MIDI, music and me: MIDI, music and me: Students' perspectives Students' perspectives on composing with MIDIon composing with MIDI

Presenter: Jenny TsengPresenter: Jenny Tseng

Professor: Ming-Puu ChenProfessor: Ming-Puu Chen

Date: December 29, 2008Date: December 29, 2008

Airy, S. & Parr, J. M. (2001). MIDI, music and me: Students’ perspectives on composing with MIDI. Music Education Research, 3(1), 42-49.

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Introduction

Educational possibilities have not been explored, partly because of limited utilization of MIDI in the classroom. The centrality of the teacher’s role in

implementing technological innovation in the classroom

The lack of support and training for teachers The contribution of this paper is to

present students’ experiences and views of MIDI.

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MethodMethodContexts & ParticipantsContexts & Participants

This study was conducted at a polytechnic which offers courses specializing in Audio Engineering and Music Production

All students study MIDI sequencing as part of the course requirements.

The program is conducted at certificate level and diploma level

Participants in the study were 12 from the certificate program and a further 12 from the diploma program.

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MethodMethodProcedureProcedure

Certificate student 10 weeks of using MIDI sequencing packages An initial 40-minute semi-structured interview Musical background, experience with computers

and their experiences in composing with MIDI were asked.

wrote several paragraphs in response to a follow-up questionnaire 15 weeks after the initial interviews. To see if further experience of MIDI had changed their

position Diploma student

20 weeks of MIDI use Interviews were slightly shorter and

concentrated on students’ perceptions of their productivity with MIDI.

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Findings and DiscussionFindings and DiscussionPrevious Access to Music Previous Access to Music and to MIDIand to MIDI

The majority of students had not participated in formal music education prior to their enrolment.

Seventeen students described school music lessons as ‘pointless’, ‘boring’ or ‘a waste of time’.

All students who participated in the interviews during this study stated that making music via MIDI was not taught in their secondary schools. Most students reported that their secondary

schools had no MIDI facilities. Some observed that resources for making music

were present but not used.

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Findings and DiscussionFindings and DiscussionMusical VoiceMusical Voice

MIDI sequencing allows students to compose and perform their

music gives students a musical voice

Music curricula of the past have not always been able to accommodate the voices of every class member. MIDI allowed their voices to be heard.

There was general agreement amongst the students surveyed that MIDI allowed them to explore their own ideas independently of both the teacher and other students.

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Findings and DiscussionFindings and DiscussionMy MusicMy Music

Certificate students responded in two ways. ‘Techno’ and ‘dance music’ were best suited

to composition via MIDI. The music they personally preferred was

readily composed with MIDI. Diploma students

‘Techno’ and ‘dance’ rhythms were the exclusive domain of MIDI and other music types of individual preference were generally considered ‘off-limits’ because of what they perceived as the confines of MIDI production.

The role of MIDI as a tool in composition The ‘sound’ and ‘feel’ of the music they

preferred was not captured by MIDI.

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Reflections on the Limitations of MReflections on the Limitations of MIDIIDIMIDI Controllers and AccessMIDI Controllers and Access

The ability for most students to utilize the keyboard as a controller for either keyboard music or to access other sonorities remained largely unrealized

Students were critical of the use of the keyboard in certain situations. For example, the production of drums

using a keyboard controller was a concern. Controllers can assist musicians by

providing access to a variety of instrumental sounds without the need for specialist knowledge or technical mastery of each instrument

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Reflections on the Limitations of Reflections on the Limitations of MIDIMIDISequencing with MIDISequencing with MIDI

For the student with low music literacy, MIDI provides a notation-free environment

The use of ‘cut and paste’ was reported to be the single most useful function of MIDI sequencing This is a facility useful for enabling greater access

to music for students with limited instrumental skills.

Software that provides more features than required may inhibit access while the cost of unnecessary features may hinder purchase.

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Reflections on the Limitations of Reflections on the Limitations of MIDIMIDIAccess to SoundAccess to Sound

Two contrasting views about the sounds produced some sounds as unrealistic and non-representative

of instruments that they are trying to imitate. the sounds created using the synthesizer were not

an attempt to imitate a real instrument but, rather, had possibilities to create exciting new sonorities.

MIDI will not make them ‘better’ composers, nor will it enable them to write music of which they are not capable.

MIDI facilitates the externalizing of musical ideas so students must be encouraged to ‘think in sound’.

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Reflections on the Limitations of Reflections on the Limitations of MIDIMIDIAccess to SoundAccess to Sound

For the more experienced students, the limitations of the MIDI protocol were becoming increasingly synonymous with an inability to achieve production at the desired level.

For those students who have not had the advantage of a formal traditional music education there are even greater benefits.