Employing technology and mobile learning in reed-making pedagogy

In order to be competitive in today’s job market, bassoonists must have the ability to make and/or adjust their reeds. Reed making is typically taught through printed manuals and master-apprentice relationships, which limit a student’s access to immediate feedback on their work—particularly when finishing reeds. This monograph provides the beginnings of a path forward to solving this problem. It proposes a solution that would shorten the waiting time between feedback sessions for students and equip them with the practical and theoretical knowledge they will need throughout their careers to understand why their reeds are behaving in particular ways. Every reed maker faces issues with characteristics of reeds such as response, intonation, tone, and blowing quality. Ideally, all music schools would have a dedicated reed-making class to teach students these skills and knowledge, with the opportunity for feedback multiple times a week. With such a system, the common problems stated above could be addressed more quickly. Due to current trends in higher education in the United States, such as reduced budgets and increased time demands on faculty, this solution is unlikely to happen. However, schools and students are becoming more comfortable with the use of technology; this opportunity could be leveraged to increase the accessibility of feedback in reed making. In addition to feedback, technology can be used to teach new concepts and train students to put these concepts into practice as they work on their reeds. Studies in education show that shifting from one technological medium to another is not enough to improve student learning outcomes; the added value of immediate adapted feedback is necessary. This value could be provided through a mobile phone or tablet application. Through the development of technology in reed-making pedagogy, challenges inherent to learning to make reeds could be addressed in promising new ways.