Electrifying Music

A GUIDE TO USING ICT IN MUSIC EDUCATION

BY DAVID ASHWORTH
J ANUARY 2007
SHAPING MUSIC EDUCATION
AN EMERGING VISION
Title: Electrifying Music
Author: David Ashworth
Aim: To examine the issues surrounding using technology effectively in the teaching and learning of music
Publication: The Paul Hamlyn Foundation January 2007 The Paul Hamlyn Foundation
(see Open Access statement)
ISBN No: 1-905500-14-9
Design: Igloo
Photo Credits: David Ashworth, Clare Biggs, Paul Dale, Michael Walter/Troika photos, Musical Futures
project staff
Musical Futures is a Paul Hamlyn Foundation Special Project
The Paul Hamlyn Foundation is a company limited by guarantee (No. 5042279) and a registered charity (No.
1102927). Its primary concern is to address issues of inequality and disadvantage, particularly in relation to
young people, through the arts, learning and education.
department for
education and skills
This pamphlet sets out to examine the issues surrounding using
technology effectively in the teaching and learning of music. It
addresses the challenges that using ICT poses, explores current good
practice, and surveys potential sources of support for music teachers.
Publications
Musical Futures - an emerging vision - introductory pamphlet
(available on website)
Transforming Musical Leadership - a pamphlet and DVD
(October 2005, available on website)
Personalising Musical Learning pamphlet, teachers pack,
CD and DVD (April 2006, available on website)
Supporting Young Musicians & Coordinating Musical Pathways
a pamphlet (September 2006, available on website)
Redefining Music Training a pamphlet (November 2006, avaliable
on website)
Electrifying Music this pamphlet (January 2007)
All publications are downloadable from the Musical Futures website:
www.musicalfutures.org.uk
In addition, we will be working with our partners to produce a final
publication in January 2007.
Stay in touch
We hope to widen the dialogue with policy makers and music
practitioners. If you have specific responses to any of the issues
raised in this pamphlet or are engaged in work which might inform
the subsequent pamphlet, please contact us
at feedback@musicalfutures.org.uk
You can also sign up for our regular e-newsletters, receive further
copies of the publications or follow the Musical Futures project by
visiting our website - www.musicalfutures.org.uk
Contents
Introduction
Section 1: A Little Help From My Friends
Section 2: Another Time, Another Place
Section 3: Bring It On Home To Me
Section 4: Come Together
Conclusion
Introduction and Acknowledgements
The Paul Hamlyn Foundations Musical
Futures project seeks to devise (in
partnership with Youth Music and the DfES
Innovation Unit) new and imaginative ways
of engaging young people in music
activities for all 11-19 year-olds.
Thanks are due to:
The Musical Futures Partners and
Pathfinders;
The Musical Futures Steering and
Advisory groups for their comments
and advice on the project.
The author wishes to thank all of the
teachers who gave their time and shared
their experiences, and David Price, Rgis
Cochefert and Abigail DAmore for their
help in preparing this publication.
The Musical Futures project is dedicated to
the memory of Jane Attenborough, who
died tragically in the Asian Tsunami. Jane
was the arts manager at The Paul Hamlyn
Foundation who, along with the project
Chair, Lord Moser, gave shape to the
trustees original aspirations. Without her,
there would have been no project.
Open access. Some rights reserved.
As the publisher of this work, The Paul
Hamlyn Foundation has an open access
policy which enables anyone to access our
content electronically without charge. We
want to encourage the circulation of our
work as widely as possible without
affecting the ownership of the copyright,
which remains with the copyright holder.
This work is licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution-NoDerivs Licence.
The following are some of the conditions
imposed by the licence:
Musical Futures and the author is
credited;
The Musical Futures website address
(www.musicalfutures.org.uk) is published
together with a copy of this policy
statement in a prominent position;
The text is not altered and is used in full
(the use of extracts under existing fair
usage rights is not affected by this
condition);
The work is not resold;
A copy of the work or link to its use
online is sent to The Paul Hamlyn
Foundation for our archive.
(To view a copy of this licence, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by-nd/2.5/)
E L E C T R I F Y I N G M U S I C W W W. M U S I C A L F U T U R E S . O R G . U K
1
MUSICAL FUTURES ADVISERS:
Norinne Betjemann
Arts Council England
Colin Brackley-Jones
Federation of Music Services
* Rgis Cochefert
Programme Manager, PHF
* Christina Coker
Youth Music
Ben Cole
Youth Music
* Robert Dufton
Director, PHF
Richard Hallam
Oxfordshire Music Service
*Jane Hamlyn
Chair, PHF
Valerie Hannon
DfES Innovation Unit
*David Hargreaves
Project Consultant
Marc Jaffrey
Music Manifesto
Richard Jones
Specialist Schools and
Academies Trust
Nicholas Kenyon
BBC Proms
Margaret Martin-Griffiths
* Lord Moser
Chairman, Musical Futures
Angela Overington
DfES
David Price
Project Leader, Musical Futures
Philippa Staff
DCMS
David Sulkin
Youth Music
* Denotes Steering Group Member
INTRODUCTION
When given sustained opportunities for
exploring and using music technologies,
pupils acquire and develop skills, often
using them with individuality and flair. Too
often, though, they are given insufficient
time, or tasks are inappropriate to gain
more than a superficial experience of the
capacity of the resources and applications.
