Article

DOI: 10.1177/0027432116653449
Music Educators Journal Month XXXX
www.nafme.org

Software-Based Scoring and Sound Design:

An Introductory Guide for Music Technology Instruction
by Daniel A. Walzer
Daniel A. Walzer is an assistant professor of composition for new media at the University of
Massachusetts Lowell. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Abstract: This article explores the creative function of virtual instruments, sequencers, loops, and
software-based synthesizers to introduce basic scoring and sound design concepts for visual media in
an introductory music technology course. Using digital audio workstations with user-focused and
configurable options, novice composers can hone a broad range of creative mixing skills supported
by guided instruction, structured listening activities, and a discovery-based learning environment.
Music production software affords many creative options to introduce soundtrack creation and
granular synthesis for all levels with three curricular options listed here.
Keywords: community of practice, digital audio workstation, film scoring, MP3, MP4, music
technology sound design, visual media
[LEAD-IN] Students of all ages and experience levels can experiment with sound
and compose scores using the guidelines and types of digital audio software described
here.

It is an exciting time for teachers and students to explore new approaches of technology-enhanced
music-making and sound creation. The modern software-based tools used in contemporary electronic
music production and film scoring are efficient, robust, portable, and affordable. Analog equipment,
once the preferred choice of professional-level film composers and commercial musicians, is now
replaced by digital audio workstations.1 Also, the equipment commonly used in electronic music
production has changedbecoming quicker, less expensive, higher-performance, and stored within
the confines of smaller portable devices.2 Beyond the music and media industries, music production
technology is now available for teachers to engage student populations in preK12 settings.3 For
educators teaching music to students of almost any age, considering the most appropriate software-
based music technology affords many opportunities to inspire student creativity and expression
through discovery-based learning activities and guided instruction.4

Home computersonce outfitted with less than ideal sound cardsnow come equipped with
increased memory and performance; these items enable musicians and producers to create new music
and sound content with relative ease.5 PreK12 students in particular represent a growing body of
technology users intimately familiar with these digital tools.6 This media reaches students at all
different grade levels and also encourages new modes of learning in college music courses.7 Noting
the advances in computer technologys reliability, versatility, and affordability, music teachers may
consider incorporating audio recording software in the classroom as one way to foster the general
music students curiosity about sound and its many creative possibilities.

Today, music and sound can be quickly recorded, edited, and produced on a laptop computer
or smaller device. Audio programs like Audacity and GarageBand come equipped with simple
effects and allow the user to store their ideas on a hard drive. With careful lesson planning and
implementation, these digital audio workstations (DAWs) can potentially enhance millennial
learning experiencesparticularly for middle and high school students ages 10 to 18 who are already
expressing interest in (and have an aptitude for) music-making, visual media, and songwriting.8

Thoughtful application of this technology has the power to transform an ordinary classroom
computer lab into an exciting multiplatform learning communitydeeply integrating collective
student interest in music, media, and popular culture with hands-on activities.9 Students conveying
an interest in sound recordings, digital storytelling, movies, games, and popular culture are an ideal
cohort to explore these ideas in the classroom. In this case, the intersection of music performance,
sound recordings, and information technology predicts innovative trends in music education.10
Moreover, the computer technology is small, compact, and robust enough to include these concepts
in live and networked performances beyond the classroomthus captivating a wide assortment of
students.11

Indeed, music notation software and DAWs give artists, composers, and producers options to
customize the ways they create new ideas. Over the past two decades, college music students
gravitated toward notation software like Sibelius and Finale. While notation programs give
undergraduate composers numerous options for realizing their work, how can secondary school
music teachers take advantage of the contemporary software platforms normally designed to record
and produce audio? Beyond sound production, how can preK12 teachers encourage students to
combine music and visual media assets creatively? Finally, how does music technology reach a
diverse student population while stimulating a community of practice in the classroom?12

I begin with a general overview of how DAWs intersect with music creation and sound
production. I explore DAWs in a lab context and offer three scenarios that serve as templates for
developing basic music technology lesson plans. Although these possibilities are customizable across
age groups, they focus on middle and high school students. Included with the three instructional
scenarios are some open-ended questions teachers may include for additional reflection.

