Developing Software to Promote Creative Play in Music Education

This presentation demonstrates novel approaches under development using software to encourage methods of musical study that prioritize playful interaction with music as sound. Originating in earlier projects that developed such software for use in music analysis research, the current project, Digital Playgrounds for Music (DPfM), is working to adapt and extend this approach to facilitate its use in a broad range of educational contexts such as in primary and secondary schools, and undergraduate courses, as well as in wider cultural contexts. The presentation will demonstrate the software in use and show interactive materials illustrating its potential in a variety of situations. The underlying philosophy of an approach that foregrounds sound and playful interaction in music education will be discussed. This facilitates broadening of the curriculum to incorporate often neglected repertoire and for which traditional western musical terminology and notational practice is not best suited (e.g. oral/aural traditions, improvised music, much computer music and avant-garde music). It also makes music pedagogy more accessible to those students who, at least initially, lack the traditional music literacy skills by focusing on sound rather than written text.