Opportunities to involve pupils in the same
techniques and processes that are used by
the music professions are therefore lost,
as is their understanding of contemporary
music making. Their experience of
curriculum music in these cases is
detached and irrelevant when compared
with their experience of music beyond
the classroom.
1
When computers were first introduced into
music departments, they generated a
considerable degree of excitement as
teachers could see the potential for using
ICT in their teaching. Yet, affordable
computers powerful enough to realise some
of this potential have only been available
relatively recently. Computers now have
the stability, power and available software
to allow young people to work with digital
sound in new ways.
Having the technology is only the starting
point, however. In this pamphlet, we cover
the issues teachers should consider in order
to harness technology effectively in the
teaching and learning of music. We provide
suggestions for addressing the challenges
that using ICT poses, showcase examples of
good practice of ICT in music departments,
and survey potential sources of ICT support
for music teachers.
Using ICT has inevitable implications for
teaching space and how that space is used.
Laptop computers and wireless technology
can provide teachers and students with the
flexibility and mobility they need for
creative music making. This, in turn, leads
to considerations of learning beyond the
school. Intranets, emailing and USB/MP3
players enable students to access the
sounds they are working with wherever and
whenever they want.
Digital learning materials offer students
flexibility as they can be accessed for
study at any time, enabling them to be
more independent in their learning.
This means that lessons, courses and
activities can be tailored to the needs and
capabilities of the individual students. ICT
does not necessarily mean students
always working on their own. Technologies
can offer scope for collaboration
and integration with other subjects
and artforms.
There are many inspiring examples of
school music departments using ICT in their
teaching and learning. Students often use
ICT as an effective aid to their learning as
well as to create and make music of the
highest quality. We aim to celebrate some
of this work and to provide signposts for
further investigation and innovation.
2
Digital learning
materials offer
students
flexibility as they
can be accessed
for study at any
time, enabling
them to be more
independent in
their learning
M U S I C A L F U T U R E S - A P A U L H A M L Y N F O U N D A T I O N S P E C I A L P R O J E C T
1
Music in Secondary Schools, Ofsted
HMI 2328, 2005.
SECTION ONE:
A Little Help From My Friends
Many music teachers are reluctant to use ICT
extensively in their teaching. It may be for a
number of reasons: lack of confidence in
their own ICT capabilities; fear that their
students know more than they do; lack of
awareness of the potential benefits of using
ICT; concerns that technology-based music
may take over from more traditional
approaches; and insufficient funding for
equipment and technical support. Or that the
pressures of having to deliver a broader music
curriculum, and the ever-increasing
assessment and reporting demands, mean
that there is simply not enough time to
address ICT issues effectively.
Notwithstanding the above, there is now
more support than ever for teachers from a
number of sources. We suggest and explore
the following four principal ways in which
music teachers may plan to increase their ICT
confidence and capability:
Peer-to-peer support;
Expertise of external providers;
Expertise of students;
Web-based support.
Peer-to-Peer Support
Music teachers who lack confidence with ICT
often find that peer to peer support is the
most useful way to address the challenges.
Some schools have been successful in
promoting this type of networking. According
to Ofsted, teachers in these schools: Know
the professional support and development
they need and negotiate it using local
networks, information from websites and
membership of national organisations.
2
A number of national organisations support
and encourage the formation of local network
learning groups, for example the General
Teaching Council (GTC) and National College
for School Leadership (NCSL).
Case study#1: NCSL Network
South Cumbria Learning Innovation Network
schools work together in the urban centre of
Barrow-in-Furness. The schools wanted to
pool their resources and knowledge to
organise Super Learning Days planned for a
particular year group by pairs of teachers
from across the network. Teachers spend a
day teaching within another school,
suspending the normal timetable, such as on
Year 8s Starship Enterprise learning day.
The impact has been felt by all involved. One
teacher explained: We had never worked in
another school and at first it was daunting for
some of us. But by engaging together in an
activity which had a clear focus, a culture of
trust and collaboration developed. One teacher
recognised that working together was more
than just an opportunity, and working
together became a need. Another said: when
we realised we had something special to work
on and we started to work in each other's
schools that was when we started to see each
other differently. Before this, competition had
produced quite hostile cultures, but these have
been broken down easily.
Through this network, teachers developed an
awareness of what their peers were doing and
could share and foster good practice. More
information about the Learning Exchange
Online is available at www.nlcexchange.org.uk.
