This document discusses using video games in music education. It makes four key points: 1) Games have long been used in music education, 2) Video games are popular with today's students, 3) Games impact both what and how students learn, and 4) Video games can bridge formal and informal music learning. It then describes a research project where pre-service music teachers used Guitar Hero to create arrangements and develop their perspective on using games in education. Most students changed their view to seeing games as valid for musical engagement after this experience.

1. From Virtual to Actual:
Video Games in Music Education
Ann Clements, Ph.D., Associate Professor
School of Music
acc13@psu.edu

2. Flickr: Twelves’

5. Flickr: TGKW’S

6. TLT Faculty Fellows
Connecting points of intelligence, insight, energy, and knowledge-sharing across PSU and beyond.

7. What is of interest to me…?
Music Participation….Why do people do music?
1)understand the nature of musical creation in terms
of performance, consumption, and preference,
2)explore how music is transmitted, or taught and
learned, within the confines of culture, and
3)seek the underlying meanings of musical practices
and musicianship within the context of culture
through ‘everyday’ musical interactions.

8. My research journey…
The World
My
Community
My
Basement

9. Four Important Points
1. Games are nothing new in music
education.
2. Video games are the media of choice for
this generation.
3. Games shape not only what we learn, but
how we learn.
4. Video games breach the gap between in-
school and out of school musical doings.

10. Games In Education

11. More than Meets the Eye…

12. Defining games in education…
Gaming
– Social Interaction Theory (Vygotsky, 1978)
– Social Learning or Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1977)
– Constructivism (Bruner, 1966; Jonassen, 2006; Papert, 1998)
– Situated Learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991)
Games in music and music Education are nothing new!
The presentation and genre of games has changed.
Fun games AND Serious games
- MMPO -CoTS -Created L and S

13. How games are studied…
Constance Jim Gee
Kurt Squire
Steinkuehler

14. Guitar Hero
Research
Project 1 Project 2 Project 3

15. Gaming’s Effect on Music Education
Imagined and Virtual Musical Communities
(Clements, Cody, and Gibbs, 2008)
Across the country there has been a
surge of enrollment in middle
and high school level guitar classes.
We believe this is due, in part, to the success of guitar
based video games. Video 1
Musical gaming may be influencing students’ perceptions
of their personal musical ability and may even be
changing what it means to be musical. Video 2

16. Musical Notation Demonstration
Video
Transcribed from Guitar Hero World Tour

17. Musical Notation
Project 1 –
Nonmusical Element
Inability to create new music
sounds/tunes within game
play.
Transcribed from Guitar Hero 3

18. Guitar Hero - World Tour Music Studio
Additional Instrumentation in
Game Play
• Lead Guitar, Bass, Drums and Vocals
Music Studio
• The ability to input original
compositions
• Lead guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Bass,
Keyboard, and Drums
• The creation of Guitar Hero based
notation for playback by others
GH Tunes
• The ability to share original
compositions with others via the
Guitar Hero platform

19. Virtual to Actual: The Use of Gaming as a Means to Broaden
Pre-service Music Educator’s Perspective on Music Education
Clements, Cody, and Stubbs (2009)
Purpose:
An action research study to introduce undergraduate music education majors to
the video game Guitar Hero - World Tour© in order to:
– expand students knowledge and perception of video game use in the music
classroom and
– to create sound pedagogical musical arrangements within game play to assist their
future students in transitioning from virtual guitar playing into actual guitar playing.
Guiding Questions:
1. Will use of musical video games alter pre-service music educators’ perspectives
about the validity of gaming as a means for musical engagement?
2. Is it possible for pre-service music educators to create simple musical
arrangements within game play to guide their future students toward actual
guitar playing?

20. Project Parameters
Subjects:
– two intact 7-week long beginning level guitar classes for music education majors
(N=31)
– the instructor of these courses (Ann Clements),
– a member of the Penn State Educational Gaming Commons who was on hand to
assist with the technology and to take reflective field notes on the process (Chris Stubbs),
and
– a music theory instructor with musical gaming experience and professional level guitar
playing skills who served as an outside observer (Tom Cody).
Traditional/Folk
Basic guitar pedagogy and playing
Traditional
including I, IV, and V chords in the keys
of G, D, A, and various strumming
patterns.
Rock
The formation of rock bands, including
the arrangement of popular music using Rock Virtual
informal learning techniques.
Virtual
The Guitar Hero© Project.

