Teaching (and Learning) Music Online
For the Royal Conservatory of Music's ARCT History exam (see the Syllabus, 2016 edition), students are required to prepare an essay on one of three topics (student's choice): musical theatre, jazz, or technology in music. On page 152 of the RCM's Celebrate Theory / ARCT History book, there is a list of books which are useful resources.
One of the books listed is Music and Technology in the Twentieth Century, edited by Hans-Joachim Braun. I purchased a copy of this book in January. It's interesting reading! The book was originally published by Wolke Verlag in 2000; the edition I purchased is from 2002, The Johns Hopkins University Press. It's a compilation of 18 essays that were originally presented as part of a symposium on technology and music in Budapest in 1996.
Photo by Dan Farrell on Unsplash
Topics covered in this book include player pianos, synthesizers, electric guitars, trains and planes as a theme in music, the history of a recording studio, the origins of the 45-RPM record, tape recording, the effect of recording on violin vibrato, and various forms of electronic music.
The final essay in the book seemed eerily prophetic to me. The author is German musicologist Bernd Enders, and the title is “Musical Education and the New Media: The Current Situation and Perspectives for the Future.” This essay is a revised version of an essay originally published in 1995. Dr. Enders describes what music education could be like in the future. He begins by quoting from an article by Uwe Jean Heuser; the paragraph could be a description of contemporary pandemic life:
“On the large screen in your living room, you can download movies and news on demand. With the remote in your hand, you do not have to leave your couch to go shopping, read the newspapers, learn or play. The teleworker of the future has his office in the next room. Free from all constraints brought about by rigid office schedules or traffic problems, he sends the results of his electronic activity directly to his employer or customers. Using his computer and his video telephone, he collaborates with experts around the world; distance doesn't matter to him anymore. During his breaks, he reads his email.”*
Yeah, that's pandemic life. Dr. Enders then goes on to describe how music could be taught in the future (from the perspective of the late 1990s). Online resources will include downloadable books and music, virtual museums, computer music programs (for composing, musical instruction, editing, arranging, etc.), and video conferencing. Music lessons could take place online through live video contact. He talks about digital media technology, global networking, and virtual reality, and the effects that these will have on the arts in general and music in particular.
Teaching private music lessons during the COVID-19 pandemic certainly resembles the brave new world described by Dr. Enders. When the pandemic began last March, my students and I made use of telephone lessons and scanning and emailing homework assignments back and forth. When the weather was good, we met in my backyard for socially-distanced theory lessons. As the weather grew colder, we switched to online lessons via Zoom. We continue to make extensive use of email. My students have access to listening materials via Youtube. I have created a small studio in my house with my computer, a good microphone, an electronic keyboard, and all my music books close by for quick reference. It's very different from the world of music teaching that I grew up with, but it's working just fine.
*U. Heuser, 'Am Bildschirm allein zu Haus', DIE ZEIT, 1995:43, 54.