The National Association of Music Educators
(NAME)
3
has been promoting a series of
regional conferences where teachers can
learn from other local teachers on a wide
range of music and ICT applications. These
conferences highlight expertise in a region
and explore ways in which teachers can
access ongoing ICT support in their area.
The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust
(SSAT) Lead Practitioner programme also
has the objective of teachers forming
networks, sharing good practice and offering
3
By engaging
together in an
activity which
had a clear
focus, a culture
of trust and
collaboration
developed
E L E C T R I F Y I N G M U S I C W W W. M U S I C A L F U T U R E S . O R G . U K
2
Ofsted, 2005.
3
www.name.org.uk

4
Lead
practitioners are
innovative
teachers who
share their good
practice and who
work creatively
to support and
disseminate
innovative
teaching and
learning
strategies
M U S I C A L F U T U R E S - A P A U L H A M L Y N F O U N D A T I O N S P E C I A L P R O J E C T
support by teachers for teachers
4
.
Lead practitioners are innovative teachers
who share their good practice and who work
creatively to support and disseminate
innovative teaching and learning strategies
across the Trusts networks. Their work
includes building regional networks,
authoring case studies, publications and
resources, leading professional development
workshops and supporting/mentoring.
Informal networking opportunities are also
possible. For example, many schools within a
Local Education Authority (LEA) have shared
schedules of training days. Music teachers
from different schools could consider
using some of this time to establish their
own network for sharing and discussing
good practice.
External Providers
Many schools find it difficult to recruit
qualified staff, especially those with skills
and confidence in working with music
technology. Music became a shortage/priority
subject on the Graduate Training Programme
(GTP) from September 2006. It is therefore
imperative to look at ways of bringing more
external providers into the classroom.
The support structures provided by LEAs and
Music Services are often crucial in providing
expertise, especially where there is a
strategic support plan in place. For example,
Somerset Music Service offers teachers and
pupils music technology workshops and group
tuition; training for teachers in music
technology and opportunities to shadow ICT-
confident practitioners among other things.
Classroom teachers in Somerset are able to
choose support that best suits their require-
ments. Many LEAs are now starting to
develop similar support provision.
5
Musical Futures Nottingham works using a
partnership approach. Musical Futures music
leaders and PGCE trainees are brought into
schools to deliver the music curriculum to a
whole year group in Year 8, over one year.
These ICT-confident practitioners work with
teachers in helping the pupils to create their
own home pages on the Musical Futures
website. They go on to create music using
computers and upload the results onto
the website.
One of the key elements of the Excellence in
Cities (EiC) programme is the establishment
of a network of school-based City Learning
Centres (CLCs). There are over 100 CLCs
operating in EiC areas across the country.
6
These provide state-of-the art ICT-based
learning opportunities for the pupils at the
host school, for teachers and pupils in a
network of surrounding schools and for the
wider community. Teachers can learn
valuable lessons about how to set up and
organise ICT provision in their schools by
initially working in their local CLC.
Finally, many Further Education and Higher
Education institutions run music technology
courses where their students may have the
opportunity to have placements in schools as
specialist teaching assistants.
These are only a few examples of the
increasing number of external providers that
are available and that could form useful
relationships and partnerships with schools.
Expertise of Students
Increasing numbers of young people in
schools have skills and confidence in ICT, and
schools could explore ways of mobilising this
often significant resource. Young people
live in a digital world where the norm is
blogging, podcasting, peer-to-peer file
sharing, downloading media, capturing
sounds and images, emailing, chatrooms,
texting and videomessaging. Most of them
have ready access to the technology required
for these activities, such as computers,
mobile phones and MP3 players.
4
www.specialistschools.org.uk
/practitioners
5
www.six.somerset.gov.uk/
somersetmusic/default.asp
6
www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/sie/eic/clc/
5
For many years, students have had access to
home computers outside the control of the
school system and, more importantly, outside
the dynamic of its internal mechanisms. They
use computers in the way that they want,
rather than in the way that an organisation
might dictate. For instance, many young
people do not like to be shown how to use a
software package or work through a manual
they would rather work it out for themselves,
using an intuitive, trial-and-error approach.
Many students develop high levels of
expertise and use computers in complex,
sophisticated ways. As Papert states, as a
result, they:
Are beginning to produce a pressure on the
school from within, a kind of subversive
force coming into the system, not only
demanding change but, most important,
offering to help in that change.
7
Given this situation, it seems sensible to
consider the opportunities this affords and
how we can involve students in teaching as
well as learning. The advantages of using
students as peer mentors have been noted in
the classroom and beyond. Young people
generally respond well to being taught by
their peers and, for those students doing the
teaching, there are the potential rewards of
increased self-esteem and a greater
awareness of the teaching and learning
process. The evaluation report on the DfES-
funded Study Support Summer Schools
noted that:
About half the schemes employed pupil
mentors, who made a valuable contribution.
Pupil mentors were good role models for
participants and provided excellent support
for the work of main staff.
8
Queen Elizabeths Mercian School in
Tamworth has a mentoring musicians scheme.
