Music composition using technology in middle schools

Musical Theory and Education for Mainstream and Marginalized Students: Literature Review Chapter: The research conducted here pursues a direct focus on music as a media channel through which to pursue a more holistic educational orientation for both mainstream and marginalized students. As The Partnership for 21st Century Skills remarks, "The framework presents a holistic view of 21st century teaching and learning that combines a discrete focus on 21st century student outcomes (a blending of specific skills, content knowledge, expertise and literacies) with innovative support systems to help students master the multi-dimensional abilities required of them in the 21st century." (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 1) The literature assessed here attempts to offer a sweeping consideration of music as one such innovative dimension for the promotion of intellectual, emotional and psychological growth. The bevy of indicators encountered during the literature review tend to support the claims driving the proposal to observe a selection of educators engaged in such educational approaches. Particularly, evidence from the literature review suggests that the intercession of evolving technology and a rising consensus as to the value of multimedia education is creating a solid foundation for using music as a way to stimulate educational growth. Indeed, the computer's capacity for appealing to diversity extends beyond simple lines of culture, ethnicity or gender, and approaches learning strategies differences by virtues of the wide array of media applications which it will have at its disposal today. With the computer have reached a place of relatively high video/music/web/data integration level and having done so while approaching increasingly more accessible market prices, its capacity to provide young learners with the multimedia experience necessary to help draw out individual learning context preference is fairly unprecedented from the perspective of previously available learning instruments. As such, with today's available elementary age education softwares, "areas of learning covered include alphabet and letters, animals, colors, community helpers, counting and numbers, creativity, letter-word association, memory and concentration, music, problem solving, science and nature, and storytelling." (Cesarone, 1) The sheer array of learning approaches illustrates the unique ability of the computer to approach the student with the sensitivity of unbiased applicability. In particular, such instruments as Garage Band, a software developed by Apple Computers to facilitate in music composition and education, help to make such a mode of education both more accessible and easier for students to acclimate to. So denotes the Apple company, which indicates that "with GarageBand students can compose, record, and mix music just like a professional recording engineer. Students and educators can also record podcasts and publish them on the web, or even in the iTunes Store." (Apple Computers, 1) In addition to the software, Apple also makes available its own forum for the placement of tutorials and the presentation of lesson plans or curricular approaches that may be facilitated through such technology. Accordingly, Apple publishes what it refers to as the Apple Learning Interchange, which is a depository for different ideas, theories and innovations merging such technology with classroom priorities. Accordingly, the site presents Apple's music software as a great way to facilitate lesson plans in areas of traditional scholastic importance. The Apple Learning Interchange (2006) denotes that "by creating and learning patterns through music, students get a real-world use for the mathematical concept of patterns and sequences." (Apple Learning Interchange, 1) In order to accomplish this goal, the site provides a number of suggestions for how to use the software specifically to approach this goal, suggesting that the instructor "demonstrate the GarageBand interface to students using a projector or another presentation device. Show students how loops can be repeated and alternated to create a repeating pattern and how they can be used to create a growing pattern within a song." (Apple Learning Interchange, 1) Such suggestions help to serve as a basis for the qualitative study to ultimately be undertaken, with such software models leading the way in designing intervention. This approach is further justified by literature which says that in a more general sense, the construction of an intervention around online or software based musical workshopping is of proven value in the attainment of educational goals. In determining the value of such a program, our research has taken us to the Children's Music Workshop, which provides education, education services and individual or organizational support to music instructors and learners alike. (Adams, 1) Common to most online resources where workshop lessons are sponsored, there are a bevy of additional services which are made available to the instructor and to the aspirant musician. For example, this is an extremely valuable resource for teachers or groups who are sponsored by organizations which desire a suitable music program for students but which generally lack the resources to make this ambition into a reality. The web portal in question is only one of many which by design addresses this need for many schools to outsource the various organizational and materials-based need of a suitable music education. However, for our purposes, the most appealing aspect of the web portal would be its host of workshop topics, which are organized in a fashion demonstrative of the ease-of-use provided by this technology and the informational clarity made uniquely possible by this context. Indeed, it would be reasonable to employ the lessons featured at the Children's Music Workshop portal-contained in the "Online Music Theory Helper" section- as individual units constructing a properly sequenced education using the foundational building blocks of music theory. The content offered here is of indispensable importance to the development of one's appreciation for music as well as one's ability to convey it. And its presentation is appealingly direct, making this a