Soundtrap is a fantastic tool for creating music. I tested it out last winter and used during a couple of my workshops this past summer and fall. The really cool thing about Soundtrap is that students can use virtual instruments to create music or they can record themselves playing music on an instrument and then use that recording in conjunction with the virtual instruments in the Soundtrap environment.
What makes Soundtrap stand-out from the crowd is its collaboration options. Click the “collaborate” tab in the Soundtrap editor to invite others to create music with you. Soundtrap will work in the Chrome web browser on a laptop, iPad, Chromebook, and Android tablet. In my workshops I often describe Soundtrap as Google Docs for music.
When I started using Soundtrap last year it was only available as a consumer/ free platform. That version was fine if your students were over the age of 13 and you didn’t have concerns about them sharing with people outside of your district. This month Soundtrap introduced a classroom edition. The classroom edition of Soundtrap allows you to create a walled garden in which your students can only work with people in your district domain. Soundtap also now has a Google Classroom integration available.
Take a look at the videos below to see how Soundtrap could work in your classroom.
Applications for Education
The best way for students to avoid any worries about copyright infringement when creating a multimedia project is to use audio tracks that they’ve created. Soundtrap could be a great tool for that purpose. Soundtrap’s collaboration option could be a great solution when students working on a group project need to develop spoken tracks.
Soundtrap could also be a good tool for students in a music class to experiment with sounds and rhythms to hear how they combine to create music.
One of the things that Soundtrap’s founders are sharing during the BETT Show this week is the idea of using Soundtrap’s audio recording as an aid in world languages courses. Students can record dialogues and then teachers can give them feedback. Or the teacher can record a passage for students to listen to.
Disclosure: Soundtrap is a client of MindRocket Media Group. I am a partner in MRMG.
