Dr. Floyd Richmond, Professor of Music at Valley Forge Christian College in Phoenixville, PA, is a specialist on the use of technology in the music classroom.

Since the beginning of modern digital instrumentation and music technology, he has been at the forefront of its usage in the realm of education. Over the years, Dr. Richmond has held positions as a college professor, music teacher, worship leader, church orchestra director and choir director, using his technological expertise in each of these fields.

As a tech savvy music teacher, he knows exactly what works, and MusicFirst has become essential to his classroom.

“They love it!,” said Dr. Richmond. “One teacher I showed Soundation placed his entire recorder curriculum in the program.” Soundation is MusicFirst’s revolutionary sequencer and audio recording program that lives entirely online.

“I often use Soundation with students to teach basic production and composition,” he said.

“I am thoroughly impressed with the features of this program which will run in a browser.” While Dr. Richmond is keen on Soundation, he appreciates the various tools in the MusicFirst family of products.

“I often use NoteFlight with students to teach basic composition,” he said. “I am amazed at the features in the program, and how well it integrates with other notation programs through MIDI files and XML.”

Dr. Richmond praised the software’s well-designed interface.

“Because NoteFlight has a very well-designed interface, it is more approachable to students than full-blown pro-level software.”

But his appreciation for MusicFirst products doesn’t stop there. “I thoroughly enjoy O-Generator. It divides the measure (or multiple measures) into parts and permits students an non-traditional approach to composing,” said Dr. Richmond. “While no notation is required, it develops a nice understanding of meter. An activity which I often do is to ask students to create a drum pattern for a familiar song which the students can sing or play with the O-Generator accompaniment.”

As far as other products under the MusicFirst umbrella, Dr. Richmond is eager to learn more about the software offerings, and says they have great potential.

“I have not tried PracticeFirst, but look forward to seeing it. Likewise, I look forward to learning more about the other MusicFirst offerings (Music Delta, Singing Classroom, Focus on Sound). I think some of those hold great potential for music appreciation and history courses,” he said.

Learn more about Valley Forge and Dr. Richmond here http://www.valleyforge.edu.