Thus, it is certainly possible for music teachers to integrate DAWs into a range of
introductory music and media technology courses. DAWs afford users of all levels a chance to
manipulate music and sound and combine those new tools with still images, photographs, and short
videos. Incorporating relevant software to cultivate basic compositional and sound design skills in an
introductory course integrates aural, visual, and decision-making skills. Although the specific course
name and learning objectives might vary from school to school, DAWs are most effectively used in
elective or general music classes that meet in a computer lab or similar location with Internet
connectivity, keyboard controllers, and similar items. Additionally, tablets and portable devices with
preloaded software can be used to reinforce music concepts in classes, rehearsals, and private
lessons.

Media and Millennial Students

The description of preK12 millennial learners as culturally varied, group-driven, generally
comfortable with mobile and portable technology, and curious about music and media embodies the
typical student interested in computers and related digital tools.13 PreK12 students consume music
and videos on YouTube, through social media, and by playing video games.14 These forms of
entertainment present numerous sources for students to reference in their own projects later on.

The rich musical and audiovisual content found in film and games entices young students to
wonder how they can create such items on their own. This scenario, where students express curiosity
about how they can be expressive in technology-focused environments, incentivizes teachers to
explore how DAWs can enhance lab-based learning. This article avoids specific recommendations
about audio production and video editing software. Rather, the pedagogical ideas explored here are
intended to guide instructors to the preferred DAW and video/image editing software combination
that suits their particular classroom and budgetary needs.

DAWs and Music Composition Education

Digital audio workstations, as an intermediary, introduce multilayered music and media
competencies to novice composers, songwriters, and producers when presented in a computer
laboratory setting. Students explore the artistic possibilities of producing original sonic and
multimedia content through a software-based method and guided instruction. The use of DAWs,
although broadly conceived, can give in-service teachers ideas on how to engage students to create
simple music and sound assets. Once incorporated into teaching praxis consistently, contemporary
music and media can help recontextualize the preK12 student learning process in innovative ways.15
A growing interest in connecting digital technology to praxis is reflected in the music education
literature.16

Modern composers have extensive hardware- and software-based means to create sonic ideas
once considered inconceivable; each tool influences how the composer envisions new content along
with the most applicable techniques to use.17 The major changes in accessible recording technology
transform how musicians define their artistrythe process of capturing the first idea to the finished
product is quicker than ever before.18 For teachers and students representing the band, orchestra, and
choir programs, recording technology may be entirely unfamiliar. And yet, students may very well
perform songs from movies and games in their ensembles and participate in rock bands. Considering
these paradigms, how can teachers inspire their students to interact with technology in fresh ways?
As recent music education scholarship illustrates, human beings are deeply influenced by modern
technology, and teachers are encouraged to give media technology a closer look when lesson
planning.19 Rather than isolating music-making activities, is it possible to use relevant technology to
inspire diverse compositional activity?20

Several important questions arise about DAWs in music education: First, how can teachers,
many of whom are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with this technology, begin to introduce software-
based music creation and sound design in middle school and high school? Second, how can teachers
pair readily available assets including cell phones, tablets, laptops, and Internet resources with
DAWs? Third, what sorts of lessons can teachers create to include DAWs and other forms of art and
media? The following curricular options attempt to give teachers some creative ideas for lesson
planning.

Option 1: Template-Based Sound Discovery with Virtual

Instruments
For teachers new to exploring the creative possibilities that DAWs have to offer, adopting a
template-based approach is one possible option to start with. Most DAWs include different types of
virtual instruments with hundreds of different types of premade sounds. A user can create a new
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) virtual instrument or an audio track and place one of the
software-based synthesizers as an insert on the track itself (Figure 1).

