Constructivist Hardware Pedagogy in an Electronic Music History Curriculum

Abstract

Constructivist Hardware Pedagogy in a Music History Curriculum is a qualitative case study that seeks to understand the student experience when given access to the modern equivalents of influential music technology designs with the end goal of expanding the student’s historical understanding, instrument literacy, and musical creation skills. The music manufacturing industry is producing new approximations of historical music technology including the Theremin, analog and digital synthesizers, drum machines, and other physical devices that reflect a renewed emphasis on hardware interaction in music production. While most of these devices are more affordable than their predecessors, ownership and experience is beyond the financial means of most students. This intervention provided equity to music technology students in their access to essential modern hardware. Constructivism is used as the foundation for pedagogical revisions to the MUS-M340 History of Electronic Music course in conjunction with the hardware access. The instruction intervention followed a balanced model focusing on student-centric instruction techniques for group learning. Students were provided with access outside the class to work with the hardware to become personally familiar with it, emulating and recontextualizing the work of music technology pioneers and modern creators. Group and individual research projects provided opportunities for students to function as teachers and for the instructors to be the learners. The primary research question is “In what ways does a constructivist design emphasizing physical hardware interactions affect the student experience in an electronic music history course?” The results highlight how this intervention affected the students’ personal creative practices and their understanding and interest in the historical content.