TAMARA CASHOUR
Tamara Cashour is a music educator/composer/pianist/organist based in New York City. She is on the Collaborative Pianist staff at The Mannes College of Music in New York City. Tamara is a writer of music criticism and a reviewer of books on music topics. She has presented papers and performance lectures (inclusive of her own compositions and performance projects) at: St. Louis University (National Association of Womens Studies), Truman State University (Composing Women) and Brandeis University (Alive By Her Own Hand: Women Who Perform Their Own Compositions). She holds a BA and MA from Columbia University and New York University in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in Music Theory and Musical Direction of Opera/Music Theatre. She is currently completing an online PhD in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at Northcentral University, which she is tailoring to current topics in Music in Higher Education.
The Impact of Music Technologies on Music Education and Performance
Technological developments over the past 10 years have revolutionized music education. The question is: has this been a qualitative revolution? Do the latest music technologies assist the design and implementation of ‘new and better’ pedagogies that facilitate more brilliant musicianship and more expressive artistry—on both an individual and collective basis? Or is much of this technology merely faddish, fancy gadgetry that purports usefulness and expediency, but may be disparaging of, or distracting from, known methodologies that are less bound to technology, yet have a proven track record in developing and training musical excellence? Aesthetic, ethical, functional and philosophical issues swirl around many new educational technologies implemented to serve the discipline of music education; this paper will explore some of them. The paper recommends more and broader quantitative and qualitative studies on the impact of these technologies on music education, and by extension, on professional practice and performance.
General Modus Operandi of Technology
Technology in all fields and modes of life is designed to extend the capability of the human body: to execute a task that the body alone cannot do, or cannot do as well. There are three criteria for any new technological device marketed to aid human endeavor: they must do so faster, more accurately, and with broader scope than a human being is capable of. Devices are marketed as tools to achieve this positive state of affairs; the situation is no different for music technology. Of import, however, is the ability of any device to radically and permanently impact the definitive protocol, i.e. the essence, of the practice itself. Music began as an applied art (along with theatre, dance and visual art)--produced and/or performed by a human body. Music technology is altering—and not without complication—this timeless definition.
The Protocols and Impacts of Current Music Technologies
Some of the ways this is occurring include: 1) music technology has crossed the line from tool/mediator to manager/governor of the learning experience and/or performance; 2) although many technologies purport to enhance musical excellence and originality, they are in fact unwittingly encouraging mediocrity and/or standardization; 3) technology is usurping the role of “performer” from the human performer and the role of “instructor” from a human instructor; 4) social-constructivist-based learning methodologies and pedagogies, and their accompanying assistive technologies, are ‘edging out’ the traditional notion of “genius composer” or “star performer” (at least in education), placing the larger focus instead on collaboration and ensemble; 5) the predominance of “wired”, piped-in electronic sound in learning tools and in the concert hall is possibly affecting musician’s ability to discriminate the finer sound nuances of first-rate performance; and 6) in the transfer of the intellectual and physical effort necessary to learn and perform complex music to the workings of technology, certain advanced musicianship skills are becoming “soft”, or are lost entirely.
Lest the above paragraph sound too negative, it must be said that many new music technologies have eliminated several tedious tasks formerly associated with music education and performance: 1) personal applications such as digital sheet music readers assuage certain physical exertions of the performing musician, 2) learning management and content systems as employed in collaborative learning situations are proving to enhance learning and retention of musical cognitive knowledges, such as theory and history; 3) video-conferencing systems are widely assistive in studies of the behavioral knowledges of music, such as applied lessons; 4) online research engines have streamlined music research; and 5) new technologies which help musicians focus on music entrepreneurship are improving their chances for economic survival in their respective fields. In addition, new compositional technologies in the arena of electronic music are assisting composers to expand—to potentially infinite degrees—various existing and new sound worlds, for the apprehension and appreciation of equally new listening audiences.
Philosophical Approach
The paper respects an interdisciplinary critique culled from certain 20th-century theories of general culture, and takes a cautionary approach and conclusion in offering up specific examples relating to the interaction of technology with classical and popular culture, and music technology/culture in particular.
General Modus Operandi of Technology
Technology in all fields and modes of life is designed to extend the capability of the human body: to execute a task that the body alone cannot do, or cannot do as well. There are three criteria for any new technological device marketed to aid human endeavor: they must do so faster, more accurately, and with broader scope than a human being is capable of. Devices are marketed as tools to achieve this positive state of affairs; the situation is no different for music technology. Of import, however, is the ability of any device to radically and permanently impact the definitive protocol, i.e. the essence, of the practice itself. Music began as an applied art (along with theatre, dance and visual art)--produced and/or performed by a human body. Music technology is altering—and not without complication—this timeless definition.
The Protocols and Impacts of Current Music Technologies
Some of the ways this is occurring include: 1) music technology has crossed the line from tool/mediator to manager/governor of the learning experience and/or performance; 2) although many technologies purport to enhance musical excellence and originality, they are in fact unwittingly encouraging mediocrity and/or standardization; 3) technology is usurping the role of “performer” from the human performer and the role of “instructor” from a human instructor; 4) social-constructivist-based learning methodologies and pedagogies, and their accompanying assistive technologies, are ‘edging out’ the traditional notion of “genius composer” or “star performer” (at least in education), placing the larger focus instead on collaboration and ensemble; 5) the predominance of “wired”, piped-in electronic sound in learning tools and in the concert hall is possibly affecting musician’s ability to discriminate the finer sound nuances of first-rate performance; and 6) in the transfer of the intellectual and physical effort necessary to learn and perform complex music to the workings of technology, certain advanced musicianship skills are becoming “soft”, or are lost entirely.
Lest the above paragraph sound too negative, it must be said that many new music technologies have eliminated several tedious tasks formerly associated with music education and performance: 1) personal applications such as digital sheet music readers assuage certain physical exertions of the performing musician, 2) learning management and content systems as employed in collaborative learning situations are proving to enhance learning and retention of musical cognitive knowledges, such as theory and history; 3) video-conferencing systems are widely assistive in studies of the behavioral knowledges of music, such as applied lessons; 4) online research engines have streamlined music research; and 5) new technologies which help musicians focus on music entrepreneurship are improving their chances for economic survival in their respective fields. In addition, new compositional technologies in the arena of electronic music are assisting composers to expand—to potentially infinite degrees—various existing and new sound worlds, for the apprehension and appreciation of equally new listening audiences.
Philosophical Approach
The paper respects an interdisciplinary critique culled from certain 20th-century theories of general culture, and takes a cautionary approach and conclusion in offering up specific examples relating to the interaction of technology with classical and popular culture, and music technology/culture in particular.