FIGURE 1
Sound Emulation with Digital Audio Effects and Virtual Instruments

An insert on a track refers to a virtual instrument that is self-contained inside the DAW. No
external components are generally required other than a USB-powered keyboard. Each DAW uses a
slightly different nomenclature to identify the types of available tracks, but their functions are quite
similar and are broadly labeled as follows:

MIDI: Musical Instrument Digital InterfaceData that include performance information

including velocity, rhythmic timing, sustain, and related itemsMIDI data are not the same thing as
audio.
Audio: A digital representation or copy of a sound that is recordedThe DAW converts the
recorded signal from the audio source into a layout that can be edited and transformed.
Instrument: Most often, a software-based virtual instrument that combines MIDI data and
audio playback.
These are some of the most common types of tracks found in DAWs. Additionally, the tracks are
often located on a virtual mixer or channel strip that the user can adjust in various ways. Each of the
track controls allows the user to isolate the individual sounds, route them in different ways, and mix
them with other instruments in a song or soundtrack. Recent studies suggest that incorporating the
sequencers commonly found in DAWs seems to positively influence musical creativity.21

Starting with a single virtual instrument track, teachers should ask students to choose one
sound they are familiar with. This sound or virtual instrument could be similar to the instrument that
they play or perhaps an unusual combination of sounds. Giving the students time to explore one of
the virtual instruments is advisable. As the students are playing with the software-based
instruments, teachers should ask the students what the sound reminds them of. Although it is
challenging to quantify how timbre affects each person, teachers may guide their students to consider
the emotive potential of soundespecially considering how timbre influences mood. Those leading
questions inspire a healthy dialogue in the class and reinforce the students connections to
technology and sonic content.

Before giving the students free time to explore, the teacher might start the lesson by playing a
recording of a specific instrument and then ask the students to find a sound on the virtual instrument
that resembles what they just heard. This encourages the students to listen critically and distinguish
the main characteristics of certain timbres. After the students find an accurate sound, the next step
includes manipulating and/or changing some aspects of the virtual instruments they chose.

Audio and virtual instruments plug-ins contain software-based effects that alter the
characteristics of each track. Often, the virtual instruments have their own specific parameters that
the user can adjust. Beyond that, plug-ins closely resemble and model the types of physical hardware
effects commonly found in recording studios and live venues. After students are given time to insert
one of these effects on the track, teachers should then encourage the students to alter their original
sound as much as they can. One way to do this is by having the students use a descriptive word to
embody their new sound. Encouraging the students to create an angry cello or a distant piano are
a few options to consider. Here, teachers can pause to ask their students a few important guiding
questions:

How can we classify sound in descriptive ways using adjectives?

Once clear, how can we manipulate existing sounds to match our descriptions using the tools
found in digital audio workstations?

This exercise is not overly concerned with creating a specific musical form. Rather, the idea
is to encourage the students to think about sound first and structure second. In fact, before students
begin changing their sounds, teachers may encourage them to jot down some adjectives to describe
the kinds of sounds they hope to create. For beginners with little experience in formal music theory,
it is a fun starting point to get them thinking about timbre and to encourage writing. Students explore
the role of sonic space and perspective in original pieces, and such plug-ins, combined with various
audio effects, introduce the budding composer to abstract soundscape ideas.22 Some composers
choose to use the DAWs plug-in settings to design and shape their pieces by adjusting the timbral
qualities of presets through advanced manipulationthe focus here is on using templates to inspire
sonic changes rather than on a traditional composition.23

Option 2: Basic Sound Synthesis with DAWs

Granulation as a sound design and electronic music composition synthesis technique has emerged in
the past few years in games and visual media, allowing users to manipulate pitch and tempo apart
from each other.24 Users capture sampled sounds, fragmented into tiny pieces, known as grains, and
played through synthesizers commonly found in digital audio workstations.25 Granular synthesis, a
relatively new approach to software-based electronic music production, manipulates signals by
shifting pitch, speed, and each sound independently; this is possible in real-time if the computers
processing and memory power allow it.26

Teachers looking for ways to connect sound synthesis and music production might consider
playing short excerpts from videos and games. By asking the students to pay attention to the drones,
low-pitched sounds, and various effects, teachers can bridge the music and sound design concepts
into a cohesive lesson. Granulation is practical to create new sound design techniques, and these
sounds mimic timbres found in nature due to the fineness or coarseness of the original source.27 For
students interested in granular synthesis, many DAWs feature virtual instruments with presets and
templates. Playing sounds through the keyboard gives the user a chance to explore more abstract
timbres. Most of the virtual instruments found in DAWs have controls that let the user adjust the
sounds parameters.

