During this current school year, many educators have had to reconfigure their lessons, teaching styles, and methods of instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Music educators are among this group, especially due to the collaborative nature of music performance and aerosol-producing activities that are common in music classes. As distance learning has become prevalent in today's educational society, musicians must find alternate ways to collaborate and perform. Luckily, technological resources for web-based musicking provide new opportunities for educators and students alike.
While platforms for streaming performances are innovative resources, technology can be implemented in the rehearsal process, also. One simple way to effectively use tech in the music room is by introducing metronome and tuner applications or websites. These devices have grown in popularity, accessibility, and usage in recent years (Bauer, 2020). Instead of purchasing a physical, analog tuner/metronome, students may access both musical resources at any time on their smartphones or similar devices.
For performance and collaboration, digital technologies offer many unique opportunities. There are two main avenues for digital collaboration: synchronous and asynchronous. Asynchronous refers to activities that do not happen simultaneously. In a musical setting, these performances could resemble the virtual choir videos produced by composer and conductor Eric Whitacre. To create these performances, individuals record their audio and video while listening to a guide track to ensure tempo and pitch accuracy before sending them to an audio/video editor for compilation (Bauer, 2020). I have produced one of these videos before and can attest to the extensive time and technological requirements (for those interested, I mixed audio using Logic Pro X and compiled the videos with Final Cut Pro). An advantage to asynchronous productions is the ability to fine-tune pitch or tempo inaccuracies in post-production. Another is that students can record multiple takes to improve their submission. The absence of live-performance anxiety may also allow students to record better products. One downside is that participants will not have the same experience as live performance.
Synchronous presentations, however, offer an experience similar to live performance. In this format, musicians join a streaming software that combines their live audio (and sometimes video, though this may affect latency) to create simultaneous renditions of pieces. According to a presentation by Dr. Jonathan Helton and Dr. Jasmin Arakawa, professors of music at the University of Florida (and elsewhere), these programs offer the ability to perform with other musicians with almost no latency. In a demonstration of SoundJack realtime communication service, Helton and Arakawa proved that musical performance and streaming can be achieved while maintaining tempo and expression. They both complimented this technology, deeming it valuable for accompanist rehearsals, web auditions, or live performance streaming similar to their own (Helton & Arakawa, 2020). This particular software might be best suited for professional musicians, though. The disadvantages to this software include lack of full sound, hardware requirements (mics and audio interface), and difficulty with configuring correct internet setup to promote highest speed (Helton & Arakawa, 2020). Students may not able to use this software, but other options that sacrifice ease of use for latency are viable options.
In closing, technology is undoubtedly becoming more prevalent in music and music education. The possibilities for long-distance, live music collaboration continue to improve. While software for live audio and video streaming should never replace traditional musicking and performance, the new avenues for musical collaboration should be exciting to musicians and music educators.
References
Bauer, W. I. (2020). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197503706.001.0001
Helton, J.A., & Arakawa, J. (2020, September 17). Technology for teaching music performance during a pandemic [Webinar]. University of Florida.
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