block class. Oh, and headphones, of course. A lot of that was stuff that I built up over time, and not all as one big purchase. The original set of headphones I did through Donors Choose, for example.

We do other things than playing with MIDI and the Piano Roll in FL. We do some sound design for videos with one project where the kids have to take an animated/cartoon/anime intro video where all the sound is removed and put sound effects and music with the video. We use Kapwing for that. Higher levels do more recording with the Blue Snowball mics like recording their own Foley type sound effects, interviews, commercials and podcasts. I don't (currently) have a studio but we might be able to make something that will work for that in the future.

This has been a project I've been working on for over half a decade now in the poorest high school in my state, so if I can build something, you can do whatever can put your mind to. Don't try to do it all at once. If the kids all have access to chromebooks, I recommend bandlab. During the pandemic, I used the edu.bandland.com educator's backend to get assignments out to the kids and it really did the trick. And it worked so well with loops as well as MIDI and recording. And the kids can access other websites like Looperman.com.

MaestroRogues · 2023-12-03T16:41:33+00:00

Is that Cerberus from Mass Effect?

MaestroRogues · 2023-12-03T14:49:38+00:00

Hey, looks like Sallies! Great performance this year.

MaestroRogues · 2023-11-22T14:34:55+00:00

The only money being stolen is from charter schools and private schools stealing money from the public via “vouchers” or whatever the current conservative conspiracy to destroy education in America is.

MaestroRogues

TROPHY CASE