Gamification is a topic that has been rapidly growing in popularity in the education field over the past few years. It can take a more literal form, as in literally using games in a classroom to help teach or support important concepts, or it can be used in the sense of transferring the concepts and strategies that make video games appealing into a classroom setting. I believe that, when used in the correct manner and context, gamification can be a powerful tool to help engage learners. I attended a seminar a few years ago where Chris Leeson, an excellent Victoria music educator at the middle school level, explained the particular way he integrated a gamified approach into his band program, which largely included RPG-inspired elements like experience points. One of the most important points he made was that these kinds of approaches can only be successfully used if the teacher really buys into it; as with all other things, students can sense when teachers are being ingenuous and this will completely undermine any benefits. Interestingly, many of the concepts of gamification, such as rewards and a gradual progression of difficulty, mirror concepts we have talked about in our educational psychology class as being beneficial to learning and engagement.

Games in the Music Classroom:

There is a wide variety of games that can be used to help teach or reinforce specific concepts that are relevant to the music classroom. One of the most prominent examples I have seen is the use of rhythm and dance games to help build internal pulse and a mind-body connection in the context of rhythm; though not something I personally enjoy, many of my peers have talked about the value of using dance games like Just Dance in the music classroom to support these concepts (as well as being a fun and engaging activity for students). Other prominent examples include Guitar Hero, Trombone Champ, and Rock Band. In my own personal music study, I have found the app “Perfect Ear” (which has some gamified elements) to be an incredibly powerful and engaging tool to improve my ear training and musicianship. For context, it reminds me in some ways of Duolingo (which, rumor has it, will also be releasing a music-focused “language” learning program in the near future). I would be interested into finding more games and gamified tools that can be used in both an individual and a group setting – if anyone has any suggestions, please send them my way!

Sample screenshot from Perfect Ear app; accessed via https://www.perfectear.app/#screenshots