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I have seen experts get quite a lot out of using music blocks—both from music backgrounds and from computer science backgrounds. That being said, it would be nice to one day have an entirely text-based language (as opposed to visual) as once one gets used to the language, the visual blocks become a hindrance.
Do you think Music Blocks is more effective for students actually interested in music, or for other students perhaps more gifted in math or programming subjects?
As for your use of the word “gifted”, did you read Larry, Rob Flax and my article on “Myths and Misconceptions of Talent?”
It is important to understand a subject in different ways, so having some understanding of the inherent logic and math of music is useful to one’s (anyone’s) understanding of music. Similarly, understanding music would reinforce a person’s understanding of math and logic (programming).
As for the complexity inherent to music, coding, and math that makes up Music Blocks, we think those possibilities are important, so we do not put artificial barriers to those possibilities.
Just like a piano has inherent complexity, yet we find ways to teach young children piano, I know that we can find ways to help kids explore music in a stage-appropriate way for a visual programming language such as Music Blocks without hiding its inherent complexity.
Yes, if the user does it. I suppose one could transcribe an entire orchestra if they really wanted to. What is not yet possible is to analyze a score and generate music blocks code from it (although I do not see this kind of feature to be particularly useful from a pedagogical perspective, so it is not a priority to me.)
I do not believe this software can replace conventional music notation. I do not think there is any reason for that. It certainly can complement general music education and is a tool to improve music literacy in general.
As for educational activities that I would use to complement the project, students should be singing, playing instruments, and learning traditional methods for reading/writing music. Music Blocks is another tool in the toolbox for music educators.
Any knowledge—either inside or outside of music—is helpful (and often critical) to understanding music. This can be clearly understood when working with very young children (e.g., ages 4-6) where in order to teach a musical concept you often need to teach other basic concepts from other subjects in order to be understood. Case-in-point: If a student cannot yet read, you may be the first to introduce some basic reading to that student, and if the student does not understand a basic word you may be the first to introduce that as well, even though you are not the English instructor.
There is a lot of emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) nowadays. Since MB is just as much STEM as it is music, I think it has a high potential to bring music into schools that are otherwise overlooking and undervaluing music education.
MB could open up new possibilities for private teaching, especially when teaching theory and composition. Some concepts that may be difficult to describe in other ways, I hope would become clearer when augmenting the curricula with lessons involving Music Blocks. Of course, use of Music Blocks would only be a small part of the overall pedagogy—this tool just opens up some new possibilities.
I would hope that conservatory students might use Music Blocks to a) explore musical ideas in a different way, and b) explore computer science (i.e. systems thinking). Goals for college-age students, of course, would be different. Perhaps entrepreneurial and ambitious conservatory students may utilize Music Blocks to engage public schools, which as mentioned before are so focused on STEM.
How does this block concept work at different levels to link with conventional methods and material for music learning?
There are some concepts that are readily available in a computer programing language that I see to be authentic to the way one thinks about music (and that are hard to express in standard notation). MB does not replace any of the other authentic ways to think about music, but adds one more possibility. I think that the jazz in twelve keys is exemplary to a computational method that is also authentic to the way we think about music (i.e. it has the simple structure [“ii, V, i” and the formula to go through all the keys] that a performer uses to extrapolate the notes)
Can MusicBlocks be used to replace some training that young musicians endure as they are first beginning to learn?
As for “replacing training”, I have found that it is helpful to use MB in the classroom when learning general music (i.e. basic music theory). Too often, I think, music teachers rely on the same teaching techniques. Using some of the representations in music blocks can be helpful in the classroom. As for what it specifically “replaces”, I do not know. We do not intend to replace anything, just to add something new to the current curriculum.
Most software that you are probably familiar with is created in a way that discourages participation. However, “software libre” is made in a way that invites participation. Anyone who uses Music Blocks is free to modify, share, and study the program and its source code. Therefore, users a) get one more level of representation of musical ideas (i.e. the code representation of the musical concepts), and b) they may participate in social activities (i.e. sharing) that are otherwise forboden in the world of proprietary software. As for the social aspects of creating Music Blocks projects themselves—well students are always welcome to share their projects with each other, either in-person or online. Lastly, I hope that at the college and above level, graduates of both computer science degrees and music degrees can collaborate to use MB as a teaching tool at schools (i.e. “Artist-Teacher-Scholar” for both CS majors and Music majors.
Since you’ve allowed for the program to be open source, what sort of variations have you seen? Is there a way to teach students how to alter the code so that they can see how it affects the music/ program?
“Allowed” is not the right word choice. We want the software to be “free as in freedom” because we believe that is the best choice for education.
As of now, most of the variation I have seen has for the most part contributed to the improvement of our program. Students from all over the globe have downloaded the software, made patches, and many of those patches have been pulled into Music Blocks’ main branch of code.