Are Music Learning Apps Ruining Music Education?
Technology surrounds our world now more than ever. With the rise of artificial intelligence and the normalization of asynchronous learning and work, there are constant new developments to promote efficiency and convenience. Of course, with change, comes hesitation. Will new AI tech lead to humans losing their jobs? Will human connection be devalued? The honest reality is that technological advancements have been at the forefront of society for quite some time now.
Music learning applications have flooded app stores for years and years. Simply Piano, a mobile app owned by JoyTunes, was established in 2011. The app teaches you how to play piano with audio and visual feedback and gamified challenges. With Simply Piano, students are meant to improve their technique, sight-reading skills, and build their repertoire.
With over 50 million downloads, the app seems to be bringing music education to people all around the world! While this is great, it is important to remember that music learning applications are not a substitute for traditional music lessons. Apps like Simply Piano can help peak interest for budding musicians or serve as a fun supplement to traditional music lessons, but it is definitely not a replacement. Standard music lessons can offer personalized instruction and feedback that apps like Simply Piano cannot parallel. In fact, a recurring criticism of Simply Piano, is that the software is rarely accurate when it comes to listening and correcting the notes that the student is playing.
There are several other apps such as Yousician, Supersonics, Note Rush, and more that are advertised as the equivalent of a traditional music education. We as music teachers know that personalization, accuracy, and human connection are crucial components to music education. However, it is hard to completely avoid technology in this day and age. And who would want to? When used correctly, technology can assist both you and your students!
The Practice Space app is a platform for you and your students to connect and continue education outside of the lessons. The app is an addition to regular music lessons, not a replacement! With Practice Space, you don’t have to entrust artificial intelligence technology to provide learning materials for your students. You can use the app as a digital assignment book and easily upload lessons and assignments with multimedia attachments such as PDFs, audio files, videos, and more. The in-app motivators such as streaks, prizes, and the studio leaderboard, keep students engaged and excited to practice! Students can log their progress in the app, record themselves, and ask for your feedback. The app will assist you in keeping track of your students' practice and help you understand even more how to personalize the lessons for them.
Not only will the Practice Space app allow you to connect more with your students, but it will also make your life easier! Practice Space has teacher organization features that will help you save time. Upload and save teaching points and materials to the Practice Space library and send them to your students instantly with just a click. You can include demo videos, links, PDFs, and more to your library and organize them with tags. Additionally, you can edit and delete tags as well as assign tags to various assignments. No more digging through files, emails, and texts!
When the rise of technology is so inevitable, why not embrace it? Practice Space is an app made for music teachers by music teachers. We listen to feedback from music instructors around the world and are always improving our platform. Connect with your student’s Practice Space and sign up for a free trial or book a demo with the co-founders today.