Sound synthesis forms an important aspect of electroacoustic composition. For new learners
without access to traditional analog equipment and programming experience, software-based
synthesis techniques introduce students to historically significant compositional practices through
digital audio workstations. Just as the virtual instrument templates give students a useful entryway
into sound manipulation, granular synthesis can be accomplished using the softwares existing
synthesizers.

Bass tones are wonderful sources for demonstrating how a sound can be shaped. Although
there are many complex processes happening to the sounds physical properties, teachers need not
overemphasize such difficult concepts. By having the student play with a bass tone, they can
experiment with adding and subtracting portions of the sound through the virtual instruments
controls. Focusing on one sound at a time keeps the exploration process manageable.

Similarly, teachers can have students work together to make up sounds that they enjoy and
that emulate what they hear in films and games (Figure 2). Having the students share their sound
creations with their classmates is a great way to debrief and expose them to basic sound synthesis.
This exchange of musical and sonic vocabulary gives students a forum to workshop their ideas. By
working in pairs, they develop a collaborative mindset aimed at a common goal of producing new
ideas. As the students improve their understanding of synthesis, they may proceed to more
sophisticated platforms to achieve their creative and educational aims.28 Although synthesis can be a
challenging unit to cover, teachers may ask students the following questions during each class:

Can you think of examples where sound synthesis (drones, stingers, sound effects, etc.) is
used in films and games?
How do these sounds enhance the on-screen action?

FIGURE 2
Using Presets in Digital Audio Workstations to Manipulate Bass Tones Is One Approach to
Introduce Sound Synthesis to Beginners

Option 3: Incorporating Simple Visuals and Collaboration

Film scoring differs from traditional music composition; composers must understand how their
musical choices heighten the visual content, and instructors may prefer to complement lab activities
with interviews with successful composersmany of whom explain their working relationships with
directors.29 More important, students must understand how music affects mood and viewer
perception.30 These are the possible scenarios P12 students might experience in a similar university
course later in their studies. Before tackling the role of music and sound in film, using photographs
and short videos are great ways to get students thinking about how music and sound can enhance
what they see on the screen. More importantly, introducing students to the concept of working as a
member of a team is equally valuable.

There are many ways to integrate visual media with basic music and sound design concepts.
One way that teachers can encourage students to begin multimedia production is by encouraging
them to take pictures with a digital or web camera, portable device, or mobile phone. Lessons could
require students to find specific sites to photograph. Once the students have a list of photos, they can
import or upload them to their computer to produce a slide show. Next, the students should choose
three to five pictures and assemble them in a particular order in a photo or movie editing program, an
Internet-based program, or Microsoft PowerPoint. Once assembled, students can choose how long
each photo lasts and then export the finished sequence as a QuickTime movie or mp4 video file.
These videos should not exceed one minute to begin with.

Most DAWs allow users to import finished videos so that the composer can create music,
dialog, and sound design elements. After the students import their video into the DAW, it will appear
as a sequence on the screen. From there, the student can use virtual instruments and similar items to
score a new piece for their movie. This is a challenging project for beginners. Just as teachers
encourage a workshop approach with sound synthesis, they may find that method particularly useful
to introduce more advanced concepts.

Teachers might also have students work in pairs with classmates from other departments
with each student taking on a particular creative role to produce the short media clip. This scenario
could appeal to music teachers interested in having their classes collaborating with students with an
interest in visual media. Art, photography, and computer students could produce the images, short
videos, and animation. From the sound and music perspective, one student could find simple loops,
another could find a virtual instrument to use, and a third could be in charge of the mixing. After the
students build some confidence, teachers should give them the space to decide how the media should
look, sound, and feel to the audience. Likewise, this type of project offers students a chance to think
about the following questions:

How do music and sound influence visual media?

