Music and Technology

Students and teachers alike tend to get enamored with the latest and greatest gadgets in music. So often, we adopt new technologies before considering their long-term impact. I was an undergraduate student when music education technology really started to become a reality in schools, and I was assigned to teach the same classes I took as an undergraduate in my graduate study. Music ed. technology has played a huge role in my academic and professional worlds. My critique is based on my own experience and research, though, so your contributions are more than welcomed.

I think it goes without saying that the majority of teachers are intimidated by music education technology. Veteran teachers have the desire to learn certain software, but often do not see the value in the less structured, individual learning that technology can afford. Many of us, veteran and novice, shrink a bit when there isn’t a certain level of structure in a class. I believe a majority of this trepidation is related to the lack of familiarity with the software. Obviously, if you are unsure of what a program can do, you are much less likely to allow for creative experiences with it. Perhaps you need to hear that one idea that you either borrow, or transform for your teaching situation. I have found that a lot of ideas and presentations (at state conventions for example) are one or two details away from being really good and creative lessons in music. I am interested to hear any ideas that you have experience with. I, of course will give you some of my own to rip apart and form into your own concoctions.

I’m of the opinion that too many people reserve music technology for music theory and general music classes. Very few consider how they might put technology in the hands of student ensembles. I have creative projects as a part of my ensemble curriculum. These projects are completely open to what the student wants to do, though I do give a few suggestions to get them thinking creatively. I try to keep technology as an integral part of these projects, and to allow any of my suggestions be accomplished with freely available software. If a student requires specific software, I will make accommodations for the student to use it on a school computer. As always with an assignment like this, I am not as concerned with the product as I am the process of what the student did and learned to arrive at the finished product.

I think by incorporating music technology into a creative part of the ensemble curriculum, we expand the re-creative nature of ensembles and begin to reach our goal of using technology in a transformative way.

The Future of What We Do

It seems to me that music education, like everything else, is an evolving entity. We might be a bit slower in our evolution, but there is no doubt that we have and are changing. In this country, our emphasis has gone from rote learning and song books to the incorporation of Orff/Kodaly/Dalcroze methods, to the advent of instrumental music in the schools. As I and many others have asked, “Is this the end of the line?” In other words, do we want to continue to perpetuate the same type of education in music that has been going on for the past 50 years? Obviously we cannot. Yet new and veteran teachers alike seem to be more interested in keeping up the vocational-type education that is prevalent in most every school that I am familiar with.

Is this the best way for us to grow our discipline while trying to find and solidify its place in the school curriculum? As several people on this blog have discussed, many people (and I might say most) go into music education for the wrong reasons. Perhaps herein lies the problem. Shouldn’t music teachers be more interested in effectively reaching their students than the mode in which they are reached? Maybe instrumental ensembles are becoming obsolete in schools. I don’t think they are, but even of they were, we would still be ill-equipped to continue music education as a discipline.

As always, I do not have a definitive solution. However, music is music and I believe we as teachers need to not place value judgments on what that means. Our students come to us as blank slates and we should be filling those slates with valuable information, yes, but always allowing that blank slate to find its place in the vast chalkboard of music.

A Hint of Optimism

I know. From my writing so far it may seem rare to look at the bright side of things. This is actually not the case at all. I wouldn’t be working as hard as I do if I didn’t think that we music educators were making a difference. So, I thought I would take a break from the professional critiques to highlight a few things that I observe which are positives in music education.

New teachers are becoming independent thinkers. This seems to be much more prevalent in today’s music education student than it was just twelve short years ago when I began my undergraduate career. Back then it seemed that everyone wanted to be the best conductor of the best ensemble that ever existed in a school. We idolized those who attained these goals, and shunned the teachers who seemed to try and break this mold. The more I work with young teachers, the more I believe that they are sincere in goals for music education – not just for producing students who play really well, etc. We should never lose sight of the successes that we all have. In tumultuous economic times, everyone suffers…music programs especially. But it is good to know that there are those out there who will continue to demonstrate the vitality and urgency of keeping music in the education system.