Podcasting, one of the most exciting innovations in Web technology, has enormous potential to extend learning well beyond the classroom. At its most basic level, a Podcast is a media file with audio or video content that is available by subscription on the Internet. You can find Podcasts on Web sites and through programs such as iTunes. Subscribers can download these files individually or configure their software to download new files automatically when they become available from providers. Once you download a Podcast, you can store it on an iPod or other MP3 player for playback on the go. Thousands of sites have Podcasts, including many produced by music educators. Below are just a few.

FIG. 1: James Frankel’s many Podcasts include his TI:ME presentations and profiles of his students’ work at Franklin Avenue Middle School.

James Frankel is an educator, an author, a clinician, and a consultant in music technology. His Web site includes many lesson plans and resources that demonstrate how technology can be incorporated into teaching various aspects of music. Frankel's Podcasts have presentations from TI:ME (Technology Institute for Music Educators) workshops and courses as well as topics ranging from copyright issues to using audio equipment in the classroom. He also features his students (from Franklin Avenue Middle School in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey) and their experiences researching composers, folk music, blues, and classical music (see Fig. 1).

Jazz Path Music Publishing was founded in 2003 by Brian Kane to create high-quality educational materials for musicians and educators. A professional saxophonist and flautist, Kane has performed with many well-known musicians, taught music in the classroom, and given private lessons. Kane's Podcasts include lessons such as Practicing Location Within Form and Learning the Basic Language of Jazz. To supplement the Podcasts, Jazz Path recently introduced the Play Smart series, which provides free downloads in Adobe PDF format that explore many aspects of musicianship, ranging from technique to improvisation.

V. Keith Mason is the coordinator of music technology at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. His site focuses primarily on using technology as a creative tool for all musicians. Mason has posted numerous Podcasts about music software (including previews of new programs), tools for desktop musicians, MIDI and audio interfaces, interviews with leaders in music-technology education, and reviews of educational Web sites related to music technology.

The NPR directory has about 500 Podcasts, including almost 50 that focus on music. NPR: Jazz Profiles is a new Podcast series featuring profiles of great jazz legends. Each episode in the Jazz Profiles series has music, interviews, and commentaries about artists such as Art Tatum and Ella Fitzgerald. Each Podcast is at least 45 minutes long, and more are added every week.

FIG. 2: Yamaha’s Web site offers many audio and video Podcasts featuring top instrumentalists.

Yamaha's site has Podcasts in audio and video formats with information about instrument families and construction, advice and tips from professional musicians (see Fig. 2), and even 30-minute concert performances by artists such as saxophonist Phil Woods. You and your students will enjoy viewing the detailed factory tour and learning about Yamaha's rigorous process of creating musical instruments.

As always, you can find all of the links that are listed in this article and more at www.stevenestrella.com/mused/websitings.html.

Steven Estrella owns StevenEstrella.com and Shearspire, Inc., creating interactive media for business and education. He served on the music-education faculty at Temple University and is on the National Board of Advisors and the Board of Directors of TI:ME. Write to him at steve@stevenestrella.com.

Karen Garrett teaches band and music technology at Central Park School in Birmingham, Alabama. She uses her site, musictechteacher.com, to provide online music lessons for her students.