21. Procedures
1. A pre-experience questionnaire to determine their familiarity with video
game use and to explore their perspectives of musical gaming uses in
educational settings.
2. Two in-class training modules on the use of Guitar Hero – World Tour on ©
a PlayStation 3 with special focus on the Music Studio component.
TM
3. A two-hour evening programming session in which the students were
divided into small groups and given the task to choose a simple 2-3 chord
song they can play on guitar and to arrange and input their selected song into
the Music Studio. Each group was asked to create a:
1. Lead line (melody)
2. Rhythm line (chords)
3. Bass line (root), and
4. Drum line
4. An hour long performance of traditional materials, their individual rock
band arrangements, and demonstration of the Guitar Hero © projects.
5. A post-experience questionnaire to determine their perspectives of musical
gaming use in education.

22. Pre-Experience Perspectives
Students
It was discovered that these particular groups of video games! video games fairly
"No, I really don't feel we should use students played I feel like
infrequently.
kids just waste time when they should be reading, or practicing in
my case. (sic)”
– 5 students had never played any games in the Guitar Hero © series.
Their initial perspectives about many better ways the music classroom, or any
"No, because there are the use of gaming in teachers can get
classroom setting, were mixed.
students involved in class than just having them play video
games.” 20% of students indicating a possible use for gaming in education
– less than
– only 2 students reporting having ever used games as part of any class
“I’ve played musical video games previously, and I know they
can be challenging, but games are more about getting together
with friends than actually learning anything.”

23. Pre-Experience Perspectives
INSTRUCTOR
The instructor had some trepidation going into this project about her
comfort level using this form of technology, the ways in which
“I was students might view the be technical glitches. setting, and the
music afraid that there would use of gaming in this Even after
hours of practice, I am still finding open to trying something new.
extent to which students would be difficulties within the game and
am struggling to determine if this is the best way to introduce
students to the uses of gaming in education.”
“These are School of Music students who have dedicated much of
their lives to perfection in their (music) studios and I fear that this
will be viewed as simply entertainment that has no place in formal
education.”

24. Examples of Student Work from
Field Videos
VIDEO 3

25. Post-Experience Perspectives
STUDENTS
After their experiences playing and creating within the game structure,
perspectives appear to have changed
“Not only is it interesting to compare this with learning beginning
– 94% of students reported that it is important for future teachers to understand
guitar, but asthe ways educators many of our student's musical
games and future in which youth interact with them.
backgrounds in music WILL BE Guitar as highly motivational give us of
– 97% ranked the Guitar Hero© assignment Hero and this can in terms
some perspective on what to expect and also to start thinking about
guitar learning.
– 87% of to take.”
what stepsthe reported a desire to use musical games in their future teaching.
“I really feel that there are lessons being taught in the game that
apply to music teaching and learning. The motivational factor
alone is enough for me to want to understand video games better
and find ways in which I can incorporate them into my teaching.”

26. Post-Experience Perspectives
INSTRUCTOR
VIDEO 4
Formal and Informal Instruction
“The students have really come together through this project. I have
seen them transform from instruction seeking to class leading, a
transition I didn’t expect to see… not only are they excited about playing,
they are excited about the possibilities the technology is providing in
terms of their future teaching.”
“The class quickly became informal. The students were learning and
teaching one another as is often seen in the (musical) creation processes
of professional or community musicians.”

27. Post-Experience Perspectives
Instructor
“This whole process has been reminiscent of my
experiences as a middle school teacher – when the
music classroom was a general hang out for
students.
Not only are the students enjoying the process, they
are enjoying each other. Music has once again
become ‘cool’ and inhibitions and competition,
which are common place at the collegiate level,
have faded.”

