Soundtrap usage during COVID-19: A machine-learning approach to assess the effects of the pandemic on online music learning

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a sudden rethinking of how music was taught and learned. Prior to the pandemic, the web-based digital audio workstation Soundtrap emerged as a leading platform for creating music online. The present study examined the growth of Soundtrap’s usage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using machine-learning methods, we analyzed anonymized user data from Soundtrap’s 1.6 million educational users in the United States to see if the pandemic affected Soundtrap’s education user base and, if so, to what extent. An exploratory data analysis demonstrated a large increase in Soundtrap’s user base beyond five standard deviations beginning in March 2020. A subsequent changepoint analysis identified March 17, 2020, as the day this shift occurred. Finally, we created a SARIMAX model using data prior to March 17 to forecast expected growth. This model was unable to account for user growth after March 17, showing highly anomalous growth rates outside of the model’s confidence interval. We discuss how this shift affects music education practices and what it portends for our field. In addition, we explore the role of machine learning and artificial intelligence as a method for research in the music education field.

No longer optional: The Infusion of Digital Technology in Praxical Secondary School Music Education

“…They are usually self-taught and often begin by using low-cost, free or pirated software. The global Covid-19 pandemic dramatically increased the use of digital technology in schools across many subjects (Ferdig et al, 2020;Thorgersen & Mars, 2021) including music (Estelle, 2021;Knapp et al, 2023;Merrick & Joseph, 2023). Strong evidence in the UK points to a high percentage of students already making music outside of school (Youth Music, 2006;Youth Music & Ipsos MORI, 2019).…”

“…The Covid-19 pandemic also changed the face of music education, demonstrated by the explosion of the widespread use of the online DAW Soundtrap. Prior to the pandemic, anecdotally there was growing use of Soundtrap, but post pandemic use escalated with 1.6 million registered educational users in the USA alone in 2020 (Knapp et al, 2023). Knapp strongly suggests that the Covid-19 pandemic may have been a tipping point for the use of DAWs in music education even if online DAWs may be a "...life raft until such a time as music educators could return to business as usual" (Knapp et al, 2023, p. 10).…”

“…Zealand was undertaken prior to the most recent world-wide shift in music education, namely the widespread use of browser-based software and low-cost apps (Humberstone et al, 2019;Knapp et al, 2023;Lind & MacPherson, 2017;Merrick & Joseph, 2023).…”