I'm "Happy" with Tuniversity

On a quiet night is there anything better than curling up with a great book? However, when that book is an iBook titled "Happy" by Tuniversity which allows the reader / participant to learn from Pharrell Williams and dissect and remix his massive hit song, the night doesn't stay quiet for long!

When tasked with creating a song for the movie Despicable Me 2 Pharrell did not disappoint. In a new iBook experience by Tuniversity called "Happy" we are all treated to not only Pharrell's personal process, but also detailed examples of how every musical aspect of the song was created by the hit artist. Aspiring artists and seasoned professionals can all learn something from this very interactive book and so can our students in K-12 classrooms! Students will read about developing the parts of a song and even try their hand with arranging and producing a hit song on their favourite iOS device.

STEMs Education
No, not that S.T.E.M. education. One of the rarest resources in the world after four-leaf clovers has got to be a musical artist's audio stems. These elusive unicorns of music education encompass all of the polished tracks that make up a complete song, isolated for our remixing pleasure. Horns, vocals, drums, strings and even hand claps among other stems are the soul of a song and rarely provided for free. Tuniversity allows users access to these audio stem files for educational purpose giving complete production access and artist freedom to invent their own "Happy."

Beyond Happy
Once your students have created their "Happy" and you've clapped along (If that's what you wanted to do), you may be left temporarily searching for enrichment or similar experiences. Tuniversity has suggested this is not a one-off iBook and that more experiences are coming but in the meantime I strongly suggest you explore Indaba Music. They've been around forever and I remember fondly remixing my favourite band Weezer as well as Bran Van 3000, Marcy Playground and numerous rap artists' songs. Competition is the name of their game as artists provide audio stems and select winners with the best remix for swag and cash. Any student showing remote interest in Tuniversity would appreciate the personalized learning opportunity given by you through an Indaba Music contest suggestion. Soundtrap like GarageBand is a huge player in the educational audio production space so if you don't have an Apple device explore their device-agnostic solution.

​Audio production and remixing is a personal passion of mine which when incorporated into my job represents my "Happy." You see students every day who share this passion and if you intend on sparking their educational flame you can't go wrong with Tuniversity, GarageBand or Soundtrap, Indaba Music and Pharrell Williams! I'm Happy!