Digital Technology & Pop Music in the Music Classroom

Pop music today is centred on digital programming and recording. Modern music has shifted in the last 20 years in the way it is created, and it is important for music students to learn these new skills in the music classroom.

Logic Pro X is an industry standard Digital Audio Workspace that a multitude of pop music are created in. Garageband is the free version equivalent of Logic Pro X. Due to the similarities between these programs, Garageband is a authentic software platform for youth to engage with. Lee, Claster and Claster (2015) argue that technology today plays a major role in student’s lives more than ever before.

This blog post is my experience of how digital technology and pop music are able to engage youth in the classroom. By reading this post, you will be able to draw on some of my ideas to better engage students in your own classroom.

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During my first Professional Experience, I was given the opportunity to not only teach a music technology unit to my Year 10 class, but to also educate my supervising teacher on the use of music technology. As a musician, I have a wealth of knowledge in this area, having enjoyed learning to use music technology when I was a teenager. I worked closely with my supervising teacher to design a Two Week lesson sequence that used Digital Audio Workspace programs at the centre of learning, to engage and spark creativity.

In Week One, I drew on video resources to show my students that their favourite music is often created using a Digital Audio Workspace. I noticed students’ interest level rise instantly, as they understood the relevance of what I was showing them and were keen to learn how to create their own modern pop music.

Keefe & Steiner’s ‘Remixing The Curriculum'(2018)discusses that schools and teachers must take the lead in modelling appropriate, effective use of technology by integrating it into everyday life. Here is how I applied this with my Year 10 Music class:

Students were given a Jazz music piece as a template. They were then asked to manipulate the musical elements in order to turn the Jazz piece into a pop music piece. This was done on the classroom iPads using Garageband. I walked the class through possible avenues of how to manipulate musical elements – by changing settings, instruments, melodies and the arrangement – all through the click of a button.

Through the use of technology, I was able to transition and link the Term Two unit of work, Jazz, to Term Three’s unit of work, Pop Music.

Throughout this sequence, I could see that students’ engagement levels had increased by the integration and embedding of interactive technology. This provided every student with the opportunity to create his or her own pop music piece with relevant technology.

In Week Two, I set the activity for students to write and record/program an 8 bar pop track, using the six elements and using I, IV, V and vi chords. This time, I asked the students to do this activity on their Mobile Phones using a free Digital Audio Workspace called Auxy.

This sequence targeted the following Curriculum Standards: improvise and arrange music, using aural recognition of texture, dynamics and expression to manipulate the elements of music to explore personal style in composition and performance(ACAMUM009), and manipulate combinations of the elements of music in a range of styles, using technology and notation

(ACAMUM100). Students learned how to effectively record, program and manipulate through the use of two Digital Audio Workspaces.

Allander (2004) recognises contemporary popular music and pop culture is an effective way to engage and relate to students, and has academic value. I also found this to be the case as popular music and technology clearly helped students understand the relevance of what they were learning and it was visibly obvious that students enjoyed this two-week lesson sequence.

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Comment below: how can you implement and benefit from technology in your classroom?

References

Allander, D. (2004). Popular Culture in the classroom. 93(3), 12-14. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/237292525?pq -origsite=primo

Blair, S., Claster, P., & Claster, S. (2015). Technology and youth: Growing up in a digital world(1st ed.). Retrieved fromhttps://ebookcentral.proquest.com /lib/qut/reader.action?docID=4339875&ppg=10

Keefe, E., & Steiner, A. (2018). Remixing the curriculum: The teacher’s guide to technology in the classroom(1st ed.). Retrieved fromhttps://ebookcen tral.proquest.com/lib/qut/reader.action?docID=5216354

The Australian Curriculum. (2016). Music: Years 9 and 10. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/ the-arts/music/