constructive instrument to educators wishing to justify an incorporation of music theory into a larger educational mold. (Adams, 1) Some students may especially be drawn to the opportunities inherent in online music work-shopping, most particularly because this mode seems to recognize the natural inclination of young internet users to independent learning. Particularly, with examples such as the CMW, the student has the ability to work through the school but apart from its otherwise often rigid standards. This can be an irreplaceable experience which the younger learner might more ably appreciate if exposed through a familiar and comfortable channel such as the internet. Overwhelmingly, scholastic observation on the subject determines that "when presented with the many and manifest benefits of music education, officials at all levels should universally support a full, balanced, sequential course of music instruction taught by qualified teachers." (Lasco, 1) Therefore, it is exciting and appealing to find a mode of music instruction which might better enable a music education curriculum to achieve greater flexibility and to stimulate greater independence for both instructors and students. Evidence encountered during the research process also tends to suggest that students who have been marginalized from broader academic or social conditions in the classroom might find a greater mode of expressive latitude or creative comfort through the channel of music. This argument is broadly endorsed by the host of literature resources which pointed to the proven value of musical education in the treatment and educational strategy for students with autism. A most marginalized group to be certain, it is also a demographic that in many regards has shown itself resistant to consistent academic approaches, meaning that needs of such students vary considerably in terms of emotional quotient, developmental capability and the severity of mental impairment. Thus, the need to find an array of approaches which may be effective in contending with this marginalized group warrants consideration of music as an avenue for educational innovation. Therefore, any method of therapy which succeeds in removing some of these barriers and bridging the emotional gap which prevents the child from forming meaningful support relationships would be seen as a valuable opportunity to address deficiencies in many cognitive and practical areas. This forms the impetus for this part of the discussion, which is driven by available research contending to the value of improvisational music therapy as a way of reaching autistic children both emotionally and cognitively. The subject is inducted by the implications of such study as that by Kim et al (2008), which details the implications of improvisational music therapy to what it calls 'joint attention skills.' (1758) These are the recognition aptitudes that allow individuals to make complex connections between the self, another and the active communication between them. Such faculties, the study denotes, are often hard-won with autistic children, who have otherwise shown evidence of responsiveness and self-awareness when given the participatory opportunity in the context of music. (1759) The idea considered here that music therapy could be considered of value to those impacted by autism is based upon the initial presumptions from which music therapy is derived as a school of thought. Our review is provided with insight into the evolution of this field by Accordino et al (2006), who detail the body of information currently available on the subject of its relationship both to autism and its formative implications. It is here that Accordino offer a concise definition of music therapy which essentially describes it as a process by which treatment for emotional, psychological or physical trauma, disability, impairment or rehabilitation can be addressed through such activities as singing, playing instruments, listening to music, 'dancing' to music or engaging in expressive discourse on music. (Accordino et al, 103) The Accordino et al article goes on to detail the findings which suggest this to be an accurate array of valuable activities for those who as a result of the autism condition are extremely limited elsewhere in terms of the ability to express or acquire emotional or informational communication. The idea is further elaborated by the numerous studies which have emerged with specific reference to the relationship between early education in autism sufferers and the application of music therapy. Namely, the study by Kern & Aldridge (2006), first elaborates on the recognized value of inclusion environments as a context for education for autistic children. Noting the socialization and normalcy which can be of great value to the child, Kern & Aldridge go on to recommend that music therapy be used as a means of intervention in providing support for the autistic child, who will inherently have greater difficulty integrating information and knowledge acquired in class than will other students. The study details the evidence suggesting music therapy as an activity which is often illustrated to provoke enjoyment in the autistic child while simultaneously improving aptitude in areas with an illustrated history of deficiency in the child. (Kern & Aldridge, 273) In general, the viability in such an approach in terms of managing the educational needs of the autistic child can be quite revealing. The study by Kern et al (2007) tells a case history in which the subject's inclusive classroom education is often assisted by his advocate's use of song. The article relates the consistent behavioral tendency on the part of the subject to achieve greater focus, connectivity and understanding of class-room activities when the advocate sings instructions and related information. When the teacher is not singing, the subject is reported to resume his typical propensity toward inappropriate and socially dysfunctional behaviors. (Kern et al, 45) This serves as an anecdotal reinforcement of the experiences which are reported in laboratory and scientific examinations concerning the distinct behavioral responses that are affiliated with the appeal to music. Yet another study by Kern et al (2007) would reach some compelling findings that even demonstrate the capacity