The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many schools temporarily moving to online learning. For some general music teachers, this involves prerecording lessons. This column discusses how general music teachers can create prerecorded lessons using Microsoft PowerPoint.

This article considers the supporting technologies and practices for effective semi- anonymous peer review in traditional music theory and composition-related courses: orchestration, arranging, and composition. A coordinated approach probes two questions nested within one broad case study: (1) does the use of peer review in music theory and composition-related courses create meaningful, constructivist-inspired learning experiences, and (2) what web technologies can efficiently and effectively accomplish its activities? The article first provides a constructivist theoretical framework; next, it explains the methodologies, technologies, and resulting feedback from using peer review in a three-course study; and finally it provides concluding remarks on the many benefits and manageable problems that can arise in the social constructivist peer review music classroom.

Music education is aimed at the development of musical abilities, emotionality during the performance of musical compositions, and all-round development. The aim of the article is to determine the possibilities of schoolchildren obtaining musical knowledge with the help of modernized online technologies, as well as to determine the importance of a teacher in modern music education. The indicators were determined by a questionnaire, the data collection for which was done using a Likert scale. Initially, the paper identified approaches to teaching students prior to the study. The results showed that more emphasis was placed on the use of book-based theoretical materials (46%), which allowed only 21% of students to achieve a high level of knowledge. The use of information technology was common among 9% of students, which allowed 76% of students to achieve high results, which is based on acquiring knowledge in a shorter time. The authors concluded that it is necessary to provide improved stages of learning, which will expand the use of modernized technology. Work on the theoretical basics of piano playing can be implemented with the Vivace app; Flow app helps one to work on sound features; Functional Ear Trainer app is about developing rhythm and hearing; and Chordana Play app helps one to work on a piece of music. After training, by calculating the coefficient of effectiveness, it was found that students in group #1 (0.791), who mastered the skills of playing the piano according to the developed training stages and without a teacher, showed the quality of acquired knowledge lower than students in group #2 (0.853), who were trained under the direct influence of a teacher. The data obtained confirm the high quality of learning in the groups, as the educational process was built with the correct distribution of workload and providing opportunities for the development of musical skills. It is established that the students of group 1 to a greater extent developed independence (29%), and group 2 was good at the accuracy of musical tasks’ sequence (28%). The practical significance of the work is based on the possibility of transforming the music learning system with the help of modern technology. Prospects for the study can be based on a comparison of the quality of teaching the piano and vocal training, excluding the participation of a teacher in the learning process.

As teaching and learning experiences broaden to include more technological innovations, methods of instruction and resource flexibility are becoming increasingly important for educators and students. Open educational resources (OER) have gained international appeal for such flexibility, and post-secondary institutions are at the forefront of creating access to them. Although research related to OER has increased, few researchers have focused on OER in music instruction. In my cross-sectional survey of music faculty in the United States (N = 409), I found that music faculty were generally unaware of OER although most participants would consider adopting an open textbook for a course. Motivating factors for adoption included ease of use and decreased costs for students, whereas time and financial support would be necessary for adoption to be feasible.

This paper presents a new version and a three-month evaluation of the Troubadour platform—an open-source music theory ear training platform. Through interviews with teachers, we gathered the most-needed features which would aid their use of the platform. In the new version of the Troubadour platform, we implemented different types of interaction, including class management, re-occurring homework and challenges. Previous research has shown a significant improvement in the students’ performance while using the platform. However, the short time span of the previous experiments has not shown whether these results can be attributed to the novelty bias. To evaluate the efficacy of the platform beyond its novelty bias, we performed a three-month-long evaluation experiment on the students’ interaction through questionnaires and platform-collected data. We collected data on their engagement with the platform. During the experiment, the students attended the school through online courses during the first part of the evaluation, and in-class in the second part. In this paper, we investigate the students’ engagement during the three-month period, explore the influence of the platform’s use in-class versus online learning process, analyze the students’ self-report on their practice habits and compare them with the collected data. The results showed high student engagement during the lockdown period, while the in-class process showed a decrease in the platform’s use, unveiling the students’ need for such platform as a complementary learning channel in remote learning.