Technology in the Music Classroom: Finding the Balance
This past Friday, I had the pleasure of presenting a session at the New Jersey Music Administrators Association (NJMAA) meeting at the Rutgers Club in Piscataway NJ titled Technology in the Music Classroom: Finding the Balance. I always enjoy presenting sessions in person, especially to this group of fantastic music educators and administrators.
The focus of my presentation was all about learning from our usage of technology during the pandemic, specifically those that music educators had success with (leaving aside all forms of video conferencing software), and looking ahead to how we can incorporate technologies that support the building of individual musicianship skills, becoming better music listeners, and of course, exploring the creative spirit that lives inside each and every one of the students we teach. I have been advocating for a more balanced approach to music education for the past 15 years - specifically trying to bring the music listener and the music creator to the same level of importance as the music performer. Here in the US, we do performance REALLY well. That said, we tend to overlook the other aspects of a comprehensive musicianship, or relegate them to those few weeks in the school year when we aren’t rehearsing for a performance.
It is my sincere hope, and personal mission, (and what we do at MusicFirst) to allow music technology to aid in the process of creating more well rounded music students OUTSIDE of class instructional time to listen to, write about, build musicianship skills, and work at becoming a composer. I would love to see all music programs EXPAND to include music technology courses - even if it’s one class or after school club. There is a whole population of students out there - often called the Other 80% - just waiting to learn about and make music in their school music program. We just have to always work to find ways to connect and engage with those students.
Anyway, I have attached my presentation here, and truly hope that you’ll look it over and think about finding that balance as we work to rebuild all of our music programs. If you’d like me to come a make this presentation at your school or district, just reach out to me at jim@musicfirst.com.