Improve Classroom

Motivation and
Engagement
• Teachers who engage students using music
education can achieve better outcomes in their
classes while making the day livelier and more
fun.
• Music teachers and other educators optimize
engagement by developing effective
pedagogical strategies for integrating music
into everyday learning.
• Inspiring engagement is both a primary goal and
major challenge for many teachers and schools
today. That’s because engaged students don’t
just complete assignments and memorize facts,
doing the minimum to earn a passing grade.
• Learning music can improve students’ cognitive
performance and provide valuable motivation.

• Outside of dedicated music education courses,

adding some melodies throughout the school day
is a means of bringing excitement to lessons and
inspiring students of all ages to get involved.
• If students are motivated, they are engaged
in the learning process; if students are
engaged in the learning process, they are
motivated to continue to progress).

• If the classroom environment is a safe and

happy one, students will trust us, make
mistakes, and be motivated to improve. As we
increase that challenge level, students will
continue to build upon their previous
successes.
"Integrating Various
Technologies In Teaching and
Learning Music Education"
• As technology continues to develop, its applications
become greater and more wide spread. Many
schools and educational providers are
implementing new technologies in the classroom to
enhance learning. Effective technology integration
can help meet each child's individual needs while
allowing for a more customized learning
experience. This is especially important in the
music classroom as students often struggle with
very specific issues and learn at varying paces.
In addition to encouraging a more
individualized learning experience, the
incorporation of technology can help teachers
meet their teaching goals and set standards.
The National Music Education Standards
(MENC) detail nine standards that music
teachers should strive to meet. According to
these standards students should be able to:
1) Sing alone and with others
2) Perform on instruments
3) Improvise melodies
4) Compose and arrange music
5) Read and notate music
6) Listen to and describe music
7) Evaluate music and performances
8) Understand relationships between music
and other disciplines
9) Understand music in relation to history and
culture¹
• Music educator Thomas Rudolph points out
that, “Technology can serve all of the above
areas to enhance learning.” He identifies the
three educational settings where technology
can be used: tutor, tool, and tutee.
• One of the difficulties music teachers face is
their ability to give regular feedback to
students. If a student is taking private music
lessons, they likely meet with their instructor
once a week. The bulk of the student’s
progress is therefore dependent on their daily,
individual practice. In a group class or large
ensemble there is even less one-on-one time
with the teacher, making it more difficult for
the teacher to give regular, personalized
feedback.
• Often students are unsure of how to use
their independent practice time most
efficiently and may practice notes and
rhythms incorrectly, thereby But now, with
increased accessibility to technology and
emerging dedicated apps for smartphones
and tablets, there are many ways that
technology can aid in assessing students’
progress for both the teacher and the
student, allowing for a more personalized
learning environment.
• A specific application of technology in both the
private or group music lesson is drill and practice
software, which can “provide a more persistent
learning since it allows a drill and practice at
desired level and desired amount.” The
integration of technologies into music lessons can
help students better understand specific
musicalskills, increase student motivation, assist
in student assessment, and be used as a learning
tool in composition.
• Of all the technologies available there are
four main categories that are most suitable
for musical education to enhance customized
learning: apps, digital instruments, practice
aid technology, and wearables.
Apps

There are many apps that exist with the purpose

of reinforcing musical concepts through practice
activities and repeated drills. They also provide
immediate feedback to the student allowing them
to better gauge their own understanding of
material. Many apps use basic gamification to
increase engagement and students are
encouraged to keep learning to progress from one
level to the next.
• Furthermore, apps effectively scaffold one unit
to the next, allowing for students to learn at
their own level, customizing their learning
experience. This is especially useful if learning in
a group, in either an in-school or after-school
setting. Note Rush is a popular app to reinforce
note reading that can be used as an alternative
to flashcards. This can be a great tool to use in
music lessons or for students to use at home.
• The app will display a note on the staff in a
predetermined range that is set ahead of time
and provides immediate feedback using a
microphone and sound detection technology to
determine whether the student is playing the
correct note. Other similar apps are Flashnote
Derby, Note Perfect!, and Music Flash Class.
There are also apps for supporting rhythm
learning, such as Rhythm Lab, where students
receive instant feedback after tapping a notated
rhythm on the screen.
All these apps can be useful tools for a
teacher to use in tracking a student's
progress from week to week. These tools can
be integrated into weekly assignments and
planned practice sessions, where teachers
can encourage students to reach a certain
goal by the following lesson. Teachers can
view progress in the student's app by
checking the level they have achieved in their
app history, or by doing an in-lesson
assessment of the student using the app in
the next lesson.
Digital Instruments

The emergence of affordable digital and electronic

instruments is changing the landscape of music
learning. Many have the capability of connecting to
apps like Garage Band to heighten the music
learning experience. Music teacher Leigh Anne
Roeber started a keyboard lab in her school using
keyboards and iPads equipped with the Piano
Maestro App. Because the app is so self-
explanatory, she attests to its practical application
in the classroom.
• Teachers can use it as a tool to better assist
each student and their individual needs
without disrupting the rest of the class.
Using the app with a digital keyboard allows
students to evaluate their own learning and
self-detect errors. Each level builds upon the
last and can be used as a foundational tool
before using other programs.
• Roeber set up her keyboard lab using technology
supported by Sound Tree, the educational division of
Korg USA. In another project supported by Tree, White
Plains Middle School used the Korg Group Education
Controller (GEC3) system to develop a different type of
program called silent brass. Using this technology,
students can practice brass instruments on their own,
at their own pace, while all in the same classroom.
Matthew Velez, a student at White Plains Middle
Schools, is a band student that has participated in silent
brass and states that it is “better than playing in a
group because you know what notes you got wrong
and in a group you can’t really concentrate.”
• The number of digital instruments available is rapidly
growing. Jamstick is a guitar midi controller that can be
synced with a smart board to show students where
their fingers go. This can be a useful tool for teaching
guitar in a group setting, and can be used in addition to
acoustic instruments. Arts Integration Specialist and
music educator Shawna Longo states that “The
Jamstick has allowed me to further differentiate my
instruction and meet the needs of each of my students.
Whether they are beginners or experienced guitar
players, all of my students can successfully progress in
learning the guitar at their own pace with instant
feedback through the exercises that assign to them.”
Practice Aid Technology

• A sophisticated type of technology that is continually developing

is the interactive music software called SmartMusic. This
program uses artificial intelligence to identify incorrect notes
and rhythms in a student’s playing and is changing the way
students practice and personal assessment. Teachers can assign
specific music for the student to practice by directly uploading
music, or by specifying scores that are preloaded in the
platform. Students can record themselves playing the piece
directly through SmartMusic, which will follow the notated
pitches and rhythms checking for errors. Any spots where they
made an error will display while they are playing, thereby
allowing for immediate assessment.
Wearable Technology

• Another less common technology that can aid in students’ practice by

providing feedback on technique is wearable technology. For example, a
real-time feedback wearable jacket, called MusicJacket, can be used by
violin students to improve their bowing and physical position. As the student
is practicing, the jacket can sense if the arm position and bowing direction is
correct. It will send a vibrotactile signal in the form of a vibration to the
student if the position is incorrect. This allows the student to immediately
correct their posture, resulting in more constructive and healthy practice.
There are many ways this could be implemented by music teachers in the
future on a variety of instruments, although at this point there are many
barriers such as time required for set up, cost, and limited availability.