Making music in an online environment
by Jay Hicks and David Hoge
As virtual and digital delivery becomes more and more a vital part of education systems around the world in the 21st Century, it is important that all disciplines be available to students through this medium. As the Greek philosopher Socrates expounded a system of education that emphasized in equal parts, music, gymnastics, and mathematics (arts, physical education, and academics in today’s terminology), it is important that new and emerging systems of education hold to that same philosophy. In the world of virtual education and digitally-delivered curriculum, it may seem most natural to emphasize the core academic subjects. However, to properly educate students we must provide them with meaningful opportunities and positive experiences in all areas of instruction.
The study of a musical instrument can be an important, if not essential, part of a student’s education. Studies suggest that practicing a musical instrument can have a positive effect on the brain, enhance the learning process, and often leads to the improvement of fine motor skills. Moreover, there are the mental and emotional health aspects of playing music. Even just a few minutes of playing one’s chosen instrument can help take the edge off of day-to-day stress. And of course, making music is just plain fun!
Blended versions of music performance courses can be beneficial to music teachers in a brick-and-mortar environment as well. For example, guitar classes are often taught by a chorus teacher or band director. An online course can allow students to learn content (basic technique and musicianship) at home, away from the classroom. If we factor in auto-graded quizzes/exams, the music instructor can have more time to focus on one-on-one interaction with students.
Historically, one of the greatest obstacles to digitally-delivered musical performance curricula has been the delivery of intense and thorough visual and aural instruction over low bandwidth Internet providers. As bandwidth in both urban and rural areas has steadily increased, providing courses with streaming video and audio has become much more practical. These tools are crucial to meaningful music curriculum, particularly in performance focused courses. Not only is curriculum delivery heavily dependent on video and audio, assessment of performance is dependent on these tools as well. Students are able to use video capture via smart devices, webcams, or digital cameras and perform required assessment material to be graded by their instructor. In some ways, the digitally-captured performance allows for more meaningful feedback than a face-to-face performance would, in that the instructor can reference particular timestamps of the performance for the student to review. In doing so, the student can replay and study the parts of their performance where correction or improvement is needed, as well as the parts where they have demonstrated mastery.
Quality music performance instruction includes learning to read standard music notation, as well as learning to improvise music without the benefit of notation. In digitally-delivered instruction, students are provided with fun, interactive activities that enhance the experience of learning to read music notation. They also are provided audio accompaniments to play along with, as they play notated music compositions. Use of audio accompaniment tracks for some musical pieces can make performance more exciting and engaging. This approach also provides students the opportunity to play a part of an ensemble piece, along with tracks of the other parts. This experience can benefit students who wish to participate in live performing groups (e.g. rock bands, bluegrass bands, wind ensembles, jazz combos), as many performing ensembles today share practice tracks in preparation for live rehearsals. Also, digital sharing has become a common practice in collaborative music composition. When learning to improvise melodies or accompaniments, audio play-along tracks are an essential part of developing the listening skills necessary to become an improvisational composer.
Developing strong and effective curriculum and instruction in music performance via virtual classrooms and digital delivery would for many educators seem too challenging, with too many obstacles to overcome. However, by viewing challenges as opportunities, not only can this curriculum be effective, it can provide opportunities and advantages in instruction that will open up the world of musical expression to many in a generation of students who would otherwise never appreciate that wonderful part of the human experience.
About the Authors
Jay Hicks (Hicks Music and Technology) is a public school music teacher, virtual and blended-learning courseware developer, and published guitar method author.
David Hoge (Method Teacher, LLC) is a founding member of Method Teacher and has co-authored each of the virtual and blended guitar courses offered through the Method Teacher catalog, as well as over 40 guitar method books through The FJH Music Company.