#musictechnology

Short sample excerpt of using tech with traditional instrument. Performance of Piano Accordion “Blue and White” by J Kuoppamaki with accompaniment created on Roli ‘Noise’ app for iPhone

Hasn’t technology always been a part of what music is about? The development of western classical music has largely been due to advances in technology, whether this is through the creation of new instruments, like the clarinet in the 1700’s or as a result of the Industrial Revolution during the Romantic era bringing new technologies to improve musical instruments as well as advances in printing technology changing the way composers published and printed their music. Through studying western classical music, we are in some ways, looking at the way technology has impacted on the development of composition from Renaissance through to Modern times anyway. Perhaps then we really should be embracing new technology, as we encourage our performers and composers of the future.

As a church organist I’ve had to continually adapt to the instruments that I have played. Sometimes, the consoles (and pipes) can be hundreds of years old with no playing aids to assist with registration changes or controlled crescendi using a swell box, or even mechanisms to lighten a heavy key action. Newer instruments can be completely digital (using sampled technology) and have programmable pistons to change the user settings. The organ in Notre-Dame cathedral, Paris, for example, is still the original instrument from 1730, using much original pipe work, but has also gained MIDI technology to help the player playback his own recordings and check registrations. In these cases, it seems that technology is here to help, so should we really be that worried about using it in the classroom?

*Traditional Mechanical Action Pipe Organ*

Brown (2014) states, that there is no reason why a musician cannot express themselves using digital technology. Digital instruments have been around for a long time now and are very well developed. Many people may learn on a Clavinova, or similar digital instrument at home. Naturally, they feel different to their acoustic counterparts, but convenience of size and the ability to plug in headphones, as well as price difference, is often very appealing. These types of instruments are not meant to replace traditional instruments; they serve a valuable function to aid learning music in the 21^st century, through convenience of practice and perhaps exposing the learner to new sounds that they may not have experienced before.

*Yamaha Clavinova, Digital Piano, also features other instrumental sound. The player can orchestrate and record their performances as though part of a band*

If minds are transformed by changing technologies (Brown 2014), then we need to investigate these new sounds and technologies with an open mind. As part of a teacher’s planning and preparation, we must explore how we can link older and newer technologies by getting to know them well, and create a positive relationship with them. The use of smartphones for example, may be one of the technologies of the 21^st century that can be used successfully in the classroom. It does, however, need to be managed, in the same way that a teacher would manage the student’s use of other equipment (like laptops, calculators, pens and pencils etc), in order to be useful, rather than a distraction.

The smartphone today, arguably, is the technological device at the centre of attention for 21^st century living. The 2014 report from the Education Technology Action Group in the UK (ETAG) also promotes the fact that digital technology might empower teachers and learners. Prof. Stephen Heppell (2014), who leads this group suggests that it is “an essential contemporary skill set” that “offer[s] so much: data capture – children measuring light or sound levels to improve classrooms; [and] communications [with] slow-mo video for sports training [and] walking geometric shapes on to a playing field.” (Jeffreys 2015). It can be equally useful for music education too. With so many music apps available for smartphones, especially as many being free, it seems prudent to make use of these resources. This also follows the advice from David Price (2014), where technology is not only proving itself to be effective, “it is also bringing teachers and kids to the same level” and this therefore promotes good learning.

Digital Audio Workstations (DAW), for example, have been a software technology at the centre of music production for a number of years. Some companies have now released DAW apps for smartphones and tablets; again, many are free and thus easily available to today’s youth. It may also be seen as a relevant way to create music to our students today as this is exactly how a lot of the music that they listen to is also created and as Lucy Green (2002) has already commented; ‘teachers can learn a lot from the way popular musicians work’.

*Korg Nano Key Studio, with iphone and Korg Gadge app. Possible typical equipment for the bedroom music producer*

Performing and creating the music that students are familiar with, using technologies that are already part of the armoury of today’s digital natives seems like a good way forward for music teaching in the 21^st century. From here, links still need to be made with music theory and aural training, as well as technologies from previous ages. Teachers and students need to evaluate which technologies and which traditions are appropriate for the tasks they are engaged with; they need to relate to real life experiences and be prepared to be open-minded. Tradition and technology need to exist and complement each other so that the skills acquired today can better prepare students for tomorrow’s needs whilst still preserving tried and tested techniques from previous generations.

References

Brown, A. (2015). Music Technology and Education: Amplifying Musicality. New York: Routledge. Sample chapter available from http://amzn.to/22RgYDM retrieved 30th December 2016

Green, L. (2002). How popular musicians learn: A way ahead for music education. Aldershot, England: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.

