Master’s degrees in music education, some of the highest paying master’s degrees out there, are increasingly integrating technology into their own programs and the proficiencies they expect of their students. As an aspiring music teacher, you may encounter the instructional use of music technology both in the coursework you complete to earn your graduate degree and in the curriculum you create for your own students at the kindergarten through grade 12 levels of schooling.
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What Counts as Music Technology?
Music technology is a broader area of focus than you might expect. Notation software that allows users to create and edit their own sheet music is one form of music technology. So are interactive sound tables. The variety of technologies used in music education classrooms includes everything from handheld tablets to full-sized interactive whiteboards and from online lesson plans designed for the teacher’s ease of use to interactive web-based games that help make learning fun for kids. Even apps for mobile devices can have some value in music education. Artificial intelligence is being used in a variety of music education technology applications, including providing prompt feedback to students who are practicing their instrumental performance using instruments like the piano, flute and certain string instruments.
Among individual technologies used in music education, some tools are in much more widespread use than others. Nearly 60 percent of music teachers surveyed report using an interactive whiteboard in their classroom, while just 11 percent have a form of technology as specific as an interactive sound table, according to the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). What is clear, though, is that music teachers find technology as a whole valuable to their instruction. Nearly three-quarters of teachers surveyed reported finding that using these technologies motivates students to learn in general and through different learning styles and that integrating technology into the classroom supports and expands their curriculum, the NAfME reported.
The use of music apps and other technologies allows music teachers to turn their classrooms into their own music production studio, giving students a unique opportunity nts to explore and experiment with making music, according to the NAfME.
Using Music Technology in the Classrooms You Manage
Students in graduate music education programs use more than virtual classrooms with video meeting capabilities. They develop proficiency in the use of music instructional technologies that are most crucial to master to improve engagement in today’s classrooms. That may include, for example, using notation software to develop their own musical arrangements and print those sheets of music for distribution to their class.
A lot of the emphasis on music instructional technology in a master’s in music education program is on learning how to implement these tools into the curriculum effectively. The technology that you put to use with your students should, ideally, be part of the curriculum, not separate from it. Presenting this technology within the framework of the concepts and practices you want your students to learn can add to their engagement in the class, but without that framework, these technological tools can be little more than novelties and distractions from real learning.
Part of the challenge of mastering the use of music education technology isn’t just learning the technical skills to operate these tools but also learning how to create a curriculum structure that allows you to use these technologies effectively.
Pursuing a Concentration in Music Education Technology
Many, but not all, master’s in music education programs now include a course in music education technology as an important part of the required curriculum. If you want to delve a little deeper into the study and practice of using music education technology in the classroom, you can do this by looking for a graduate program with a concentration option in music technology.
Taking a few extra classes in music technology allows you to develop a broader and deeper range of knowledge in this field. You might learn about a wider variety of music technologies, including tools used for music recording, editing and production, as well as distribution via social media. Taking classes in music technology pedagogy allow for a more in-depth exploration of the different theories of how to use technology to teach music. Often, students of music technology pedagogy try their hands at developing their own curriculum unit that integrates widely used music education technologies.
In some graduate programs in music education, completing a concentration in music education technology will qualify you to apply for professional certification from the Technology In Music Education (TI:ME) nonprofit organization.
Additional Resources
What Will I Learn in a Master’s Program in Music Education?
What Kind of Backgrounds Do People in a Master’s in Music Education Program Come From?
What Are Most Master’s in Music Education Programs’ Demands for Prerequisites?