Like any skill worth having, learning a musical instrument takes time, effort and plenty of practice but it is fair to say that those who persist are well rewarded. The benefits of music go well beyond the obvious – both children and adults also see improvement in areas such as concentration, memory and self-confidence.
The challenge for teachers is to keep students enjoying their classes and practicing in order to unlock these big wins and this is where technology can play a key role.
Guitar Games
Music has been taught in a very traditional fashion for a very long time and there can be quite a degree of resistance to change when it comes to new teaching methods.
But the argument for deploying technology in music education is now becoming more widely acknowledged. While watching YouTube videos without any guidance can certainly be overwhelming and counter-productive, gamified learning within a well structured curriculum can be very valuable, not only in terms of improving learning outcomes but also keeping students engaged.
You only have to look at the early success of the Guitar Hero video game to see how motivating it can be to turn guitar music into a game. It’s a fact that humans love to play, love to win and learn better when doing so. So how are guitar schools using this technology to good effect?
At The Guitar Dojo in South Morang gamified learning is being utilised in-class for general music studies and also during practice time at home. The highly visual nature adds another fun angle to the learning process for topics such as rhythm and ear training and their interactive practice app helps to motivate and support students as they learn.
Technology To Play The Guitar?
Unfortunately technology cannot play the guitar for you, just like all the nice shiny equipment at the gym still requires consistent effort over a period of months in order to make progress. It can be very hard to see progress on a daily or even weekly basis which sees a large number of gym-goers and music learners giving up out of frustration. All because they couldn’t see enough of a score on the board!
Although visual games cannot fast track things like the physical coordination required to play a certain song, gamified learning and practice allows students to see their progress in other areas on a daily or weekly basis which is a big win for maintaining motivation and enjoyment.
Conclusion
It might be rather ironic that in a time where guitar lessons are seen as an attractive alternative to “screen time” that guitar teachers are embracing the very same technology. However not all apps are designed for getting people addicted to their screens. Educational apps are becoming more and more important in all types of education for the reasons we have discussed.
What is clear is that while technology will never replace a good teacher, it can play an important role in helping the teacher to help the student.