Year 12 and 13 pupils, who have developed
expertise in the use of ICT, use some of their
free time to support work in younger classes
using Cubase. Additionally, sixth formers
work with some of the non-notation readers
in GCSE classes using Guitar Pro a
software-based multi-track tablature
editor/player. There is also an informal
apprenticeship scheme where the older
pupils who run the sound and lighting
equipment for all the schools productions
and shows pass on their skills to younger
pupils, who will eventually take over
from them.
Web-Based Support
There are occasions when a more impersonal
source of support is appropriate. Using
interactive online resources gives the user
more control over how and when they learn.
The best software providers not only offer
online tutorials but also set up user groups
where practitioners can share ideas and help
each other with technical issues.
Choosing the Right Support
There are clearly a range of choices
practitioners can make when deciding on the
most appropriate support for their particular
needs. A good starting point would be for a
practitioner to conduct an audit of their
requirements and research what support is
currently available in the region. This could
lead to a personal action plan for Continuing
Professional Development.
Lewishams ICT Training for Teachers website
(http://ecs.lewisham.gov.uk/talent/secmus/
TaLENT_MU1.htm) contains a section which
provides a step-by-step approach to this
process. The purpose of this module is to
help teachers assess what their own current
level of expertise is with using ICT and to
develop a plan for how they and their
department could develop the use of ICT.
Teachers are provided with guidance on:
Completing an audit of personal ICT skills;
Completing an audit of departmental ICT
resources;
Defining a rationale for using ICT in their
own school context.
E L E C T R I F Y I N G M U S I C W W W. M U S I C A L F U T U R E S . O R G . U K
Pupil mentors
were good role
models for
participants
and provided
excellent
support for
the work of
main staff
7
Papert, S, Child Power: Keys to the New
Learning of the Digital Century,
1998, available at
www.papert.org/articles/Childpower
8
Mason, K et al, Study Support Summer
School Pilots, NFER 2000.

6 M U S I C A L F U T U R E S - A P A U L H A M L Y N F O U N D A T I O N S P E C I A L P R O J E C T
SECTION TWO:
Another Time, Another Place
School timetables, and the way that pupils
are grouped into rooms, were designed to
enable a large number of students to be put
through an educational process using limited
time and space. The teacher delivers the
content and the students are required to
absorb this information simultaneously a
one size fits all model.
Changing the way that time and space are
used in schools opens up new possibilities for
transforming how and when teaching and
learning takes place. ICT gives us opportuni-
ties for podcast lectures, blogging and wikis,
online forums, anytime-anywhere access to
digital learning resources and learning tasks
which are structured online.
Regardless of how much or how little use a
teacher makes of ICT and music technology,
there is a set of fundamental priorities for
effective music departments:
Practical music making - in order to gain a
real understanding of music, students need
to create and play it;
Space to allow practical music making to
happen - good-sized, uncluttered
classrooms to enable flexibility to move
between teacher-led sessions, class
participation in discussion, individual and
group music making;
Breakout spaces - where students can work
free from distraction and intervention;
Departmental resources that are available
out of curriculum time - including extra-
curricula opportunities, students working
on extended tasks, and access by the wider
community.
Unfortunately, few schools are able to
adequately provide for such situations. The
music room is traditionally a teacher-led
environment (teacher and resources at the
front, students facing the teacher). Moving to
individual or group/pair work can be time
consuming because of resource
storage/retrieval issues. Opportunities for
accessing these resources out of curriculum
time are limited, often because of perceived
security problems. This type of environment
also creates problems for the assessment of
practical work, again because of the way the
space is used. What do you do with the other
29 students while you are trying to assess
one students performance?
Many of these problems can be solved by
effective and judicious use of ICT. An ICT
enriched space offers the opportunity for:
1.Integrating resources. Using standard
presentation software, teachers can now
gather all the resources required for a
lesson in one place. Text, pictures
/diagrams, video clips, audio clips and
web links can all be triggered from a single
screen at the click of a button.
2.Mobility and student participation. Using a
wireless tablet, keyboard or mouse or an
interactive whiteboard can have a
profound effect on classroom dynamics.
The teacher can move freely around the
classroom and continue to present a lesson
and encourage students to engage
interactively.
3.Using Internet/Intranet. This can
significantly add to the range of resources
available for use in the classroom and out
of school hours and gives students
constant access to store and retrieve work,
and communicate or collaborate online.
4.Increasing range of software. New
applications for music are constantly
developed, including many open source
and freeware/shareware applications.
Recent improvements in software design
mean that they are often more stable,
more intuitive and run more efficiently.
5.Capturing students work. For example,
through digital formats including text,
audio and video. This can occur relatively
easily during a lesson with minimum
disruption, which in turn can make for
easier and more accurate assessment and
reporting.
