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- Volume 9, Issue 3, 2016
Journal of Music, Technology & Education - Volume 9, Issue 3, 2016
Volume 9, Issue 3, 2016
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Music technology, composition teaching and employability skills
More LessAbstractThis article explores the relationship between the creative skills taught as part of the music technology BA course at Lancaster University and the skills valued by graduates and employers in the creative industries. The study investigated ways of enhancing specific and generic employability skills intrinsic to music technology teaching while working in close collaboration with industry partners and Lancaster University graduates. A survey of students, graduates and industry experts showed that generic and discipline-based skills linked to music technology composition teaching, such as communication, planning and organizing and critical listening, are highly valued by both recruiting professionals and students. These results are in line with findings from an earlier project that showed the importance of non-disciplinary knowledge shared among students from different backgrounds for the design and implementation of successful interdisciplinary collaborations. Future developments of the project will investigate ways of enhancing generic and specific employability skills within interdisciplinary learning environments for art and science students.
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Band students’ perceptions of instruction via videoconferencing
By John DenisAbstractGeographic impediments and urbanicity are core aspects of distance learning, the latter of which was defined as the degree of population concentration in a community. As distance education was largely developed to reach students removed from urban centres, better understanding of music instruction through videoconferencing may help further develop approaches to distance music education. The purpose of this study was to examine potential perceptual differences between urbanicity groupings after ensemble instruction via videoconferencing. Participants were 134 seventh (N = 80) and eighth (N = 54) grade band students at five different schools in the Southwest United States, consisting of 63 females and 71 males. Participants completed the Pupils’ Attitude Towards Technology short form questionnaire (PATT-SQ) to establish group equivalency. After completing the PATT-SQ, participants engaged in a rehearsal with a guest teacher present via videoconferencing software and immediately completed the Skype Ensemble Instruction Questionnaire. Results revealed a statistically significant difference for urbanicity, F(2, 131) = 5.891, p = 0.004, ƞ2 = 0.083. Post hoc (Tukey Honest Significant Difference) analysis indicated that the mean for rural participants significantly differed from urban and suburban means. Possible explanations, future implications and limitations were then discussed.
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Remixing dub reggae in the music classroom: A practice-based case study on the educational value of music production for listening skills and stylistic analysis
More LessAbstractThis article examines learning opportunities of music production tasks by an exemplary unit on dub reggae following an action research approach. It addresses the educational areas of sound design, musical knowledge, analysis and listening skills, taking the sound of dub reggae as starting point for learner-centred activity. The main premise is to advocate music production technology as an effective tool for music learning allowing students to experience techniques of music production first hand, vividly illustrating creative approaches of remote musical cultures, their successive influence on popular music, and aesthetic experiences special to technologically created sound. The overall goal is to facilitate a higher awareness and a more detailed understanding of produced sound, and practical competences of integrating technological sound into musical action. The study took place within two vocational college courses for social and health (N = 10; 7 women, 3 men; average age 21 years) and art and design (N = 9; 5 women, 4 men; average age 18.3 years), and aimed to investigate the methodical practicability and the success of the suggested educational approach. It provides preliminary insights along with recommendations for improvements and further applications.
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So you think you can play: An exploratory study of music video games
Authors: Jen Jenson, Suzanne De Castell, Rachel Muehrer and Milena DroumevaAbstractDigital music technologies have evolved by leaps and bounds over the last 10 years. The most popular digital music games allow gamers to experience the performativity of music, long before they have the requisite knowledge and skills, by playing with instrument-shaped controllers (e.g. Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Sing Star, Wii Music), while others involve plugging conventional electric guitars into a game console to learn musical technique through gameplay (e.g. Rocksmith). Many of these digital music environments claim to have educative potential, and some are actually used in music classrooms. This article discusses the findings from a pilot study to explore what high school age students could gain in terms of musical knowledge, skill and understanding from these games. We found students improved from pre- to post-assessment in different areas of musicianship after playing Sing Party, Wii Music and Rocksmith, as well as a variety of games on the iPad.
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Maschine-itivity: How I found my creativity using a digital sampling device to compose music
More LessAbstractThe ubiquity of digital music technology has prompted researchers and scholars to examine how music educators might support music learning that encourages creativity through the use of these mediums. Infusing technology into current curricular offerings offers one avenue in fostering a diversity of music learning experiences for students when teachers are interested in developing creativity in their students. Research examining current practising teachers and their experiences with digital sampling and beat making technology is limited. The purpose of this research was to offer my experiences learning, writing and sharing music using a sampling and beat-making device called the Maschine. This auto-ethnography uses Sawyer’s eight stages of the creative process as the theoretical framework to guide analysis of my creativity. The aims of this research were to: (1) reflect on the creative process involved in making music on a digital sampling and beat-making device; (2) provide a contextual understanding of my challenges and successes along the way; and (3) suggest implications for both current and future music teachers interested in learning to use this type of technology in their music teaching to provide contemporary music making experiences for their students. Results suggest that vernacular and informal music learning strategies were common over the 14-week semester, as YouTube tutorials supported my learning. My creativity occurred in small incremental steps and yielded three completed compositions at the culmination of the project. A conceptual model of the creative process is proposed, outlining the non-linearity of my creative process. Implications for music education are offered in conclusion.
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University musicians’ experiences in an iPad ensemble: A phenomenological case study
Authors: Kristina Verrico and Jill ReeseAbstractThis phenomenological case study describes the lived experiences of eleven university music majors participating in an iPad ensemble. The research was guided by the following question: What are their perceptions of their experiences using technology to create and perform music in an iPad ensemble? Participants were six music education majors and five music therapy majors. They met for seven weeks and concluded with a performance that included original compositions, improvisations and cover songs. Data included weekly written reflections and interviews with each participant. The essence of their experience was a sense of freedom from restrictions imposed by previous formal training and a feeling of empowerment developed through collective exploration and creativity in an autonomous environment free from judgement. Four themes support the essence: (1) informal and judgement-free context; (2) exploration, socially constructed knowledge and collaboration; (3) democracy, shared leadership and autonomy and (4) process and enjoyment.
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Book Reviews
Authors: Jack Harbord and Malachi Apudo-AcholaAbstractSound as Popular Culture: A Research Companion, Jens Gerrit Papenburg and Holger Schulze (2016)
Cambridge: The MIT Press, 448 pp.,
ISBN: 978-0-262-03390-9, h/bk, £31.95
Computational Thinking in Sound: Teaching the Art and Science of Music and Technology, Gena R. Greher and Jesse M. Heines (2014)
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 232 pp.,
ISBN: 978-0-1998-2619-3, Paperback, £23.49
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