Diana Yukawa (Violin Soloist)
Imagine this: you are a college student who wants to get a good job and has a passion for playing the piano, but you understand that majoring in music doesn’t always give you a steady career, and you’re worried that if you major in music you won’t be able to pay off all that college debt. Even so, none of these reasons make you any less devoted to playing piano.
So what do you do? With the recent leaps in technology, colleges and other companies have started offering courses, even degrees, online. These programs cost much less than a traditional college and some are even free. However, these courses only include more academic music majors, such as Music History, Music Education, and Music Business. Many people are skeptical of developing a way to learn music performance online because they feel that playing music is an art, and therefore difficult to analyze and evaluate properly outside of consistent face-to-face feedback. On the contrary, I believe that technology has reached a point where it can do many of these things on its own. I believe that as we develop online schooling, it can become a highly effective alternative to physical colleges for those interested in music. The freedom that online school provides and the skills that it teaches can help music-enthusiasts learn in a way that is better suited to their needs. We are at the beginning of a new age of education and as companies and colleges increase the options and quality, online courses will play a key role in the world of music education.
Why Would You Want to Learn Online Anyway?
There is an extremely large market for adults who would want to learn music online which makes makes the next step obvious, and even necessary: an independent tool for learning music and earning degrees online. One of the major benefits, is that there are lower costs. Going back to the story of our piano-playing enthusiast, many people are worried about majoring in music performance because jobs aren’t steady, and paying off student debt can be intimidating. Another major benefit of online learning is the flexibility. There are so many adults who do not have the time in their schedule to go to a traditional college, but would still love to learn music. Online education gives these people the opportunity to incorporate online learning into their busy schedule. They can learn at their own pace and whenever they have time. In addition, many college students audition for a music college and are not able to get in or their college might have everything they want except for an excellent music program. People might want a music degree for personal fulfillment, even as they train to do something else in their career, so this allows people to follow their music dreams while also working at something more profitable and/or practical. For all of these people, online courses would truly be a life saver. There is a huge market for people who want to learn music online, and it would be silly not to supply one with such large demand.
How Do People Learn?
Although there are numerous people that would benefit from online learning, is it even practical? We are still learning a lot about the human brain and how it learns, but based on current research, it is obvious that online learning could be effective. One of the important factors we have found in learning is activeness, and this vital part could still be implemented online. In a study on the brain, the researcher presented adults with a 3D object on a computer. When the participants were able to interact with the object, as opposed to simply watching it move, they had more accurate answers and fast reaction times (Krishnan). Now this might seem to be an argument against online schooling because activeness seems easier to achieve in a classroom setting with class discussions, projects, etc. However, active learning can apply online as well. Students can post comments in online discussions, take tests, play games, and participate in other active learning techniques. Overall, the best kind of learning, active learning, can still be implemented online. Because you do not lose a vital part of the learning process when transferring education to an online environment, it becomes more practical for businesses and colleges to develop learning software.
However, there are many types of active learning and only some produce the best results, so would companies be able to incorporate the best parts of active learning online? To discover how students best learn, John Dunlosky, who works in the department of psychology at Kent State University, conducted a study. He researched various techniques and found that “[they] vary widely with respect to their generalizability and promise for improving student learning” (Dunlosky). Practice tests and distributed practice (the opposite of cramming) were found to be highly effective, while methods such as summarization, highlighting, the keyword mnemonic, imagery use for text learning, and rereading received a low utility rating. Other techniques like elaborative interrogation and self-explanation have not been researched enough to fully understand how they impact learning. This study also shows that specific techniques are effective in some circumstances and for some people while in other circumstances, they are not (Dunlosky). Ultimately, a variety of methods are important for learning, and a best method for learning all things hasn’t been discovered. Companies developing online courses have a wide use of tools, such as online tests, interactive videos, and online classroom comment-like discussions. Practice tests and distributed practice, the best learning methods we know of, can be incorporated online. The fact that these techniques and other effective ones can be implemented online, makes online learning a promising possibility as an alternative businesses and colleges can provide.
How Do People Learn Music?
Learning music is like learning anything else; all the same techniques still apply, and because of this online courses can be a great alternative for musicians-in-training. However, it is widely agreed that practice is the most important way to actively learn. Dr. Gaertner writes that based off of current research, there is a specific neuron for one idea and another one for a different idea, and “when neurons fire at the same time, the connections between the neurons get stronger” (Gaertner). We learn by creating connections between related ideas. For example, we learn music as the neuron for a symbol fires at the same time as the neuron for it’s meaning (Gaertner). The stronger the connections are, the more knowledge we retain. It becomes easier to remember and repeat faster and more naturally the next time. It is obvious that practicing will result in neurons firing and, therefore, more knowledge. Practice, although often enforced by classes, is basically entirely dependent on the learner. Learning traditionally or online wouldn’t change or affect the most important part of music performance education: practice.
