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- Volume 11, Issue 3, 2018
Journal of Music, Technology & Education - Volume 11, Issue 3, 2018
Volume 11, Issue 3, 2018
- Editorial
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- Articles
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The (music) educator as producer
By Andrew KingMusic technology has been an active part of the Higher Education (HE) curricula for several decades but it is perhaps the last few decades that have witnessed the proliferation of courses at tertiary level, or at least certainly in the United Kingdom. The recently formed Office for Students (OfS) in the United Kingdom replaces HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) although the remit is somewhat different for this new entity. The OfS is very much a regulator working on behalf of the consumers (students) and not the universities; education is probably the last of the sectors in the United Kingdom to fall into line with this practice since utility and other companies which have had such regulation for years. This brings into sharp focus the view of education as a service industry and the position of education more generally in HE in the United Kingdom. This takes place in the suggested context of a falling number of students engaging with music at schools, sixth form, and further education colleges as a consequence of changes to government policy and the content of the curricula. This article begins by examining music in education and highlighting the current issues. It draws upon recent reports about music in schools before examining the value of music, and especially music technology, in the curriculum. Questions around employability are set out and some key findings from a phenomenological study are presented to educators. Finally, some signposts are set out for future work in this area.
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The discipline that ‘became’: Developments in Music Technology in British higher education between 2007 and 2018
Authors: Carola Boehm, Russ Hepworth-Sawyer, Nick Hughes and Dawid ZiembaIn 2007 Carola Boehm published the introductory article within the first volume of the Journal of Music, Technology and Education entitled ‘The discipline that never was: Current developments in Music Technology in higher education in Britain’. Boehm identified the higher education (HE) offerings in Music Technology at that time. In the ten or so years that have passed since those findings, we have witnessed both incredible growth in the HE sector and significant shift in the flavour of programmes on offer. This shift has been seen primarily in the growth of the creative practice-led title of ‘Music Production’, but not at the expense of traditional ‘Music Technology’. Boehm’s paper also explored the wider range of subject matters that could be considered within the then term ‘Music Technology’, whether by an ever-expanding technological backdrop, or through interdisciplinarity. In this article, we report on the significant changes since then, with some analysis for the future whilst considering the current political challenges for British HE.
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Connected learning journeys in music production education
Authors: Rob Toulson and Russ Hepworth-SawyerThe field of music production education is a challenging one, exploring multiple creative, technical and entrepreneurial disciplines, including music composition, performance electronics, acoustics, musicology, project management and psychology. As a result, students take multiple ‘learning journeys’ on their pathway towards becoming autonomous learners. This article uniquely evaluates the journey of climbing Bloom’s cognitive domain in the field of music production and gives specific examples that validate teaching music production in higher education through multiple, connected ascents of the framework. Owing to the practical nature of music production, Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model is also considered as a recurring function that is necessary for climbing Bloom’s domain, in order to ensure that learners are equipped for employability and entrepreneurship on graduation. The authors’ own experiences of higher education course delivery, design and development are also reflected upon with reference to music production pathways at both the University of Westminster (London, United Kingdom) and York St John University (York, United Kingdom).
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Maker music: Incorporating the maker and hacker community into music technology education
More LessMusic Production and Technology education has traditionally concentrated on audio engineering, studio recording techniques with the focus of preparing students for a career as a producer or engineer. While necessary to retain the fundamentals of audio and recording, music technology education could do a service to students by including topics from the maker community by encouraging technology innovation. While some topics such as synthesis, programming and electronics are taught in graduate programmes, these are still seen as ‘specialty’ topics and students in undergraduate programmes miss out on learning other technologies and career paths that could benefit them. I would argue that by not updating the topics in music technology education that this has contributed to the stale output of the music industry within changing times. By incorporating topics such as microcontrollers, interaction and programming, students could discover new ways to work with music and learn skills that will give them more career opportunities. This article will discuss the ideals of the maker and music hacking movement, current pedagogy in Music Production and Technology degree programmes in the United States and United Kingdom and European Union, and the advantages of merging invention and DIY education into the current music technology and music production pedagogy.
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Studio Trad: Facilitating traditional music experiences for music production students1
Authors: Daithí Kearney and Adèle ComminsMany music production programmes in higher education institutions are heavily invested in popular music genres and production values in contrast to the diversity of musics often included in other music programmes and encountered in everyday life. Commenting on his 2017 album, Ed Sheeran highlights the potential for incorporating Irish traditional music into popular music. Over the past number of years, creative practice research projects at Dundalk Institute of Technology have provided opportunities for music production students to engage in the recording and production of Irish traditional music, broadening their experience beyond popular music genres and facilitating time for them to work collaboratively with Irish traditional musicians. Thus, an authentic and action-oriented mode of engagement in higher education is utilized to enhance the learning experience continuously aware of changes and attitudes in the music industry. This article focuses on three Summer Undergraduate Research Projects that provided students with the opportunity to research and record Irish traditional music during the summer months. The project not only provided the students with credible industry-like experience, it also provided the staff involved with an insight into the potential of collaborative project work to address multiple learning aims and objectives. In this article, a critical review of the projects is informed by feedback from the students involved, which can inform future development and structures of existing programmes in music production education.
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Flying Solo: Elevating student sound engineers into responsible work-experience roles at live music events
By David CarugoThe role of live sound mixer is somewhat akin to piloting an aeroplane full of passengers: you are in control of the outcome for a number of people for a certain time, and must take in a lot of sensory information, process and act upon it using highly technical controls and equipment. Work-experience students at live events often work up to this role and have to undertake more menial tasks such as running cables, moving loudspeakers and other equipment, loading vans and trucks; even on a long-term placement. However, by taking the lead from pilot training where the learner takes the controls under supervision of a more experienced professional pilot, student sound engineers can assume control of a live mix with an audience present while benefitting from the guidance of a professional. This article discusses such an approach in the context of its place within or alongside the curriculum.
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