Music Tech Week 1

In the first week of this class, there were many ways I began to think about technology and its use in music education.  Bauer (2014) broadly explained how technology can be used to supplement and enhance a student’s music education and also help teachers to become more effective when teaching the current generation of students who have grown up with technology as a major part of their entire lives.  We also were able to learn about an app called “Incredibox” which can be accessed at https://www.incredibox.com/.  This was a new app to me and I found it to be very engaging and plan on using this app in upcoming instruction with my students.

In my experience many music teachers who teach in public schools are hesitant to use technology in their classes.  The reasons I have heard run the gamut from students don’t learn “real” music that way to the teacher not wanting to learn something new or teach using something they do not understand.  I have long thought that this is unfortunate.  As I was reading this week’s assignment, I was struck by Bauer’s (2014) description of “adaptive expertise” and its importance in using technology effectively in a music classroom.  When thinking about conversations with music teachers about why they refuse to use technology in their teaching of content, they demonstrate a refusal to adapt their teaching to include technology.  Later in the reading Bauer comments, “music educators must be open to new ideas and ways of doing things while also demonstrating a willingness to invest the time and effort necessary to utilize novel pedagogical and technological approaches if they are to initially develop and continually evolve and refine their TPACK” (Bauer, 2014 p. 17).  I have encountered many music teachers of traditional music classes like concert band, orchestra, and choir that are unwilling to open themselves up to new ideas for teaching because they have been successful in their career by teaching groups that score well at festivals and are impressive at concerts. 

Music teachers who refuse to be open to new teaching techniques or approaches often neglect to provide a quality music education to students who do not participate in performance ensembles.  There are many students who have no interest in playing traditional instruments or playing in traditional music ensembles.  As a teacher of a general music class in a middle school (in addition to teaching traditional ensembles), I recognize how many students would miss out on a music education that was relevant to them if I was not willing to try teaching in different ways from the traditional music pedagogy.  Bauer (2014) mentions the use of music sequencing software to teach students composition.  I find this to be a perfect example of using technology to effectively teach students about a musical concept when they might not have the background knowledge needed to be successful using traditional composition teaching methods.  Traditionally music composition was taught using pencil and paper and playing ideas out on keyboards and then notating them so they could be played either by the composer or other musicians.  Many of my students have no background knowledge in how to read or write music notation and do not have the knowledge of how to use the keyboard to play out ideas they have.  I care much more about students being able to create music that they like while using concepts I have taught in class (texture, form, rhythms, etc.) and care much less about them being able to use traditional notation to create their pieces.

Using technology that allows students to write music and demonstrate their knowledge of the musical concepts I have taught is much more effective than teaching them how notation works, and then how to play the notated piece on the piano.  Also, the likelihood of these students composing using piano, paper, and pencil is much less than it is the students composing using sequencing software or other apps that allow them to compose digitally.  Learning how to compose digitally is more relevant for students who are not in traditional music classes who might never take another music class in school after their general music class.  Having basic knowledge of how to compose using apps or sequencing software can allow them to continue composing on their own without more formal training.

The use of programs like Incredibox is an example of how students who do not have any formal music theory knowledge or knowledge of how to play an instrument can compose music and demonstrate knowledge of concepts taught in class.  The app is very intuitive and students would relate well to the sounds made.  The app allows you to layer different sound loops and create mixes that you can play back, save, or share.  This app could be used to teach many basic compositional techniques and does not require the students to have any previous knowledge of harmony or how to notate rhythms.  Also, the immediate feedback provided using the app allows students to make quick decisions and edits, while composing with paper and pencil requires much more time to hear elements students would want to change, make the change on the paper, replay the new element, and perhaps have to go through the whole process many times before it sounds the way the student intended.  The use of the app allows for students to quickly be able to hear their composition and edit it according to their intended sound.  I enjoyed learning about this app and enjoyed creating music with it and I am sure that I will use it in the future to teach general music students (and possibly performance class students) about basic composition concepts.

Here is a link to a mix I created using Incredibox:

https://www.incredibox.com/mix/5C3418F5C8E06-V4 

I am looking forward to learning more about technology and how to use it to teach music.  I think this class will be very valuable for me in creating a curriculum that is relevant to my students and allow me to improve my music appreciation class to provide a better music education for my general music students especially.

Reference

Bauer, W. I. (2014).  Music learning today: digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.