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- Volume 4, Issue 2, 2020
Journal of Popular Music Education - Volume 4, Issue 2, 2020
Volume 4, Issue 2, 2020
- Editorial
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- Articles
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What’s stopping you? Impediments to incorporating popular music technologies in schools
Authors: Sondre Brudvik and David G. HebertThis study explores why music technologies are not more often used in school music programmes despite their wide accessibility in the private sector. We examine how four popular products are perceived by music teachers in Norwegian primary and lower secondary schools: Rocksmith 2014, Soundation, GarageBand and Skoog. Our study determines what participants see as impediments to using these specific products, as well as music technologies in general. Through analysis of interviews conducted within a clinical trial of technology products, four factors were identified as perceived impediments to product use in schools: expense, accessibility, attitude and usability. Although expense is an especially prominent concern, we found that each factor can potentially prevent acquisition and incorporation of music technologies. Further, the influence of other agents besides the music teachers themselves is perceived as playing a vital role in this process, such as the school’s administration and characteristics of the local community.
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Intersections of popular musicianship and computer science practices
More LessSince the introduction of music education within public schools, curricular offerings have not developed in parallel with the myriad of practices popular musicians engage with outside school contexts. In other academic disciplines such as computer science, curricula and practices are iterative in nature and are responsive to the ever-changing practices that people engage with outside educational contexts. Although popular musicians are using computer science practices for music-related purposes, such practices are seldom discussed within music education scholarship. This article begins with an exploration of such intersections by describing hardware practices popular musicians use to modify, design or build electronic devices for music-related purposes. The following section introduces coding practices that people use to create and modify music software, as well as to make music with code. The article concludes by unpacking potential implications and considerations for educators interested in the intersections of popular musicianship and computer science practices.
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The ukulele and YouTube: A content analysis of seven prominent YouTube ukulele channels
More LessThis study is a content analysis of seven prominent ukulele instruction YouTube channels examining the following elements: (1) types of videos on channels, (2) musical content included, (3) teaching strategies used in videos and (4) audience engagement. Tutorial videos were the most common type of video produced and viewed across the channels. Musical content was diverse, including 988 unique songs by 545 unique artists, with 79 per cent of songs and 74 per cent of artists appearing on only one channel. The most viewed tutorials often included songs with connections to the ukulele in popular culture. Video characteristics and teaching methods were similar across all channels, and each taught using a direct instruction method. Channels had engaged audiences who actively commented and voted on videos through the YouTube platform. Findings are discussed in connection to prior research on the ukulele, learning on and through YouTube, and media studies.
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The ‘Social Justice Plot’ in learning, consuming, and (re)creating music on social media
More LessIn this article, I outline what I call the ‘Social Justice Plot’ in online music-making and consumption. I suggest that some popular music follows a particular plot where social justice discourses of fighting against and triumphing against inequalities based on identity is used to form narratives and tension and release in music and other arts. In the participatory culture and participatory politics of social media, consumers of media circulate and comment on these songs as a way to perform their own social justice identities. To explicate this process, I primarily draw upon Beyoncé Knowles’s song ‘Formation’, a cover of the song by a white male artist, and commenters’ reactions on social media to this cover. Through this example, I suggest that this Social Justice Plot is the commodification of anti-oppression discourses for material and moral gain. I conclude with implications for music education research and practice.
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Learning the ‘tracker’ process: A case study into popular music pedagogy
Authors: Brendan Anthony, Paul Thompson and Tuomas AuvinenThe ‘tracker’ production process is a modern form of music production agency where top-line songwriters work with music programmers called ‘trackers’, primarily within the confines of the digital audio workstation. In this case, production, songwriting and performance often happen concurrently, and collaboration involves the synthesis of ideas, musical negotiations and expertise in using digital and online technologies. In providing popular music production learning activities that translate to professional contexts, higher education institutions face a number of challenges, particularly where much of the collaboration is undertaken online. This article reports on a cohort of Bachelor of Popular Music students who undertook a tracker process module. Students’ perceptions of ‘engagement’ and ‘learning’ were captured via an assessment item and survey, and a themed analysis indicated that the pedagogy promoted the use of diverse social skills, was highly collaborative, relied both on specialist and non-specialist knowledge, and involved the use of digital and online communications.
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Songwriting with digital audio workstations in an online community
More LessDigital audio workstations and online file-sharing technology may be combined to create opportunities for collaborations among many groups, including performing ensembles, music technology classes, professional songwriters and preservice music teachers. This article presents a model for a digitally mediated online collaboration that focuses on popular music songwriting activities in school and higher education settings. Using an example from a high school music production class that collaborated with an undergraduate music education course through Google Docs and a file-sharing platform, the author outlines steps towards facilitating partnerships that focus on creating music in an online community. Such collaborations may help remove barriers between our classrooms and our communities as music teachers leverage technology to develop relationships with creators and performers of popular music everywhere.
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- Book Reviews
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The Children’s Music Studio: A Reggio-inspired Approach, Wendell Hanna (2016)
More LessReview of: The Children’s Music Studio: A Reggio-inspired Approach, Wendell Hanna (2016)
New York: Oxford University Press, 211 pp.,
ISBN 978-0-19938-479-2, p/bk, $35.00
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Sociology for Music Teachers: Practical Applications, Hildegard C. Froehlich and Gareth Dylan Smith (2017), 2nd ed.
More LessReview of: Sociology for Music Teachers: Practical Applications, Hildegard C. Froehlich and Gareth Dylan Smith (2017), 2nd ed.
New York and London: Routledge, 194 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-13822-450-6, h/bk $124.00;
ISBN 978-1-13822-451-3, p/bk $43.96;
ISBN 978-1-31540-234-5, e/bk $35.72
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Pop Music Technology and Creativity: Trevor Horn and the Digital Revolution, Timothy Warner (2003)
More LessReview of: Pop Music Technology and Creativity: Trevor Horn and the Digital Revolution, Timothy Warner (2003)
Aldershot: Ashgate, 267 pp.,
ISBN-10 978-0-75463-132-3, h/bk
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Welcome to the journal
Authors: Gareth Dylan Smith and Bryan Powell
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