A Multidimensional Taxonomy of Digital Learning Materials for Music Education

Technological development, ubiquity of digital devices and the widespread possibility of Internet access have completely changed the way people approach the musical experience, significantly broadening the audience of producers and users of music. These advances make it important to reflect on how technology has changed the way music is taught and learned, and on the new possibilities offered by tangible, large-scale, augmented, and virtual reality interfaces. The purpose of this chapter is to systematically analyze and discuss digital learning materials explicitly conceived for a wide pedagogical area known as computer-based music education. In order to catch the aspects of heterogeneity on one side, but also, on the other side, make some relevant clusters emerge, the authors introduce a multidimensional classification schema. In particular, the proposed taxonomy considers the axes of cognitive approaches and methods, learning goals, categories of end users, implementation technologies, interfaces, and intended school types and levels. Finally, the most significant trends and practices are evaluated in order to introduce innovation in music education curricula.