Although music is very dependent on the learner, the teacher’s impact cannot be ignored– in traditional schools. The fact that online education is more learner-dependant makes the teacher even less important. Dan Isbell, an Assistant professor at Ithaca College, wrote an article describing multiple techniques for learning music. However, he reached mostly the same conclusion as Dunlosky’s study on how people learn: there is not a best way to teach and different methods apply to different circumstances (Isbell). That being said, music is a very sensitive subject: “If a teacher pushes too hard, students become frustrated and resist; push too little and they become apathetic and the appetite for learning fades. These uncertainties can be a source of confusion and stress or they can be considered a source of intrigue and curiosity for smart, savvy, sensitive, and skilled music teachers” (Isbell). Teachers must focus on the students. It may be harder to gage students online, and because lectures are often recorded, it may be difficult to change the program to adapt to the students. However, students pursuing music in higher education must have a passion for it to study it when their future could be insecure. This means that they have more of an internal drive to learn music and pushing too hard would not hurt them musically as much as someone who does not have the same passion. Additionally, a newly-developed online music performance education software could give freedom to students to take more classes and harder classes if they are not pushed enough or slow down their learning if they are pushed too much. Although there are people who disagree with the effectiveness of online education, there are many who agree and would provide a market for the new program.
Could This Actually Work Online?
The freedom that online courses provide have some advantages and disadvantages. The freedom allows students to learn what they want to at their own pace. However, teachers cannot connect with students emotionally as easily, and students feel less inclined to work. Nick Zacharias, an assistant professor at the Technological Educational Institute of Piraeus, wrote an article, arguing it is vital that students are able to self-regulate (Zacharias). Online courses are a lot more learner-oriented than teacher-oriented, so it is extremely important that the students are on track. This is a main argument against online courses. However, this point impacts online music education less because of motivation. Adult students in music will almost purely learn it because they are passionate. Because they have drive, they want self-regulate and take control of their learning. Not only will they have the long-term benefits of learning more or being able to get a better job, they have short-term benefits of truly enjoying what they are learning. Demanders of music education are a lot more likely to look at good things about online learning versus the disadvantage of less external-regulation. This means that there would be a lot of people interested in online music courses, making it smart for companies and colleges to develop them. Online courses can be a great tool for musicians-in-training.
The “+*” indicates that a learning environment with that quality would have a significant positive effect on the desired actions of students. On the other hand, the “-*” indicates that the quality would have a significant negative effect on the actions (Donche).
Online learning can be just as effective as traditional learning because the biggest portion of learning is the student’s personality and motivation. Because of this, it makes perfect sense for companies and colleges to develop this software. In the British Journal of Educational Psychology, Donche published a study that researched 1,126 undergraduate students and found that learning is highly tied to personality. Therefore, learning styles and strategies should not be given too much credit although they are still very important. Refer to the figure 1 (Donche). If a student wants to learn, they will. As I talked about in the previous paragraph, adult musicians in general have a large amount of motivation or else they wouldn’t pursue a music degree. Because personality and motivation are such big factors, online learning can be an effective alternative to traditional schooling. Additionally, instructors can implement active learning and the best learning techniques online, making online education a promising and exciting new development for businesses to create.
If This Is True, Why is There Such a Bias Against Teaching Music Online?
Even though this could be an effective alternative, a lot of people feel that in person teachers are necessary. Teachers create emotional connections and can give good feedback. Linda Resseguier, marketing manager at Arobas Music, says “A teacher will listen to the student’s needs and create specific content to help them make progress, have fun and stay motivated to practice once the initial enthusiasm wears off”(Stenger). This might be true for children, but college-age students and adults have the ability to function without live teachers. Because music is difficult and requires endless practice, younger students often need external motivation to keep them engaged, However, she also argues that you need a teacher to listen to the student’s playing a give them feedback (Stenger). This is by far the most influencing piece of opposition. Learning music is not like learning math or science: there is not one correct answer. Music is so intricate and complex that it seems impossible that one could not learn without a teacher. Currently, there is not a great alternative for a private teacher. However, we could easily have a great online courses with the technology we have now. We just need someone to create it.
What Options Do We Have Now and How Could We Develop Them?
The most developed and commonly used method of learning music performance online is through Skype private lessons. Websites such as www.takelessons.com provide a easy-to-use method for find private teachers or tutors for many different acedemics and arts. However, the costs for private lessons online cost similar to private lessons in person. In addition, the program hasn’t been developed to teach the curriculum outside of simply performance (sightsinging, genre studies, etc.) nor does it provide a way to earn an actual degree (“Music Lessons”).
