A resource for music education and music therapy

This product is no longer available from Spectronics.

This CD of background music tracks is great for playing while improvising accompaniments on the Banana Keyboard. Load up a piano, guitar or drums arrangement on your keyboard, launch the Ice Calm CD in your computer, and off your students go – instant musicians!

The Ice Calm CD aims to provide an interactive, compelling way of involving people in music, particularly in the context of music therapy and music education. Live duets are encouraged (teacher/student or therapist/client), with the recording serving as an example.

For music students and teachers, the Ice Calm CD provides a vehicle for both novices and experienced musicians to express themselves through improvisation. At the same time it demonstrates important compositional techniques through historical examples.

By harnessing the power of music, the therapist/teacher can engage with a client/student in a way maybe not possible through other means. The joy of self-expression through musical improvisation leads to increased confidence.

The Ice Calm CD presents seven pieces based on repeated patterns. Four are classical compositions and three are fully realised pieces in other styles containing improvisation, such as the Twelve Bar Blues. For each of these seven pieces there are generally two versions: one where melodies are present (to serve as a model or example), and one where only the background pattern itself is performed (intended as the accompaniment for your own improvisation).

Twelve Bar Blues Musical Notes example: