Teaching with Technology

Social media as an opportunity for pedagogical change in music education

 Social networking platforms (SNPs) and online communities can be an integral part of music students’ lives.  They tap into students’ needs to communicate and contribute to a community of practice that is unique to musicians.  Online music communities provide a platform upon which music students change share a wide range of expertise ranging from performance to composition.  Online members of music communities …“seem to be motivated by the need to get their music heard by others and to get feedback, and even more by the possibility of hearing what kind of music others are making.…they participate in order to establish connections…” (Salavuo, 2008) p. 126).   

 According to Salavuo (2008), activities in online music communities include:

1. Uploading one’s own music, expecting feedback
2. Listening to music contributed by peers, providing feedback
3. Discussing, asking questions, providing answers, engaging in arguments
4. Recommending music
5. Connecting together to engage in joint projects (p. 126)

Several of these activities speak to the role of feedback and how it plays an integral role in the collaborative process.  Musicians are in a constant state of creating and thrive on the real-time feedback that can inform their progress in completing a composition or performance component.  Aside from the textual communications of online discussions, musicians have the added option of showcasing their actual musical selections for everyone to hear and critique.  In this way, they are keeping with the impressions and thoughts of their audience and working from a creative platform that thrives on the responses from those whom these artists wish to move or inspire.  The collaborative support system works to help those in the creative process and motivate those preparing for or contemplating the start of a creative project. 

 Several online music communities were listed in the article:  A brief description of each is below:

 iCompositions.com – Great site for showcasing the works of different composers.  Descriptions of instrumentation and the various types of digital effects are listed for each composition.  They also feature a section for comments and feedback.  They also have a “Forum” sections that discusses various music software and tips for using them.

 Restation.net  – Reason station was set up to offer a home where members could exchange tips, questions, music, and sounds.  The site features a “Tutorial” and “Forum” sections with information on how to create ReasonMusic. 

 Ccmixter.org – One interesting feature on this site is the “Mixer.”  It allows you to remix and interact with previously downloaded music on the site to create your own unique composition.  This section has an entire space dedicated to samples and tutorials for remixing your music. 

 These types of communities provide an outlet for musicians to create music beyond the walls of the practice room or the Finale computer software to a place that is filled with creative ideas and immediate feedback.  What these communities bring to the creative world of music is an opportunity for its users to start interacting with music in ways that are more organic and spontaneous.  Their members thrive on the constancy of input from which to build their ideas and through this process they come to understand the audience for whom they are creating these musical products.  The interpretative process becomes more dependent upon the reactions and impressions of the listener and pulls musicians from the often isolated “chambers” of musical manufacturing that are limited to the creative outlets of the four walls in which they are surrounded.  The implications for this type of collaborative learning and creative nourishment for the “classroom” and other disciplines are the most compelling with regard to the motivational components related to learning.  These learning environments breed ongoing and interactive learning that motivates and cultivates further learning inquiries and goals.    

 Salavuo, M. (2008).  Social media as an opportunity for pedagogical change in music education. 

The Journal of Music, Technology and Education.  1(2), 121-136.  doi:  10.1386/jmte.1.2

and 3.121/1