What is it like to work as a member of a sound or music team?

As more DAWs adopt an Internet-based storage system, sharing projects between classmates
is quite feasible. In this case, the technology affords a certain level of flexibility. The students can
work on the project at home and at school as their time allows. This kind of activity is advanced and
is best suited for more experienced students. Regardless, interdepartmental collaboration presents
important opportunities to reinforce social learning concepts and introduce the students to practices
commonly found in the music and media industries. A crew-based method offers students the
opportunity to conceive a multimedia project that engages multiple senses and encourages teamwork
(Figure 3).
FIGURE 3
Music Technology Fosters Group Projects and Collaborative Opportunities for Students to Create a
Soundtrack

One Idea at a Time

Music teachers often work with a savvy cohort of highly media-literate students. As children interact
with movies, games, music, the Internet, and related technologies, that interaction inspires students to
draw connections to the media content and modern tools they use on a daily basis. Those same tools
generate collaborative opportunities for promoting diverse communities of learning. DAWs are
affordable, user-driven, and versatile as supplemental materials in the contemporary music lab.
Furthermore, DAWs appeal to a wide range of students, many of whom might not participate in
music-making otherwise. Perceptive instructors should carefully reflect on how this technology can
enhance the students learning experiences and how they can guide students toward creating their
own music and sound ideas with minimal supervision.

As an entryway to begin, teachers and students can explore one of the many free open-source
DAWs available from the Internet. Starting with mp3s and preexisting sounds, users learn how each
program works through a balance of experimentation and guided instruction. Many DAWs
supplement their software with user guides and free web-based resources that answer commonly
asked questions. YouTube and other websites provide tutorials as well. Once the user gains
confidence through fundamental skill acquisition, they advance to more sophisticated sound
production concepts. Working with DAWs starts with one sound and one idea at a time.

DAWs certainly have their place in computer labs, private lesson studios, small ensembles,
and music classrooms. As preK12 music teachers improve their DAW-based technical proficiency,
they may choose to find new methods to reignite their own practicing, composing, production, and
interaction with music and media content. Equally, the technology itself does not necessarily alter a
teacher or students musicianship. Moreover, purchasing the most expensive software does not
necessarily equate to high-quality creative learning. Schools considering such purchases should
explore how user-friendly the software is and then add supplemental technology as needed. Steady,
pragmatic instruction with DAWs ensures that teachers and students will enjoy the many possibilities
that technology-enhanced media production brings to the classroom and beyond. Finally, including
guiding questions and supportive instruction ensures that students will enjoy their own creative
learning process while building confidence with relevant software-based technology.

Some Digital Terms Used in This Article

Audio track: A digital copy of a recorded sound for use in music production software.
Channel strip: An individual channel containing the audio, MIDI, or virtual instrument; often looks
similar to channels found on a traditional mixer. Channel strips contain volume adjustments and solo
and mute buttons; they feature many ways to route sound to different locations within the software.
Codec: A way to organize, format, encode, or label any type of audio or media file. Some types of
software use proprietary labels for their file names. Audio codecs include WAV, AIFF, and MP3.
Video codecs include MOV, MP4, and WMV.
Digital audio workstation (DAW): Music production software used to record and edit sound. Audio
files are often stored on the computers hard drive or an external drive. Examples of DAWs include
Audacity, GarageBand, Pro Tools, Logic, and Cubase.
Insert: Placing an audio effect or virtual instrument on a channel strip.
(Virtual) Instrument track: A channel containing a software-based synthesizer with preexisting
sounds. Instrument tracks often record MIDI and audio information. These digital synthesizers
closely resemble traditional electronic keyboards and similar items.
MIDI: An abbreviation for Musical Instrument Digital Interfacea language that converts
performance information (loudness, sustain, rhythmic timing, note length) into data that can be
edited.
Plug-in: Usually refers to an audio effect placed as an insert on a channel strip. Plug-ins are similar
to virtual instruments as they often emulate traditional effects processors. Plug-ins are used to mix
and change sounds for creative purposes.
Scoring: Composing music and sound for visual media.
Session: The name for a project in a digital audio workstation.
Sound design: Refers here to any sort of creative applications with sound creation, editing,
manipulation, and mixing.
Synthesis: Refers here to any type of sound manipulation.

