Academic Instruction Strategies |
A difficulty that many educators may face in music technology programs is balancing technological content with musicianship training. Undergraduate students, attending a NASM accredited institution, must complete a standard core curriculum in addition to their specific major studies. In the case of music technology, the field is so expansive it is impossible to cover or expose students to all aspects of the field with the allotted time frame that most students and educators have to work with. This begs the question: what general areas or topics are the most crucial to cover?
Each educator or department will have a specialty that their respected program or course will be organized around. However, there are three generalized, academic areas in music technology that can be branched off of to suit the individualized program: History, Technology and Function, and Research/Scholarly Activities. It is important to note that these three categories are in addition to standard/traditional music studies such as keyboard harmony, music theory, history, etc. It is important that music technology major amass a knowledge of theory, notation and harmony as this knowledge will benefit them in music technology careers and reinforce their ability to communication with other professionals and musicians – whether in production, sound design, recording, composition, or teaching.
Each educator or department will have a specialty that their respected program or course will be organized around. However, there are three generalized, academic areas in music technology that can be branched off of to suit the individualized program: History, Technology and Function, and Research/Scholarly Activities. It is important to note that these three categories are in addition to standard/traditional music studies such as keyboard harmony, music theory, history, etc. It is important that music technology major amass a knowledge of theory, notation and harmony as this knowledge will benefit them in music technology careers and reinforce their ability to communication with other professionals and musicians – whether in production, sound design, recording, composition, or teaching.