The document discusses several ways that technology can be incorporated into music curriculum and classrooms. It describes using songs to introduce new topics, having students record their own performances, and composing music using online websites. It provides an example of having students research and create African music after learning about the slave trade. Resources now allow students to learn about musical scales and notes by creating their own pieces, which also teaches fractions. While technology provides creative ways for students to learn, educators must continually develop new uses of technology in the curriculum.

1. Using technology in the music curriculum and in the classroom can be as
simple as playing a song for the students, recording a students’ performance
with recording programs, or by composing their own music by using online
websites.
In regards to the general classroom, music can be used in anticipatory sets to
get students excited for a new topic or lesson. For example, if the teacher
wanted to teach the students about New York, they could start the lesson by
playing Frank Sinatra’s song ‘New York, New York.’ The song could then be
used to transition the students into a discussion about what they already know
about New York, and then onto the new information the teacher wants the
studetns to learn about New York.
Another lesson idea you could use to incorporate music into the classroom is to
create projects that involve music. This not only is a way to test and evaluate what
students know, but it can also be used as a creative outlet for children and as an
alternative to standardized testing. For example, in history class all students learn
about the African-American slave trade, when, where, why and how it happened,
but students rarely learn about the culture the Africans were coming from, and
what the culture they brought to America. So, after a lesson about the slave trade,
the teacher could introduce the students to the culture of the Africans, primarily
their music culture, by having the students research the kind of music the Africans
played. Then the students would be required to create their own piece of ethnic
African music using traditional instruments and song, or to create a modern day
interpretation of it. They could then use recording programs, such as Audacity, to
record and edit their musical performances. This not only allows the students to
develop a deeper understanding of the content and material, but also allows them
to explore and learn for themselves by using different and interactive ways like
composing their own music.
Resources are now available, like online websites, where students can actively
learn about the different parts of music. They can do this by having the
opportunity to create their own musical scales with notes included. While they
are piecing together the notes to make a comprehensive musical piece they

2. also learn their fractions based on the scales they were using and the notes the
experiment with, because every time the students clicks on a musical note, a
pie graph at the bottom of the screen shows the fraction the specific note
represents. They learn that each meter requires a certain amount of notes and
the pie graph helps keeps track of the amount of notes the student has already
used and the amount of notes that are required to complete the meter. This
incorporates not only math in the form of fractions by having students come
up with different combinations of fractions to make up a whole, but also
allows them to learn this through composing music!
Using technology in music and classroom curriculum only can be considered an
advantage. For example, it has been proven that listening to classical music such as
Mozart while performing mathematical problems, helps impove the memory and
information uptake of students. Also, using music and technology together within
the classroom provides more creative, abstract and active ways of learning and
thinking, while also teaching students the importance and value of technology
beyond the daily uses of television, radio, and internet. Technology is always
advancing, therefore making it more and more vital, useful, and easier to
incorporate into music curriculum and into classrooms. Educators are slowly but
surely familiarizing themselves with the new technologies available for classroom
purposes and the only con of this would be their constant commitment to coming
up with new and inventive ways to use technology in their music curriculum.
However, educators nationwide are more than willing to share their ideas and
lessons for using technology to further students knowledge and capabilities for
their future.