Notes
1. Matthew Duignan, James Noble, Pippin Barr, and Robert Biddle, Metaphors for Electronic Music
Production in Reason and Live, Computer Human Interaction, no. 3101 (2004): 111.
2. Gavin Kendall, Towards a Sociology of Nonhumans: Technology and Creativity, in Social
Change in the 21st Century Conference, ed., C. Bailey, D. Cabrera, and L. Buys (Berkeley, CA:
Centre for Social Change Research, 2004), 4.
3. David Brian Williams, The Non-Traditional Music Student in Secondary Schools of the United
States: Engaging Non-Participant Students in Creative Music Activities through Technology,
Journal of Music, Technology & Education 4, nos. 23 (2012): 13147. Williams pertinent research
explores how teachers use modern tools to engage secondary school students who might not
otherwise participate in musical activities.
4. Jay Dorfman, Theory and Practice of Technology-Based Music Instruction (Oxford, UK: Oxford
University Press, 2013), 3. Dorfman begins the first chapter describing how music teachers
enthusiastically look forward to procuring the latest technology for their classrooms. Yet, Dorfman
explains that teachers often encounter a moment of questioning or indecision as they wonder whether
the equipment will serve their needs. Dorfmans textbook is a valuable resource that details
technology-based music instruction (TBMI). See also: Barbara Freedman, Teaching Music through
Composition: A Curriculum Using Technology (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), xv.
Freedmans excellent text is robust with specific curricular examples that guide teachers and students
to use relevant software to enhance their musical, compositional, and sonic imaginations.
5. David Harvey, Life After MIDI: The Past, Present and Future of Music Software, in
Proceedings from the Audio Engineering Society 20th UK Conference: ConvergenceThe Impact of
Computers & Networking on Future Audio Technology, ed. Audio Engineering Society (Cambridge:
AES, 2005), 1.
6. Marc Prensky, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, On the Horizon 9, no. 5 (2001),
http://alturl.com/9qre3. Prenskys work as an educational advocate, game developer, and researcher
suggests that todays students grow up completely immersed in a digital culture and that they are
fluent in a contemporary language. Since they know no other existence, they are natives of that
digital culture. Prensky urges teachers to explore these ideas in his or her own practice. Indeed,
Prenskys work was quite transformational at the beginning of the 21st century. It provides some
context and reminds us of the urgency needed to adapt to new technologies.
7. John Leupold and Jennifer Snodgrass, Concurrent Collaborative Analysis: Integration of
Technology for Peer Learning, College Music Symposium: Exploring Diverse Perspectives
Instructional Technologies and Methodologies 54 (2014), http://alturl.com/t6722. Leupold and
Snodgrass provide a fresh analysis of millennial learning trends and how modern technology engages
peer learning in music theory courses at two different universities.
8. Jan-Olof Gull, Desktop Music Production and the Millennials: A Challenge for Educators,
Researchers and the Audio Equipment and Music Software Industry, in Proceedings of the 127th
International Convention, ed. Audio Engineering Society (New York: AES, 2009): 17.
9. Mark K. Smith, Communities of Learning, The Encyclopedia of Informal Education,
www.infed.org/biblio/communities_of_practice.htm. Smith offers a concise and thorough evaluation
of the community-based educational theories pioneered by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger in the late
1980s and early 1990s. In a music technology context, K12 students can use digital audio
workstations and contemporary software to engage their aural, visual, and artistic creativity. The
students collective interest and familiarity with computers and popular culture transforms an
ordinary passive learning experience into a blank canvas for them to explore music and sound
creation.
10. Matthew Thibeault, The Shifting Locus of Musical Experience from Performance to Recording
to Data: Some Implications for Music Education, Music Education Research International 6
(2013): 3855, http://alturl.com/a29ik.
11. David A. Williams, Another Perspective: The iPad Is a Real Musical Instrument, Music
