Music Software to Support the Music Curriculum

Dr. G. David Peters, Professor Indiana University School of Music - Indianapolis

Schools, private music teachers, parents and individual students have turned to instructional software to improve their skills, increase their music knowledge and to have fun learning the basics. A persistent problem for schools, however, has been the need to select software to support an existing or expanding music curriculum. Many schools are in the midst of revising the music curriculum to meet new State or National Standards for the Arts. Within the last five years, music software companies have created enough instructional music software to fulfill curriculum needs as well as answer some of the questions as to how schools can respond to the guidelines stated in the standards.

Instruction versus Application

A large number of schools purchased computers within the last ten to fifteen years for music department use. A high percentage of the early use of these computers, however, was to run application software used by the teachers not the students. Music printing software, sequencer software and later MIDI file libraries were applications used by teachers. This type program did not instruct students nor for the most part, was it available to students to use as tools. These applications had no “content” for students to learn, nor were they very helpful to the teacher in assisting students in learning. Even today, one of the first decisions music faculty make about purchasing software for the music curriculum is to purchase application software tools. Clearly these software tools are not designed to instruct unless the music curriculum becomes one of writing music notation with computers and/or creating MIDI sequencing.

Instruction Software and Content

The use of software designed to teach, tutor, drill, query or sequence a student’s learning has been available in music since the late 1970’s. Many of the early programs were drill-and-practice programs in ear-training and music theory. And most of the 1970’s software was developed on college campuses for college courses. Those familiar with these early computer-assisted-instruction programs will be pleased to learn that software has become more interactive, more colorful and more motivating. Several hundred software titles have been developed specifically to teach music to learners of all ages. Software content ranges from note-names, to music history; from composer biographies to African instruments; from harmonic analysis to instrument fingerings.

The music curriculum can be supported in large part by available computer software. The content materials presented to students by the software should be sequenced in similar fashion as the music curriculum. By using local, State or National standards as a guide, one can assess the usefullness or the appropriateness of any piece of software. In general, software has been designed to accommodate a broad population of users. Care has been taken in selecting language for instructions which makes much of the introductory software usable with children or adult students.

The content of music software can be divided into three areas; cognitive (knowledge-based material), psychomotor (skill and perception-based material) and affective (values and experiential materials). The cognitive content software is by far the largest, dealing with facts, terms, historic information, theoretical analysis, pitch systems, and other information about music. The programs in this area teach through drill-and-practice, tutorial interaction, game techniques or problem solving. More advanced programs combine several approaches. Examples of these programs include Early Music Skills, Music Flash Cards or Keyboard Tutor (all by ECS, Inc.). The software is colorful, fast-moving and randomized for repeated usage. The content covers note reading, scales and music keyboard topography.

The psychomotor area includes developing skills in music performance and perception of music. Examples of these programs include Keyboard Arpeggios, Audio Mirror or numerous ear training programs such as Aural Skills Trainer or Harmonic Progressions. The first two programs require students to perform, the first with a MIDI keyboard attached to a computer; the second requiring a student to sing into a microphone attached to a computer to receive feedback on the ability to match pitches. Both assist students in perfecting the performance skills. The third and fourth programs are of many that assist students in listening skills. Identifying major/minor, high/low, chord quality or other aural tasks is an important part of any music curriculum. These are perception skills all musicians feel are a must.

The affective area of the curriculum builds values through listening and discriminating the quality of music. Programs such as the TimeSketch Composers Series; Portrait of Beethoven and Portrait of Brahms or the TimeSketch Jazz Series, makes use of CD-quality music and guided listening. Students quickly identify the structure of music as it applies to quality of performance. Comparing music styles is the basis for this series which assists students in understanding or appreciating music.

Making a First or Final Selection:

In reviewing any music curriculum, teachers can identify short-comings. Areas that cannot be covered because of lack of time or resources or student preparation. These are areas that should be considered for music software supplements. Students can learn, through individualized instruction, without additional teacher time or in-class involvement. Good, solid software will instruct and evaluate the student in a sequential fashion. The first software purchase a teacher should make is a title which covers remedial or basic information.

Some students need additional time and interactions to gain full understanding of music information or concepts. Some students fall behind as they transfer from one school to another. These fundamentals programs can provide a safety net for students at or near the bottom of the class. All students should have access to these materials, however.

In larger decisions which affect the entire curriculum and a majority of students, the final decision should rest on the teacher’s assessment of the number of topics covered by the software as it applies to the goals of the music curriculum. Certainly software can offer comprehensive knowledge to the non-performing, general student. These students can be energized with the added attention they receive from learning in a computer or music laboratory. Experiencing music through guided listening, receiving immediate feedback on their intonation, seeing a progress chart of improved skills or knowledge bring these student a sense of accomplishment, difficult to achieve in large classes in today’s schools.

Software can also reinforce advanced skill development for music performers. Some software offers feedback to students which is impossible to achieve without the software. The pitch-analysis software published by ECS is a great example of such feedback. Also the intelligent accompaniment feature of Vivace is another example of software following students in a performance setting.

Teachers are encouraged to begin incorporating software into their music curricula immediately. It is not too late to catch up to the 20th century use of computers in music education!