Additionally, there are a lot of practice help programs which are separate from online courses. One of these softwares is called SmartMusic. SmartMusic displays sheet music, while allowing the student to choose a tempo and whether to hear their part or the entire orchestra. After this, it displays which notes and rhythms were right and in tune and which were not, in addition to giving you a percentage score (“SmartMusic – Music Education Software”). The software could be developed to look for vibrato, staccato, and other articulations. A combination of this software, online lectures, examples of others performing the songs with notes on what specifically to imitate, and an online community where people could post videos of their performances and others can comment could provide adult students with the feedback necessary to improve their performance. Skype could also be used although that would increase the costs for the consumer. In an online course with theory tests, performance tests, and other listening tests (such as sight singing,) a computer could accurately grade students. Companies could quickly develop software that could be used to teach online courses everywhere. Because the current technology already exists, it would be a lot less costly and difficult for producers to create this kind of software that many people want.
What Other Online Music Courses Are Available Now?
Currently there is not a program that provides enough feedback for a course in music performance, but there are other online music degree programs. Berklee School of Music offers five online music degree, such as music business. These degrees, while music related, are similar to a typical academic test, and we have to software to teach them online now. The tuition is 60% less online, giving students who cannot afford Berklee a chance to get a similar education (“Earn an Online Bachelor Degree with Berklee”). Besides for college-provided music courses, there are plenty of free ways to learn music online. These options stretch from MIT OCW, which includes lectures, projects, multimedia content, and more, to Soundation Studio, which allows users to create music online, to youtube tutorial channels (“40 Ways To Learn Music Online For Free”). Currently, none of these methods are developed enough to give the same kind of education traditionally schooling would. Because so many of these programs exist, we know that there is definitely a demand for learning music and getting music degrees online. It makes total sense for businesses and colleges to take the next step forward and provide music performance degrees online as well.
I think that colleges and other developers of these programs have underestimated the impact that online course could have on learning music. Many people are skeptical about adapting music learning to online education because of the intricate details of music. However, the online world its capabilities are expanding rapidly. Within a very short period of time, we could easily have software that would benefit hundreds of people who want to learn music but cannot or don’t want to go to a traditional school. Online music performance education can be an effective alternative to traditional schooling; we just need to create it.
What Does This Imply For the Future?
Remember the story at the beginning about the person who loved to play piano but was anxious about majoring in it? Not only would this software affect him or her, but it could benefit thousands of other people! The people who could enjoy the benefits of this software range from adults that want to continue learning, students who didn’t get into a music program, or just students who want to expand their education without the extremely high costs. Although online music performance education is not for everyone, it could be an effective alternative for those who cannot learn in a traditional school because of their circumstances. In addition, a free, less advanced software like this could be introduced. This could provide poorer families and individuals all over the world with a way to learn music, a great skill and an enjoyable pastime, and would over all make life better for millions.
Works Cited
“40 Ways To Learn Music Online For Free.” TeachThought. Te@chThought, 21 Aug. 2012. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.
Donche, Vincent, et al. “Differential Use Of Learning Strategies In First-Year Higher Education: The Impact Of Personality, Academic Motivation, And Teaching Strategies.” British Journal Of Educational Psychology 83.2 (2013): 238-251. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 Nov. 2014.
Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K., Marsh, E., Nathan, M., & Willingham, D. (2013). “Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology.” Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14 (1), 4-58. Sage Journals. Web. 5 Nov. 2014.
“Earn an Online Bachelor Degree with Berklee.” Berklee Online. Berklee College of Music, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.
Gaertner, Tara. “Cellular Mechanisms of Learning.” Training the Musical Brain. Blogspot.com, 12 Apr. 2012. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.
Isbell, Dan. “Learning Theories: Insights For Music Educators.” General Music Today 25.2 (2012): 19-23. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 Nov. 2014.
Krishnan, Saloni, and Daniel Carey. “What Have We Learned About Learning? Reflections From Developmental Psychology And Cognitive Neuroscience.”Einstein Journal Of Biology & Medicine 29.1/2 (2013): 26-31. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 Nov. 2014.
Matthews, Jim. “The Ultimate Guide to Champion Teacher Techniques.”Effective Music Teaching. Effectivemusicteaching.com, 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.
“Music Lessons.” TakeLessons.com. TakeLessons, 2014. Web. 22 Nov. 2014.
Stenger, Marianne. “Can Online Music Courses Be As Effective As Traditional Teaching Methods?” ImformED. Open Colleges, 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 5 Nov. 2014.
“SmartMusic – Music Education Software.” SmartMusic. Make Music, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
Zacharis, Nick Z. “The Effect Of Learning Style On Preference For Web-Based Courses And Learning Outcomes.” British Journal Of Educational Technology 42.5 (2011): 790-800. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 Nov. 2014.
The College Crisis 