Online music collaboration project: Digitally mediated, deterritorialized music education

Abstract

This article investigates and interrogates notions of student-centered music learning through collaboration in digital spaces. By harnessing the power and potential of Internet networks, one music educator in Miami, FL challenged his students to an online music collaboration project (OMCP) where students were asked to engage in deterritorialized collaborations with persons outside their classroom spaces. While in class collaboration was a hallmark of the class in other projects and areas of study, this particular 7-week project specifically targeted deterritorialized student collaborations through networked mediated digital music tools. The data discusses participant perspectives and contextualizes it within implications for music education in an evolving social sphere. The purpose of this research is to shed light on new pedagogies and push boundaries on what constitutes musical sharing places. While the students in this study needed guidance from the teacher/facilitator, the student agency, freedom and flow that resulted from the OMCP revealed an enthusiastic student perspective that was ripe for creativity. Implications for music education include widened notions of what constitutes a musical instruments, musical ensembles and musical venues. Further implications relate to broadened perspectives concerning student-centered learning, constructivist learning in music context and teacher/facilitator roles.

Remote Learning in School Bands During the COVID-19 Shutdown

“…Reasons for not composing or arranging during RL might relate to instructors’ lack of comfort or preparation in teaching these activities ( Bell, 2003 ; Cremata & Powell, 2017 ; Menard, 2015 ) or the perception that creating music is not part of the ensemble curriculum. Other obstacles may include a shortage of instruction time and the need for notation software or other tools ( Strand, 2006 ).…”

Singing Together, Yet Apart: The Experience of UK Choir Members and Facilitators During the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…As internet speeds increase alongside computational speeds, this technology needs to become easier to use and needs developing further to function within the necessary latency targets required for singing together in real-time over home networks. Such technological improvements would also create opportunities for further development and uptake of the online delivery of music education to remote communities ( King et al, 2019 ), and exploration of e-collaboration and theoretical frameworks for music learning in digitally deterritorialized collaborative spaces ( Cremata and Powell, 2017 ). With immersive audio techniques rapidly advancing there is also the potential to produce a shared acoustic environment within a real-time live virtual choir, whereby participants could hear themselves and other choir members in a shared virtual space in their given position with the group ( Cairns et al, 2020 ).…”

Mixing It Up: Sound Recording and Music Production in School Music Programs

“…Leveraging deterritorialization in music education has become more and more normalized due to efforts by music teacher practitioners and software/web developers. 13 Some of their ideas, experiences, and opportunities will be discussed. We should note here that research in this field is ongoing with notable contributions by music education scholars.…”