Changing the
way that time
and space are
used in schools
opens up new
possibilities for
transforming how
and when
teaching and
learning takes
place
The best
technologies
should aid both
teaching and
learning
7
6.Using other technology hardware in
conjunction with computers. This is now
relatively straightforward with USB and
fire-wire ports. For instance, MIDI
keyboards, controllers and audio interfaces
can easily be linked to computers for use
in performance and recording.
The vision of new approaches assumes the
willing cooperation of students, who may be
moving from a highly-structured educational
process to a system of increasing flexibility
in where, when and how they work. They
will also be expected to take on more
responsibility for their work and such
transition may need to be handled sensitively.
As an example, let us consider the current
debate regarding interactive whiteboards and
wireless technologies. Are these tools
designed for the benefit of teachers or for
students? The best technologies, of course,
should aid both teaching and learning. Some
teachers use a tablet and projector and
prefer this to an interactive whiteboard, as
do many pupils. For teachers, the classroom
dynamics of being at the level of their
students and facing into the group rather
than turning their back on them are big
advantages. Also, for many teachers and
students, it is easier to work at normal scale,
with something that feels like a normal pen,
rather than on a large board. Older pupils
are often reluctant to go to the front of the
class to operate a whiteboard (into what
they perceive as the teachers space). It
therefore makes sense wherever possible to
consult students during the design and imple-
mentation stages of new technologies before
they are firmly installed in the classroom.
SECTION THREE:
Bring It On Home To Me
In many curriculum subject areas, students
have continuous access to the resources they
need. In mathematics, most pupils will have
a maths textbook and a calculator, so that
they can work on their maths whenever they
choose. In music, however, students frequently
have little access outside the 50-60 minutes
of their weekly curriculum music lesson.
Students taking instrumental lessons are
more fortunate. They often have an
instrument they can take home to practise
on, and most extra-curricular provision is
geared to their needs. This gives instrumental
players a significant advantage over the rest
of the class: they have developed the habit
of working at home because they have the
necessary equipment. Imagine trying to learn
to play the flute if the instrument were only
available for one lesson per week and was
completely inaccessible during holiday times.
Even though many students have computers
at home, we often make things harder for
them by choosing to work with expensive
music software packages in the classroom
which students simply cannot afford for
home use. There are some instances of
software companies offering extended site
licences so that students can use the
software at home, but these are few and far
between. Many teachers are starting to use
freeware /shareware and open-source appli-
cations in their teaching. Audacity
9
is one
such example of free, open-source software
for recording and editing sounds. It is
stable, easy to learn and is now widely
used in schools.
The most popular shareware search engine
for musicians is probably
http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/. Hundreds
of shareware/freeware/demo products are
organised into categories which include audio
sequencers, midi sequencers, vst plugins,
software samplers and synthesisers.
E L E C T R I F Y I N G M U S I C W W W. M U S I C A L F U T U R E S . O R G . U K
9
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
8
They are
encouraged to
email their work
to and from
school and
some work
independently on
producing some
high quality
remixes for use
with dance
groups in and
beyond school
M U S I C A L F U T U R E S - A P A U L H A M L Y N F O U N D A T I O N S P E C I A L P R O J E C T
10
www.numu.org.uk
11
The following school intranets are
examples of schools giving
students home access:
www.hitchams.suffolk.sch.uk/ictmusic/
drums/index
www.callingtonmusic.co.uk
12
www.musicalfutures.org
Some companies produce entry level versions
of their commercial professional software.
These are often stripped down but fully
functional versions of the full product and are
usually freely downloadable from the
producers website. For instance, Sony
distributes a free version of their loop
based music production tool, Acid, on
www.acidplanet.com.
Students in Nottingham, working with the
Musical Futures Whole Curriculum Approach,
create their own home pages on the website
10
and go on to compose and upload dance
music tracks using the freeware Acid Xpress.
Many students download this freely-available
software onto their home computers so that
they can continue working on their projects
outside the classroom. NUMU
10
offers the
opportunity for students and schools to
publish in a dedicated safe space, where
they can showcase their music, meet others
and learn new skills.
Schools are already starting to explore
homeschool access via intranet sites and
mobile technologies.
11
This is especially
significant for music educators as it allows
them to tap into the vast amount of music
making that goes on outside school, as well
as helping to address some of the current
issues regarding music homework. We now
have the opportunity to extend music study
into the home provided we tap into the
culture, content and means of production of
the young people. For instance, at The Queen
Katherine School in Kendal, students are
shown how to download free loop sequencer
software and royalty free samples from the
Internet and are provided with tutorial
material demonstrating basic sound-editing
procedures. They are encouraged to email
their work to and from school and some work
independently on producing high quality
remixes for use with dance groups in and
beyond the school.
Music departments that have managed to get
their computers online are beginning to reap
the benefits. Some music departments use
the Internet for researching musical topics
and for accessing additional resources from
external providers. Linking up to the schools
database or intranet can be of significant
help in storing, assessing and reporting on
students work. There are further
opportunities that can be exploited. Students
can use the Internet to collaborate and
reflect on the work of their peers. In the
Musical Futures Leeds Bits and Pieces
project
12
, young musicians were engaged in
online collaborations, extending and remixing
the music produced by their friends. The
results are published uploaded to a virtual
performance space on websites such as dbass
and myspace.