of music to promote automatic and self-initiated connections and behaviors. The idea of compositional specificity was shown to have a direct relationship to self-reflection and social awareness in the study in question, which provided two autistic test subjects with individualized songs that detailed the steps for greeting others in the morning at school. In these instances, the outcome was that both autistic children began exhibiting the self-driven and unprompted ability to greet the teacher, noting a recognition of a personal relationship and a social formality relating to this relationship. (Kern et al, 1264) In addition, one of the two subjects would actually demonstrate a higher level of socialization when given the 'greeting song,' with other mainstream students responding more actively to such greetings. (Kern et al, 1264) The result here is a truly compelling illustration of the unique capacity of music to reach emotional cues otherwise obscured in the autism sufferer. This is true in something of a universal sense, meaning there is proven value to this approach not just in school or in the academic setting but areas of the child's life. Particularly, this is so where the relationship established between parent, child and other family members are concerned. Allgood (2005) discusses the distinct value of incorporating music therapy into family-based treatment processes. This is an especially compelling aspect of the discussion as it concerns the emotionally taxing responsibilities and challenges to parents of an autistic child. The difficulty of connecting personally with an autistic child, especially those suffering from more severe degrees of the spectrum, is in some regard addressed in the Allgood study, which denotes that the use of music as an intermediary between the autistic child and family members can help to create connections and communication that have otherwise been impossible to access. (Allgood, 93) This is a promising avenue that proceeds from what Allgood notes is the ageless value of music, that can be appealing and emotive to both children and adults. This can become a sturdy middle ground for parents and their autistic child. The presence of any such connective middle ground can serve to be an emotional life raft to parents enduring the struggle of raising an autistic child who is severely disabled in the emotional, communicational and cognitive capacities. The shared resolution of the vast majority of research consulted in this subject area is that there is already empirical cause to believe there is real value in the use of music therapy where autism sufferers are concerned. As the study by Kaplan & Steele (2005) denotes, autism is a condition whose presence has been fast increasing in our communities and schools. (Kaplan & Steele, 4) Though there is no collectively shared resolution on why this is so, there is some growing consensus that approaches such as music have a unique and relieving impact on such deficiencies as those which detain individuals from the retention of information, emotional cues and even social responsibilities. This aspect of the discussion reveals that there is not just an interest in exploring the further implications of musical therapy and music- based education but that in some regards, there is an imperative to draw some applicable conclusions regarding the distinct need for musical education as a way to approach all students, marginalized or mainstream. In the respect that such methods suggest opportunities for enrichment traditionally overlooked in the struggle to help marginalized students focus on the most basic of educational goals, a change in philosophy is needed. The perceived specialization of music in the academic context prevents many from experiencing the channels of intellectual growth thereby suggested. The discussion on autism here dispels much of the view underscoring this approach to the subject. And it also returns us to the discussion of the technologies increasingly made accessible by companies such as Apple. The company has offered research tying its technological innovations to the concerns facing marginalized students such as the communication gaps widely addressed in the autism discussion and also implicated by the multicultural nature of the United States. According to a White Paper sponsored by Apple (2006) "iPod, used with the iTunes and iLife software, can serve as a powerful tool for teaching and acquiring languages. With its unique features of portability, ease of use, and file storage capacity combined with its ability to deliver audio as well as text, images, and video, the iPod holds the promise of revolutionizing the way languages are acquired both in and out of school." (McQuillan, 1) This returns the discussion to an assessment of the intervention and evaluation proposed as a qualitative study in this research endeavor. Here, it is clear that the technology is readily available and the scholastic research accessible for consultation to justify and facilitate a music-based approach to mainstream and inclusion education. The benefits to general population students and those marginalized by impairments, cognitive differences or language barriers collectively suggest that it is the responsibility of educators and administrators to incorporate music therapies and strategies into regular academic curricula. This is especially true for early learners and those in such formative emotional stages as adolescence. In addition to the insights provided here in prelude to the observation-based qualitative study of educators in a middle-school context, the literature review here is only a preliminary oversight of such subjects as the available software technology required for the suggested innovations; the grounding for such innovation in academic theory endorsing the value of musical therapy; and the implications of such innovation to marginalized students such as autisms sufferers. Further literature review of the intercession of musical theory and educational theory might be beneficial to the research process. Works Cited: Accordino, R.; Comer, R. & Heller, W.B. (2006). Searching for music's potential: A critical examination of research on music therapy with individuals with autism. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 1. 101- 115.