28. Song Construction Instructor’s Observations
There were numerous technical difficulties during each
recording session that hampered students’ progress.
• controlling the tempo and audible click track
• lack of familiarity with the PlayStation and Music Studio
TM
program
• controllers falling asleep from inactivity
• the lack of ability to edit recorded sound at the level most
students had experienced using professional level recording
programs.
Video 5

29. Conclusions
1. Will use of musical video games alter pre-service music educators’
perspectives about the validity of gaming as a means for musical
engagement?
– As evident by the data collected, it appears that even the most simple uses of
gaming in educational practice can have a positive effect on the perceptions
of pre-service music educators.
2. Is it possible for pre-service music educators to create simple musical
arrangements within game play to guide their future students toward actual
guitar playing?
– Due to the technological difficulties within Music Studio, it does not appear
to be practical at this time to create meaningful lessons within the program.
• This is not to say that pedagogical ties between virtual and actual guitar playing
are not present, simply that the technology has yet to be developed within the
game to allow for the precision needed to make arranging meaningful and
consistent.

30. Educational Music Gaming:
Pre-service and Middle School Perceptions
Clements & Stubbs (2010)
Project 3
1. What are the perceptions of preservice music educators and middle school general music
students to a musical gaming project?
1. Is it possible to create meaningful music and guitar lessons for middle school level students
using Guitar Hero?
– Intermediate level guitar preservice teachers created a new song in GH World Tour
– Lesson plans combining virtual playing and real playing were developed
– Preservice students taught the lesson over a two-week period in a local seventh grade general music
classroom.
Preliminary results
– The preservice teachers interest in using Guitar Hero as a teaching tool lowered from second study, with
only 68% responding that the game enhanced their teaching.
– 94% of middle school students ranked this activity as one of the most “enjoyable” they had experienced in
music class.
– A strange dichotomy between the perceptions of the preservice and middle school students regarding the
worth of video game use in the classroom.

31. TLT Fellowship: Musical Play
1) Research project on Musical Play
- Comparison of traditional form of musical play and new
form including video game technology
- 10 children ages 3-15
- 4 play dates, 2 “in home” and 2 in the EGC Lab
- Traditional Musical Items
- Balls, jump ropes, hand clap games, chants, instruments
- Musical Video Games
- Blog and Movie

32. Movement
Uses:
• Warm-up movements in rehearsal
• Physical demonstration of beat/pulse
• Dance/movement in general music settings
Details:
Sample 1
•Cost – under $30.00
Sample 2
•Classroom appropriate
•No dance pad needed Sample 3

33. Theory
Uses: Uses: Uses:
• Individual or class • Individual in front • Individual or class
of class
• Rhythm & pitch • Rhythm building
building skills • Rhythm & pitch skills
building skills
Sample 1 Rhythm Sample 1 - Pitch Sample 1- Beat
Sample 2 Chords Sample 2 - Chords

34. Theory Continued
Uses: Uses:
• Individual or class • Individual or class
• Rhythm building • Rhythm building
skills skills
Sample 1 Chorus Sample 1
Sample 2 Robot
Sample 3 Mix

35. Singing and Playing
Uses:
• Individual or class
• Playing and/or singing skills
Sample 1 Sample 1- Maestro Sample 1
Sample 2 Sample 2 - Bells
Sample 3 Sample 3 - Instruments

36. Composition
Uses:
• Individual or class
• No points, score, or ability to “win”
•Free arrangement and composition
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3
Sample 5 Sample 6 Sample 7 Sample 8 Sample 9

37. Thank you!
This presentation was supported by the
TLT Faculty Fellows Program
http://tlt.its.psu.edu/faculty/fellowship
and the
Educational Gaming Commons Engagement Initiative Program
http://gaming.psu.edu/
Check out our Blog!
http://blogs.tlt.psu.edu/fellows/
Clements Fellowship Project
http://ets.tlt.psu.edu/wiki/Children%E2%80%99s_Music_Play

38. Thoughts to ponder…
Every time we succeed in creating an additional, genuine culture of
musical involvement in the schools, we expand our relevance, our
value, and our claim to be a basic subject capable of serving all
students rather than only a small minority.
… Opening ourselves to these possibilities allows our profession to
become all it is capable of becoming, to serve all the students it is
capable of serving, to demonstrate by its actions that it is worthy of
the full support of its culture rather than trying to coerce that
support by endless pleadings for a program attractive to few.
(Reimer, 2004)

39. Thank you!
This project was supported by a grant from the
Penn State Educational
Gamming Commons.
The PSU Educational Gaming Commons is
creating a community of users who will support
both physical and virtual infrastructure to
promote the broad impact of gaming within the
teaching, learning, and research environment.
For more information please see the following website:
http://gaming.psu.edu/