Some schools are working towards providing
wireless access, meaning that students will
be able to continue working on school
projects from any location in their region.
Six schools in Kent are taking part in a LEA
pilot scheme to supply 1,400 tablet PCs
within a county-wide wireless network. Hugh
Christie Technology College in Tonbridge,
Kent, has been turned into a wireless internet
zone, and an entire year group has been
treated to their own tablet PCs. Students
take the Internet with them into each lesson
and when they have finished, they send their
work across the network to their personal
folder on the server. When they get home,
they can access their work where they left
off using a broadband connection supplied by
the council.
(From Shaping the Future of Learning in Kent
www.clusterweb.org.uk/home.cfm)
Teachers may also wish to work with mobile
technologies that students commonly use
already, for example mobile phones and MP3
players. A USB pen/MP3 player combination is
especially useful as it can allow a wide range
9
We need to
find ways of
allowing mobile
devices to be
deployed in the
classroom
E L E C T R I F Y I N G M U S I C W W W. M U S I C A L F U T U R E S . O R G . U K
of digital data to be easily transported from
one location to another. However, students
are often banned from bringing these mobile
devices into schools. We need to find ways of
allowing them to be deployed in the
classroom as they have a potential impact for
the students independent, personalised
learning. Students have been shown to
develop a strong sense of ownership and
learning autonomy with their mobile phones
and MP3 players and are prepared to invest
considerable time in learning to use them.
Case Study#2: Mobile Technology
At Monks Walk School, one of the Musical
Futures schools in Hertfordshire, mobile
phones and MP3 players were banned.
Teachers had been told to immediately
confiscate all phones and MP3 players until a
parent collected them from the office.
However, as part of the Hertfordshire Musical
Futures model, students were asked to bring
their own music into the classroom, and they
would often ask to bring their MP3 players
instead of CDs.
Anna Gower, head of music, has therefore
allowed students to bring MP3 players to the
music lessons; Anna feels that this technology
has become an integral part of the informal
learning work that is occurring in her school,
and has challenged the school rules in order
to accommodate this. I have walked into
practice rooms to find students with phones
out and have been about to challenge them,
only to be told they are recording their
pieces to play to their mum, or videoing their
performances. Students can now download
their pieces onto MP3, blue tooth from
my laptop to their phones and download
other student's work from the Musical
Futures website.
Mobile resources are also being used
effectively in Sonic Postcards - an innovative
project that aims to explore and compare the
local sound environments of young people
across the UK. Students record sounds in their
locality, and then experiment with creating
soundscapes through the interaction of these
sounds with technology. The results are
uploaded on the national website
(www.sonicpostcards.org).
These are just some of the ways in which
schools are encouraging young people to
explore music through ICT outside the
classroom in structured, creative and
meaningful ways.
SECTION FOUR:
Come Together
In this section, we consider the potential for
using computer-generated music alongside
conventional instruments and in working
across different artforms.
Music technology is taught separately from
music in many schools. There may have been
good reasons for this in the past - usually
concerning problems of a technical nature,
resource issues and so on. Because of this,
technology has often been isolated from the
mainstream music curriculum, and used in
discrete music technology modules, or as a
tool to aid composition and theory/aural
training. Much music produced in this way
rarely sees the light of day it sits on the
computer hard drive or is burned on to a disk
to send off to an examining board. However,
hardware, software and operating systems
have improved significantly and exciting
musical opportunities are being missed. It
is time to bring music and technology
back together.
It is not only the technology that has
improved. Technicians in schools are starting
to get a clearer idea of their music
departments computer-system requirements,
enabling more teachers to explore the use of
computers as an integrated part of their
subject provision. The most significant impact
of this changing picture is an increase in the
use of ICT in live performance.
Case study#3: Technology in Performance
At a recent Specialist Schools Arts
Conference, a group of young musicians from
Pimlico School demonstrated how elements of
music technology could be incorporated into
an acoustic performance. They did this by
using real-time sound processing and working
with a laptop computer as a musical
instrument. The musicians using the
technology were playing alongside a
guitarist, percussionist, saxophonist and a
keyboard player.
Using a laptop running a piece of software
called AudioMulch and a USB MIDI controller (in
this case Evolutions X-Session), they created
an instrument that gives the user control over
elements of pitch, duration, dynamics and
timbre. The laptop musician sits with the rest
of the ensemble and responds to the visual and
audio cues that arise in ensemble performance.
They used independent amplification, located
close to where they were performing, so that
the player became associated with the sounds
they were generating. Balancing the sound was
done by ensuring that students listened to each
other and worked together, so that the
technical musician develops the same
listening and ensemble skills as their
acoustic peers.
