Digitalization and the world of a singing teacher
Digitalization is nowadays a huge part of singing teaching. Although I think digitalization cannot ever replace wise pedagogy, humanity, musicianship and the advanced singing craft, digitalization has enabled some very useful tools which can develop the musicianship and strengthen the learning process. Different apps like Drumgenius and iRealPro can help the student to improve musical skills like rhythm, scales and chord changes. YouTube, Spotify and other digital apps offer some useful karaoke backing tracks for home practice. Everyone has a self-phone and internet these days, so it is quite amazing how accessible music is today. Couple of clicks and you can listen to some specific artist you want to hear or find some essential information and music examples about some specific music topic. It is also convenient to carry tablets where you can store music and music sheets. Digital inventions have made it possible to record singing lessons, rehearsals and concerts which can deepen the learning experience of a student. Music writing is handy by using soft-wares like MuseScore or Sibelius. Music production is also heavily influenced by digitalization. New sounds are possible with digitalized instruments and tools. Combining these digital possibilities into face to face teaching is a thrilling combination. Digital tools make learning more sufficient and fun. In the future I believe we can see more advanced digital learning tools and devices. I think devices like microphones will be less visible in the future. I’m sure electronic music made with digital equipment will evolve in future, but I don’t think the acoustic sound of the music will ever disappear.
COVID-19 has changed the world in many ways. When the lockdown happened in Finland in March 2020, I remember how I had to learn to use Zoom software in a short notice. The time was stressful. Leap to the unknown was pressured and I was skeptical how the concept would work in distance singing education. Nowadays using Zoom or other video communication apps is a routine. Today I have some students who prefer distance singing classes because it is convenient. A student can join the singing class at home or at a summer cottage without traveling, which can save some time and money. In some aspects distance classes work well. Building the vocal technique and singing vocal warm ups like scales work well. But the lack of not being able to do the music together is a huge disadvantage. Because of the unstable and not fast enough internet connections it is not possible for me to accompany the student with the piano in real time because of the delay of the sound. The sound quality is also problematic. I’ve heard that there have been some inventions about solving these issues in some universities in the USA but solving these things require some very expensive special equipment and advanced digitalization which is not yet commonly accessible to an ordinary consumer (both the teacher and the student). Maybe in the future it will be possible. I also believe that in the future we will see concerts where one of the musicians is playing in Tokyo and one is singing in Helsinki in real time without any sound issues or delays. But even if this would happen, it still doesn’t compensate for the magic of playing and singing together in a sense of community, and the experience for the audience to feel the atmosphere of a live performance.
Threats and advantages
Digitalization has made the world smaller in different ways. Contacting people is easier and faster by using social media. Accessing knowledge and the vast music library is globally possible via the internet. Musicians can be well aware of what kind of musical influences are happening in the world. This is a huge advantage. But there are also some quite severe risks on these factors. Comparison to others is easier when you can follow the music industry in a whole world. Social media can add some pressure for musicians too. It is a well known fact that if a musician wants to have success, social media is helpful. Every musician has to make the decision how much personal information he/she is willing to share in public. Sometimes it is hard to separate professional life from personal life or work time from free time in the music business. These may cause some mental health issues for the musicians.
I’m also a little bit concerned about the impact of the overproduced music industry. Producing is an important part of the music production and recording, but from the singing teacher’s point of view there are some tricky aspects. Over produced polished voices with auto-tuning, double tracking or over manipulating the original voice can diminish the awareness of how the real, authentic voice sounds like in live situations (without any production). That can lead to some false expectations of what live singing should sound like, because the ear is used to listening to heavily produced contemporary music recordings which can be heard all the time on the radio.
Self-evaluation
By doing this task I realized how much I use digitalization in my everyday work life. This fall I’ve studied MuseScore software. The process of learning something new can be a little bit tricky at first but once you get on the track of it, new skills can be really useful in work life. I don’t consider myself a digital prodigy, but I love the advantages that digitalization can offer. It is essential to follow the time and learn to use new tools. In that way I can improve as a singing teacher.
Writing in English is not what I do very often, so it is good to practice my English skills too.
Comments
I made comments on these blogs:
Hytönen, Simo
Kamppuri, Suvi
COVID-19 really changed many things in the world! Zoom, Teams, Google Meet… all those apps made their breakthroughs in my life too in spring 2020. During the lockdown (from March to May 2020) those apps were only ways to teach. Think about how many times for example our Art Pedagogy -team has met in Zoom since September 2020! It really has advantages and threats in distance teaching. We didn´t have to travel to Kuopio (we saved money and time, too), but sometimes it was difficult to participate in the same way as if we would have seen each other in contact learning. Live meetings are usually the best way to learn as creative ways of working are concerned.
Hi Ritva-Liisa!
You have good points in your text. As you mentioned, digital tools cannot replace human in teaching, but they still have many advantages. For example those remote classes and teaching sessions, although their face to face contact is only virtual and many dimensions cannot be seen and taking care of. However, during the difficult time of Covid-19, some of those lessons have still been able to be arranged. Many digital tools and systems may ease and richen the content you are teaching, making the learning and teaching more flexible – and even possible.
For me it has been great to see how digital tools and apps have inspired kids to learn about music. With entertaining apps kids are learning to play and make music while playing.
Hey! As I work in totaly different career, and consume music by only listening, its interesting to read what kind of impacts covid has caused and also made possible. Could anyone ever have imagined let’s say like ten years ago that you could do your daily teaching and work from home? Also what you mentioned about “over polished” music it’s the same that’s happening with all the social media, over edited pictures and blurred faces, are those any better than ruff and real voices and faces?
HI 😊,
Thank you for your interesting post! You mentioned so many digital tools that I have never even heard of, but which are surely highly beneficial for students. Your projection of the future regarding playing and singing together from different parts of the world simultaneously does sound indeed intriguing, but I totally agree that it is not to be compared with an actual live performance.
Despite many positive things that digitalization has brought, it is important that you pondered also the challenges, as they have be taken into consideration as well.
Best regards,
Valensija
(https://blogi.savonia.fi/vnurmi/)
Hi Ritva-Liisa
It was really nice to read your blog. I find it quite interesting. I had not previously familiarized myself with the topic of what digitalization has brought to the world of music. It is great that you have already made good progress in that challenging remote singing lesson. Hopefully, those internet connection and sound quality problems can be solved in the near future so that there is no need to purchase expensive special equipment.
I`m interested in karaoke, but nowadays I don`t have enough free time for that hobby. But in future, I hope to find time to practice singing. I`m going to check out those apps you mentioned on your blog.
Br, Esko
(https://blogi.savonia.fi/eskotahkanen/)