Heppell S (2014) Education Technology Action Group: our reflections [Website] http://etag.report/foreword/ retrieved 30^th December 2014

Jeffreys B. (2015) Can a smartphone be a tool for learning?[Website] <http://www.bbc.com/news/education-34389063 retrieved 30th December 2014

Price, D. (2014). David Price on The Open Learning Revolution | Amplify 2013. [Website.] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fGv3_kaGa8 24th Jan, 2016.

The majority of children that are learning in our classrooms today have been born into a world where using a smartphone, tablet, computer or other digital device is normal. They are learning to use these devices pretty much from the moment they are born and see them as part and parcel of the world that we live in. Rapidly, because of early interactions with this kind of technology, they become proficient in using these tools as naturally as they begin to speak their mother tongue. Using some kind of ‘smart’ device becomes as much part of everyday life to these ‘digital natives‘ as driving a car to work or even just simply pressing a switch to create artificial light may have been for their parents. Bauer (2014) explains that technology, especially referring to devices like smartphones, and ubiquitous access to the Internet ‘have been interwoven into the fabric of our lives (p4)’ . The incorporation of this sort of technology into everyday living can seem like a sort of magic to those who were not born into this digital age, and yet it is that generation that will mostly be the classroom teachers and leaders today. Is it possible then for these ‘digital immigrants’ to successfully integrate the use of technology in their teaching and provide quality learning experiences that are still relevant and useful to digital natives? How much can digital natives learn from digital immigrants?

Thomas Friedman (2006) talks about technology flattening the world and this ‘flattening’ process started with the greater ease of travel, particularly motor vehicles and airplanes, in the early part of the twentieth century. Not only have people been able to see more of the world, in many cases, and perhaps increasingly, we are seeing a rise of immigrants to different parts of the world. In order to properly live in a new country and fit in, these immigrants need to adapt to new cultures, traditions and languages. They may have to adjust to new tastes and relate to different understandings of the world possibly by learning new languages and ways of doing things. The advice for expats from ‘Internations ‘in order to get the most of overseas living is to ‘immerse yourself in the new culture’ and ‘break out of your comfortable cocoon’. The same might be applied in relation to technology for digital immigrants too.

In the case of music education, it is vital to consider how technology can be incorporated into classroom learning effectively. The history of music education has been littered with changing technologies, and due to the creative and changing nature of the subject, this is likely to continue forever. We perhaps need to redefine what we consider to be called music and what constitutes a musical activity that effectively takes this changing nature into consideration (Brown 2015). It’s easy perhaps to see technology as a replacement for something else, and we really have to reconsider how a new piece of technology will be used. Is Sibelius notation software just a replacement for manuscript paper and pencil for example? A digital native will often see alternative uses for technology that a digital immigrant hasn’t considered. It is perhaps here that we should trust today’s children and give them ownership of the learning space (Heppell 2014). At the same time we need to think about the link between old and new technologies (Brown 2015). Using a pencil to compose at the piano, alongside aural training, is still an important factor of music learning. Over reliance on using Sibelius, for example, does not create better compositions on its own. However, an understanding of what Sibelius does, and how it may assist the learning process, as well as trusting a digital native to be creative with the technology that they understand may help to develop skills.

Digital immigrants are forced to learn new technologies in order to be effective practitioners and we must make the most of these opportunities. Digital natives need to be trusted to create their own learning environments with technology and they need to see the relevance of what they learn being brought into the real world. Technology has given us real world experiences through connectivity, like never before and this needs to be embraced. Blogging and You Tubing, for example, can be very much part of the classroom experience. Being a digital immigrant means, needing to adapt and embrace the culture whilst also bringing our prior knowledge and experiences to the learning table.

Bauer, W. I. (2014). Music Learning Today: Digital Pedagogy for Creating, Performing, and Responding to Music.New York: Oxford University Press, USA

Brown, A. (2015). Music Technology and Education: Amplifying Musicality. New York: Routledge.

Friedman, T.L. (2006). The world is flat. A brief history of the twenty-first century (Updated and expanded edition). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Heppell, S. (2014). EduTECH talk by Stephen Heppell on teaching technologies on the cusp. [Website.] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teWsnG5G0fA accessed 16th Dec 2016

Internations (n.a). https://www.internations.org/magazine/living-in-a-foreign-country-how-to-adapt-15281 accessed 17th December 2017

Price, D. (2014). David Price on The Open Learning Revolution | Amplify 2013. [Website.] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fGv3_kaGa8 24th Jan, 2016.

Staples Music

New thinking in Music Education

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Can technology and tradition be juxtaposed for teaching music successfully?

How much can digital natives learn from digital immigrants?