Music Technology in the Classroom: European Perspectives

In April 2012, the European Association for Music in Schools (EAS) published a book entitled European Perspectives on Music Education: New media in the classroom (Gall, Sammer & deVugt, eds, 2012) which reports on the position of music technology in classrooms in 14 European countries . Each chapter is written by a music educationist from one particular country and includes:
1) a history of the developments of technology in schools which have impacted upon classroom music;
2) details of the hardware and software generally available in schools;
3) information on curriculum change that has come about either through government directives/support, or ‘from the ground up’ through teacher initiatives and developments allied to research;
4) an outline of specific research projects on ICT and music (both past and present);
5) thoughts on future possibilities and on factors which inhibit the use of music technology within schools.

In this paper I draw upon the chapters in the book, to compare and contrast the position and use of music ICT within music education in these 14 countries. A particular focus will be placed upon a consideration of ways in which technology is used to support musical development, with examples being provided of countries in which ICT is used mainly to achieve traditional goals and those in which new technologies are beginning to change the nature of the subject discipline.

A key area of concern, raised within many countries, relates to the need for further discussion on, and research into, the pedagogies that surround the use of technology in the music classroom.