Computer Assisted Instruction in Music

Abstract

There is no question that due to the prevalence of the internet, the ability to instantly deliver information, entertainment, and education has increased at an unprecedented rate. Despite the fact that the internet has played a huge role in the distribution and discovery of music, there is more limited examples of academic approaches to using new technology to help people keep up with an ever-changing musical landscape. In fact, most music conservatories still only offer degrees in classical music performance, jazz studies, and occasionally more contemporary degrees, which ultimately leaves the average music student under-prepared for making a career in music. To combat this under preparedness, there needs to be a better means of having relevant, high quality information accessible to musicians and this information needs to be easy to find. In a world with an overabundance of misinformation, it can be hard to tell what information is truly useful and what information might sound helpful, but in reality is just a distraction. After researching various means of computer-assisted instruction in music, it appears that the most helpful resource to allow high quality education to reach the largest number of people would be through a program I have developed in java that uses immersive lessons that appeal to various types of learners using ever-changing examples which aren’t out of date. This program involves using visual, phonetic, and auditory information to allow for an experience that is similar to that of one-on-one teaching. After spending countless hours being a tutor for music theory and arranging, I have identified what I believe are some consistent holes in musicians’ knowledge and have provided a means of correcting these issues. These issues include: not understanding the jargon used to communicate ideas between musicians, not being able to write and/or describe original music to the musicians performing it, and not having a well trained enough ear to be a sufficient self-learner. My program “Computer Assisted Instruction in Music” addresses these needs, pointing to new models of computer-assisted instruction in music. Since it is impossible for one teacher to have the ultimate perspective on an ever-changing musical world, it is essential that computer programs that help aid in music education are developed and promoted as the most efficient means of musical instruction.