Using computers in live performance provides
students working with music technology with
the same ensemble and performing skills as
other musicians in their schools. Like any
musical instrument, the computer has its own
strengths and weaknesses, but it is important
to acknowledge these and work within its
capabilities. This approach inevitably leads to
refreshing new instrumental combinations,
where students can experiment with new
textures and timbres. It is genuinely creative,
because the music usually has to be devised
and improvised. This in turn helps our
students to become more fully-rounded
musicians, developing the essential skills
required in much contemporary music making.
Music is usually taught as a discrete subject
in the curriculum, yet outside school it rarely
stands in this isolation. For example,
contemporary music is often presented in a
multimedia context combined with elements
of dance or video. In other historical contexts
and cultures, music is inextricably linked with
elements of dance, drama or ritual. To make
music education relevant to a wide range of
contexts in which young people encounter
music outside school, many of which are
multimedia, some traditional subject barriers
may need to be broken down.
10
Using
computers in
live performance
provides students
working with
music technology
with the same
ensemble and
performing skills
as other
musicians in
their schools
M U S I C A L F U T U R E S - A P A U L H A M L Y N F O U N D A T I O N S P E C I A L P R O J E C T

11
There have
always been
opportunities
for working
with music in
cross-curricular
ways, and music
produced
digitally
significantly
increases the
range of
possibilities
There have always been opportunities for
working with music in cross-curricular ways,
and music produced digitally significantly
increases the range of possibilities. Three
areas which particularly suggest themselves
are dance, visual art and mathematics.
Dance
Many dance groups in schools and the wider
community work with electronically
generated music which has repetitive rhythms
and a strong beat. Dance students could
explore using original music produced by their
peers working with loop-based software.
Soundbeam
13
is a device that sends out an
ultrasonic beam which the user projects
across the performing space. When students
generate any sort of movement within this
space, the interruptions are captured by
the device and converted into MIDI data
which can control music, video or lighting
changes. Technology such as Soundbeam
allows for live synchronisation of movement
and music, and has great potential for
performing arts departments.
Visual Art
Many schools have art and design
departments that are capable of creating
highly sophisticated digitally-produced work.
This includes: processing still images and
video animations; using live performance to
accompany a sequence of projected still
images; making digitally recorded soundtracks
which can be edited and processed in the
latest sequencing software; and vjaying
where the performer triggers video clips to
pre-recorded sound samples.
Mathematics
Manor School in York recently did a
composition and performance project
involving elements of art, mathematics and
music. Guided by their teacher, students
analysed the works of St Ives painter John
Wells and discovered that there was a
mathematical basis underlying the structure
of many of his paintings. This involved the use
of prime numbers and patterns based on the
Fibonacci series. A software programme
(Music Generator) was used to translate some
of this mathematical data into musical
fragments or motifs for use as building blocks
in the final composition. Various software
applications were used for developing and
arranging the musical materials generated in
this way. Sections of the paintings were
scanned and animated using Microsoft Photo
Story and these video projections served as a
backdrop for the performance. These
projections also functioned as a graphic
score, providing a series of cues for those
musicians performing live.
CONCLUSION
The best ICT generates motivation and
engagement, ensures impersonal feedback,
provides scope for peer collaboration and
co-designing of learning and teaching
with staff.
14
Young people have always had the capacity to
produce original and exhilarating music in the
right conditions. For todays young people,
ICT and music technologies can help provide
stimulating learning environments that enable
and encourage students to produce work of a
very high standard.
ICT hardware is cheaper and more powerful
than ever before and the range of music
software increases steadily. This equipment is
being used effectively across a wide range of
genres and there are countless examples of
exciting, original contemporary music which
can be used as examples in teaching.
Many external music providers who have a
tradition of working with music technology,
are beginning to make significant impact in
terms of their contribution to teaching and
learning in schools. This work is being
encouraged and to some extent co-ordinated
by the Music Manifesto who expect to see:
E L E C T R I F Y I N G M U S I C W W W. M U S I C A L F U T U R E S . O R G . U K
13
www.soundbeam.co.uk
14
Hargreaves, D, Personalising
Learning-3, 2005.
Schools, Music services, Youth Music Action
Zones, community and youth music organisa-
tions, the music and creative industries and
others working effectively together to meet
many more young peoples needs and helping
them fulfil their aspirations.
15
Some of our best music teachers are already
using ICT to create truly inspiring learning
experiences for their students. For example,
schools are using ICT and music to:
Encourage boys singing (Northampton
Academy);
Encourage independent working
(Archbishop Michael Ramsey School);
Use visual representation to support aural
understanding (Charles Darwin School);
Facilitate effective differentiation of
learning tasks (Djanogly School);
Reinforce and consolidate a
traditional music activity (Holy Cross
Catholic High School);
Support students with limited notation
reading skills to engage with music at a
higher level (Bluecoats School);
Bring a range of resources together in
engaging multimedia lesson presentations
(Alcester High School).
