Raising students' performance in music composition through the use of information and communications technology (ICT): a survey of secondary schools in England

Pitts, Adrian; Kwami, Robert

doi:10.1017/s0265051702000141

Cited by 24 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Evidence from both the open-ended questions and the analyses of both verbal and nonverbal responses in the retrospective verbal protocols corroborates the results of Pitts and Kwami (2002) and Gall and Breeze (2005) to confirm that all the participants worked with enthusiasm on the task. They also enjoyed the immediacy of their work and the professional sound of the music as it was played back.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

“…As a musical medium Dance eJay has 'real music appeal' in so far as it uses professionally edited original sound samples in the style specific genre of 'Dance' music. This notion of the music sounding 'real' is corroborated in the research of Gall and Breeze (2005), Pitts and Kwami (2002). They also found that the participants in their study worked with enthusiasm using 'existing tunes' and 'liked the immediacy of their work and the ''professional'' sound when it was played back' (Pitts and Kwami 2002, 66).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 61%

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Creativity, originality, identity: investigating computer-based composition in the secondary school

Mellor

2008

Music Education Research

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This article investigates computer-based music composition using the CD Rom Dance eJay with pupils from a secondary school setting (13Á15 years). Three issues are explored: the extent to which participants adopted different strategies during the composition process, how the strategies differed with respect to prior experience of formal instrumental music tuition and how the process data showed evidence of creative thinking skills in music. The design triangulates three sources of data comprising critical incident charting, onscreen manipulations and retrospective verbal protocols. The research suggests that whilst only one vertical composing strategy was used by all participants, creativity occurred within all the composing responses regardless of the participants' backgrounds and their prior experience of formal instrumental music tuition. The study also reveals the young people's own voices which contribute an understanding of how they constructed perceptions of their own creativity, originality and musical identity in the process of learning through music technology.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 61%

Creativity, originality, identity: investigating computer-based composition in the secondary school

Mellor

2008

Music Education Research

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“…Evidence from both the open-ended questions and the analyses of both verbal and non-verbal responses in the RVP's corroborates the results of Pitts and Kwami (2002) to confirm that all the participants worked with enthusiasm on the task. They also enjoyed the immediacy of their work and the professional sound of the music as it was played back.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Computer-based composition in the primary school: An investigation of children's “creative” responses using the CD Rom Dance eJay

Mellor

2007

Musicae Scientiae

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The aim of this study was to investigate computer-based music composition using the CD Rom Dance eJay. The research questions addressed the extent to which participants adopted different strategies during the composition process, how the strategies were potentially different due to prior experience of formal instrumental music tuition (FIMT), and how the process data showed evidence of creative thinking skills in music. The design subscribed to a within-methods approach within a qualitative research paradigm which was undertaken as a small scale exploratory study with children in the primary age of schooling (aged 10-11 years). The methodology is developed from , to include critical incident charting, the digital recording of 'onscreen manipulations' and retrospective verbal protocols. The results report that within the one identified vertical composing strategy which all the participants used, creativity occurred within all the composing responses regardless of the participants' musical backgrounds and their prior experience of FIMT. An evaluation of the research tool demonstrates its efficacy to identify not only when and how creative thinking skills occur in the process of composition, but also what informed the decision making process. Creativity is defined in terms of divergent thinking skills and problem solving skills and the extent to which each participant generated their own problems and "creative" solutions. The implications for music education are discussed.

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“…Marshall brought about the creation of virtual learning environments in which no formal 'teacher' is present (Salavuo 2006), and yet through appraising and evaluating the musical products of others and presenting their own musical products within a virtual environment, young people are now able to 'perform' their compositions to a wide and international virtual audience. Although some evaluation has taken place of the learning styles and processes which take place within these environments (Johnson 2001;Pitts and Kwami 2002;Sanctisde et al 2003;De Souza and Preece 2004;Plant 2004;Ridings and Gefen 2004;Salavuo 2006); this represents a relatively under-researched area of music technology.…”

Section: Music and Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender differences in computer- and instrumental-based musical composition

Shibazaki

Marshall

2013

Educational Research

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Background: Previous studies have argued that technology can be a major support to the music teacher enabling, amongst other things, increased student motivation, higher levels of confidence and more individualised learning to take place [Bolton, J. 2008. Technologically mediated composition learning: Josh's story. British Journal of Music Education 25, no. 1: 41-55; Kardos, L. 2012. How music technology can make sound and music worlds accessible to student composers in further education colleges. British Journal of Music Education 29, no. 2: 143-51]. In contrast, a reasonable number of alternative voices [Conlon, T. and Simpson, M. 2003. Silicon Valley versus Silicon Glen: The impact of computers upon teaching and learning: A comparative study. British Journal of Educational Technology 34, no. 2: 137-50; Convery, A. 2009. The pedagogy of the impressed: How teachers become victims of technological vision. Teachers and Teaching 15, no. 1: 25-41; Treadway, M. 2001.Making a difference? An investigation into the relationship between ICT use and standards in secondary schools. Cowbridge: Fischer Family Trust] have also argued against the claims made for the effectiveness of technology in enhancing the learning process. More specifically, recent work by Armstrong [Armstrong, V. 2008. Hard bargaining on the hard drive: Gender bias in the music technology classroom. Gender and Education 20, no. 4: 375-86; Armstrong, V. 2011. Technology and the gendering of music education. Aldershot: Ashgate] has explored issues of technology and music education in relation to gender, suggesting that the construction of gendered meanings associated with digital technologies is having a major effect on pupils' attitudes and thus ultimately, on their level of achievement in areas such as musical composition. However, there is relatively little research on how primary-aged boys and girls relate to technology as a composing tool and how they experience this compared with using more traditional instruments to compose. More specifically, very little research has been carried out into the extent to which boys and girls differ in their attitudes towards using technology as a composing tool.Purpose: This small-scale, exploratory study had two main aims. The first aim was to investigate whether any gender differences existed between the attitudes of boys and girls towards the use of computers in creating musical compositions. The second aim was to compare their attitudes between composing with instruments and composing with computers. Sample: Our study was based in England and involved class groups of 10-11-year-old pupils in three state primary schools; a total of 63 children were involved in creating short musical compositions over a two-week period. Forty-three of them were interviewed about their experiences. Methods: Our method involved children composing two pieces of music on the same theme. In the first lesson, they composed a piece using a musical notation software package on a computer whilst in the second lesson they composed a piece on...

show abstract

Raising students' performance in music composition through the use of information and communications technology (ICT): a survey of secondary schools in England

Cited by 24 publications

References 5 publications

Creativity, originality, identity: investigating computer-based composition in the secondary school

Creativity, originality, identity: investigating computer-based composition in the secondary school

Computer-based composition in the primary school: An investigation of children's “creative” responses using the CD Rom Dance eJay

Gender differences in computer- and instrumental-based musical composition

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