Module 3 Blog Reflection

This week was extremely thought provoking in considering ways to engage students musically outside a traditional performance ensemble setting. Music is a huge part of my students’ culture. While many of these students may not participate in school music programs, it does not mean that they are not participating musically. Many students participate in performing in their communities and listen to and share music with their friends and through the internet. Their lives are very musical outside of school programs and their minds have much potential for musical creativity. 

This week’s materials presented several ideas on how to engage students in bringing their own musical lives into the classroom. Composing is one way that students can really express their musical ideas. However, traditional composing can be difficult because it requires fluency in reading and writing musical notation. Even using a notation software can be frustrating to someone who is not accustomed to accessing music in that way. This week’s module really promoted digital audio work stations as a method for students to compose. After having an enjoyable experience with Soundtrap, I can say confidently that if I were ever in a teaching scenario where I could teach composition and have access to technological devices, I would definitely have my students work with Soundtrap to create music. I love that it is cloud based and that students can work from any device with Chrome. 

The readings and discussions of this week also brought up some concerns on the instructional constraints with using technology to teach music creation. I think in the end, it is important for the teacher to take an active role in the student composition process. It may be easy to show students the tutorials and then leave them alone to work on a computer. To an outsider, the students may appear engaged in their projects, but that is not real teaching. It is important to use composition projects as a way to teach students how to identify and manipulate musical elements. It is also important to actively engage with students in the critiquing and revision process, particularly in getting an idea of the student’s intent in their composition. “Teachers have to remind students that they are the most important compositional tool and that the technology doesn’t substitute for their musicanship” (Bauer, 2014, p. 66). The intent part is helpful in encouraging students to think in sound. There is concern that using technology for composition inhibits students from developing their audiation skills. Asking students to explain their intent forces them to think about the sounds they are looking for as they try and explain what they are after. 


 Bauer, W. I. (2014). Music learning today: digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

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