This manifesto for my own teaching is a result from the recent MOOC I’ve studied on Music Education in the 21st Century presented by James Humberstone. My previous blogs (see below) have documented my thoughts throughout the course.

In the MOOC, we’ve been shown different types of musical creativity through different genres and how technology has impacted on these genres. Instrumental music has always relied on technology to inform the style and type of music playable. The 20th century has seen the addition of electronic and digital instruments which change many musical elements such as timbre and pitch possibilities. The ability to record has also reduced reliance on music literacy and notation, and increased consumption, widening audiences so that Western music now impacts on larger areas of the world.

The challenge as a teacher is to take these technologies and use them as tools to achieve musical outcomes with students who have varying musical ability. Musical activities such as performing, improvising, composing now have applicable technologies available which can make activities more efficient, achievable, and shareable. As a teacher, I have a working experience in these types of technologies so now I need to incorporate these in an authentic way. This includes pre-planning, scaffolding, and managing the technology within the classroom environment. Technology can also be used to create resources and activities that students can access in their own time and in their own space, so it is worth my while taking time to organise these.

Most important to me is that students have performance experience so that their interaction with music is as a musician, not an observer. This is vital during the non-elective years, in Stage 4, as in Australia, this may be the only time a student actually studies music. As a teacher, I also identify myself as a performer and composer, and I would like my students to see themselves as performers and composers. I can encourage this by incorporating as many performance activities as possible into any teaching activities, using musicology, listening, improvisation and composition for project-based learning. Music literacy is very important to me but I would prefer that a knowledge of music notation come from creating and playing rather than worksheets, starting with basic patterns and working towards complex ideas. During the non-elective years of music classes, a combination of ensemble performances and individual compositions could allow students who already have musical experience to share their skills with those who don’t. ‘Mixed-bag’ arrangements which encourage musical literacy as well as allowing for moments of improvisation could help with inclusion of students of all musical abilities. 

An exciting way into music for the non-elective years is to work backwards from known music, into the unknown. This makes contextual teaching relevant and also can create interesting discovery experiences. Sites such as www.whosampled.com can help students gain insight into music they already know and uncover where their preferred music has come from. This also helps to show students how new can be created from old and give models for composition. 

Challenging this performance-centric approach are the HSC requirements which include a written exam that tests aural skills and requires musicological understanding to successfully complete. Students can learn these skills this by using musicological language and the concepts of music to explain their own choices when putting together a composition portfolio for any performance. 

The activities which are undertaken in music classes are vastly different to other subjects and music naturally lends itself to now-trendy large-based projects in composition and performance. If I can approach my teaching in an authentic way as a musician and pass on these experiences to my students, then hopefully my students will remain engaged with music throughout their life. All I need is a regular classroom teaching job to try it all out.

There’s a perception that classical musicians are different to pop musicians. On some level, this is true when it comes to learning experiences, and as teachers, we need to choose the right pedagogy for the style being studied. However, there are some similarities across all styles of music and we can use these similarities to bring relevance to new music when expanding student musical horizons.
So what types of experiences can we give students?

• Some academics have identified ‘informal’ learning activities associated with pop including: listening and copying; solitary practice; group learning; apprenticeship; experimentation; integrating listening, playing, singing, improvising, composing. This is similar to Orff Schulwerk.
• Classical music ‘formal’ learning activities include practising instrumental skills, developing aural skills, reading notation, learning instrument-specific repertoire, developing theoretical understanding. Improvisation, composition, memorisation, and apprenticeship are a strong part of this tradition - competent teachers recognise this. 
• Technology is now a part of both ‘informal’ and ‘formal’ types of musical learning.

Not surprisingly, both the ‘informal’ and ‘formal’ ways of learning align with each other. In a study into commonality and diversity in classical and non-classical musicians, it was found that expert performers have skills that are transferable to any musical genre. 

In the classroom, we can start with these common music-making skills that exist across genres and use these to create relevance for the student from known music to the unknown. This way, we can create a balance between what is seen as 'classical' and what is seen as 'pop'. From here, we can then hone in on specific pedagogies to learn specific styles. Music pedagogy, for ourselves as musicians, and for our students, need to authentically align with the musical style we are studying. We need to model ourselves as 21st-century musicians and interact with music in a musical way, not merely a historical and theoretical way, in order to remain relevant.

​Technology has always influenced the musical world and redefined parameters for composition, both in the electronic and acoustic music. A simple example within my own world can be seen with keyboard instruments where the smallest harpsichord had 48 keys while the modern piano has 88 keys, widening the range of notes that can be used in a keyboard composition. There is a parallel with this in new technology and much music-making is now easily created using computers and software.
 
As teachers, we can create new opportunities for musical learning through technology and in teacher-speak, the TPACK framework helps us to understand how to incorporate this into the classroom environment. In his book Music Technology and Education: Amplifying Musicality (2015), Andrew Brown discusses three metaphors of technology in music education that fall into the TPACK model:- 'technology as a musical tool'; 'technology as a musical medium'; and 'technology as a musical instrument'.
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‘Technology as a musical tool’ is easily implemented and already widely used in music classrooms across the world. In my own teaching, I've used programs such as Auralia which mimic and extend traditional aural exercises help to increase a student's musical understanding and musical intelligence. ‘Technology as a musical medium’ refers to the type of technology which enables an activity and sometimes has more capability, depending on the student, to capture and convey musical ideas. An example of this is composition which, in Western music, is traditionally notated on paper, but now can be easily (and some say, easier) notated using software such as Sibelius. I prefer pencil and paper but regularly use Sibelius and find that students can get a result quickly with this software. Both of these metaphors have enhanced music education.

In the video below, Stephen Heppell discusses the creative ways that technology has been incorporated into the classroom. Although these are not music-specific, it does give the feeling that anything is possible.

David Price below discusses the way technology empowers learning, including music-specific examples such as collaborating online, creating works for high visibility and removing the 'middle-man', which has had a large impact on the music industry.