Organisations such as the National Association
of Music Educators and the Specialist Schools
and Academies Trust are working hard to help
disseminate case studies of best practice via
their websites and events.
But ICT also presents challenges for teachers.
With the introduction of music technology,
teachers are required to work across a much
broader musical spectrum, often with students
who may have a greater understanding of ICT
in contemporary music than they do.
We conclude with three suggestions
for teachers who wish to become more
ICT aware:
1.Become co-researchers with their
students. Learning about ICT in music
together may encourage a sense of equality
and a dialogue constructive for learning.
Teachers could consider involving their
students in curriculum planning and
development and to listen to and act on
their suggestions and ideas.
2.Explore examples of best practice, such as
those given in this pamphlet.
3.Investigate software used by musicians.
Most software can be obtained on a trial
basis, either from magazines or websites.
The best software allows and encourages
the user to explore and create for
themselves without being guided down one
of a number of limited paths. New
software/hardware applications which
move well beyond the usual notation
/sequencer packages found in schools need
to be investigated.
ICT in music presents us with exciting
opportunities to significantly improve the
teaching and learning of music in schools, and
to make music more accessible for students.
As ICT becomes more pervasive in education,
we must acknowledge that the role for music
teachers is still a vital component in this
changing world. They will continue to have a
crucial part to play in nurturing musicianship
and creativity in their students and they
will use ICT to help them achieve this.
12
As ICT
becomes more
pervasive in
education,
we must
acknowledge
that the role for
music teachers is
still a vital
component in this
changing world
M U S I C A L F U T U R E S - A P A U L H A M L Y N F O U N D A T I O N S P E C I A L P R O J E C T
15
Music Manifesto Report#2, Department
for Education and Skills, 2006.
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
BROWN, R and GRIESE, M, Electronica Dance
Music Programming Secrets
Prentice Hall (2000)
COLLYER, A, Club Dance Remix
Published in Music Teacher,
www.rhinegold.co.uk (March 2004)
DELANEY, M, Laptop Music: Create, Record,
Perform or Just Listen to Music on Your
Laptop Computer, PC Publishing (2004)
HARGREAVES, D, Personalising Learning 3
Specialist Schools Trust (2005)
KELLY, O, Digital Creativity
Gulbenkian (1996)
MASON, K, BHABRA, S and REES, F, Study
Support Summer School Pilots, National
Foundation for Educational Research (2000)
Music in Secondary Schools
OFSTED, HMI 2328 (2005)
PAPERT, S, Child Power: Keys to the New
Learning of the Digital Century available at
www.papert.org/articles/Childpower
PROCHAK, T, How to Remix
Sanctuary Publishing (2001)
A Curriculum for the Future: Subjects
Consider the Challenge, Qualifications and
Curriculum Authority (2005)
TOOP, D, Ocean of Sound
Serpents Tail (2001)
SAVAGE, J, Teaching Music with ICT
in Finney, J. and Burnard, P (eds), Teaching
Music in the Digital Age London, Continuum
(Forthcoming)
Recommended software
Ableton Live www.ableton.com
Acid Xpress www.acidplanet.com
Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
A Music Generator
www.musoft-builders.com/
Audiomulch www.audiomulch.com
Hyperscore www.hyperscore.com
Reason www.propellerheads.se
Van Basco www.vanbasco.com
Recommended listening
Aphex Twin Selected Ambient Works vol II
(WARP)
Boards of Canada Music Has the Right to
Children (WARP)
Brian Eno Apollo (EG)
Fat Boy Slim Youve Come a Long Way Baby
(Skint)
FSOL Lifeforms (Virgin)
Jah Wobble Rising Above Bedlam (OVAL)
Kraftwerk Trans Europe Express (Capitol)
Moby Play (CDStumm)
Orbital Work 1989(- 2002 Warner)
Various Pump Up the Volume (Channel 4)
Faithless Reverence/Irreverence
(Mushroom)
The Streets A Grand Dont Come for Free
(Atlantic)
Smith Quartet Stephen Montague Quartet
no 1 (Continuum)
Sheila Chandra Monsoon (Mercury)
13 E L E C T R I F Y I N G M U S I C W W W. M U S I C A L F U T U R E S . O R G . U K
Biography
David Ashworth is a freelance education consultant, specialising in music technology. He is
the Lead Consultant on Music and ICT for the National Association of Music Educators.
Other recent work has included an online learning consultancy for Musical Futures;
advisory work for QCA, BBC Jam, Sonic Arts Network and Teachers TV and CPD design and
delivery for the Specialist School and Academies Trust and many LEAs and Music Services.
He is currently leading a number of projects in the North West of England and elsewhere
on the use of ICT in live performance. He also teaches music part time at The Queen
Katherine School, Kendal.
Musical Futures
c/o The Paul Hamlyn Foundation
18 Queen Annes Gate, London SW1H 9AA
www.musicalfutures.org.uk www.phf.org.uk