Educators Journal 101, no. 1 (2014): 9398, http://mej.sagepub.com/content/101/1/93.short.
Williams article focuses on the use of tablets to engage student participation in performance
ensembles. His work suggests that this technology can reach a wide range of studentsmany of
whom would not perform otherwise.
12. Smith, Communities of Learning.
13. Gull, Desktop Music Production, 17.
14. Prensky, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants.
15. Matthew Thibeault, Media as an Invitation to Rethink Music Education, General Music Today
27, no. 3 (2014): 3639. Thibeault offers concise observations about how media interaction and
consumption actually produce thought-provoking experiences. Offering personal examples,
Thibeaults article shares an optimistic perspective for including media in contemporary music
education.
16. There are many resources available for preK12 teachers interested in learning about music
technology and education. Music Education with Digital Technology, ed., John Finney and Pam
Burnard (London: Continuum, 2009), and the forthcoming edited collections Music, Technology and
Education: Critical Perspectives, ed., Andrew King and Evangelos Himonides (Aldersage, UK:
Ashgate, 2016) and The Routledge Companion to Music, Technology, and Education, ed., Andrew
King, Evangelos Himonides, and Alex Ruthmann (London: Taylor & Francis, 2016) are excellent
primers in this area of contemporary music education research. For additional resources on music
technology and participatory culture in secondary schools, please refer to Evan Tobiass important
writings in Music Education Research (2012) and Research Studies in Music Education (2013),
among others. Adam Patrick Bells critical examination of digital audio workstations in Action,
Criticism, and Theory for Music Education (2015) is an important addition to this emerging area of
scholarship.
17. Adrian Moore, Dave Moore, Stephen Pearse, and Adam Stansbie, Tracking Production
Strategies: Identifying Compositional Methods in Electroacoustic Music, Journal of Music,
Technology & Education 6, no. 3 (2013): 32336.
18. Hendrik Spilker, Piracy Cultures | The Network Studio Revisited: Becoming an Artist in the
Age of Piracy Cultures, International Journal of Communication 6, no. 22 (2012): 77394.
19. Thibeault, Media as an Invitation, 39. Told from the lens of a personal interaction with his son,
Thibeaults comments illustrate that medias inclusion in music education praxis merits wider
recognition. See also: Freedman, Teaching Music through Composition, xv.
20. S. Alex Ruthmann, The Composers Workshop: An Approach to Composing in the Classroom,
Music Educators Journal 93, no. 4 (2007): 3843. Ruthmanns important article investigates useful
strategies to foster music composition as an alternative to performance classes in a way that
considers student interests and tastes in contemporary music.
21. Francisco Mendez, The Use of Sequencer Tools During the Composition Process: A Field
Study, Journal of Music, Technology & Education 8, no. 1 (2015): 5570.
22. Freedman, Teaching Music through Composition, 7785. Freedman offers a straightforward
explanation of sound effects and how they can be used.
23. Mark Marrington, Experiencing Musical Composition in the DAW: The Software Interface as
Mediator of the Musical Idea, Journal on the Art of Record Production no. 5 (2011).
24. Leonard J. Paul, Granulation of Sound in Video Games, in Proceedings from the Audio
Engineering Society Conference: 41st International Conference: Audio for Games, ed. Audio
Engineering Society (London, UK: AES, 2011): 1.
25. Ibid.
26. Price, Granular Synthesis: How it Works.
27. Paul, Granulation of Sound in Video Games, 1.
28. V. J. Manzo, Max/MSP/Jitter for Music: A Practical Guide to Developing Interactive Music
Systems for Education and More (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2011), xiiixiv. Manzos
book explores how Max/MSP/Jitter, robust graphical programming software, is used for musical and
educational purposes. Although Manzos book might not be appropriate for middle/high school
students, it offers a highly organized introduction to advanced synthesis, composition, and pedagogy.
29. Annabel J. Cohen, Music as a Source of Emotion in Film, in Music and Emotion: Theory and
Research, ed., P. N. Juslin and J. A. Sloboda (New York: Oxford), 24972.
30. Ibid.