Handheld Technology as a Supplemental Tool for Elementary General Music Education

Abstract

This article argues that The Eclectic Curriculum in American Music Education warrants consideration within current elementary general music education contexts. One way to consider this foundational text is in terms of how technology can serve as a tool for enriching instructional approaches. While handheld technology use within these approaches is uncommon, current educational contexts may invite integration. Integration of technology within the Dalcroze, Kodály, and Orff instructional approaches operates at a tertiary level. Each approach articulates a primary focus and states a unique secondary function of instrument use. Technology is supportive of and integrative to the primary foci and secondary functions, granting it tertiary status. The article describes ways handheld technology as a supplemental tool can provide feedback to students on the primary focus and enrich the secondary instrumental function. Handheld technology presents an opportunity to scaffold students’ musical learning, enhance self-expression, and explore timbral relationships.