e-Piano, a case of music education via e-learning in rural Zambia Kristin Shoemaker1, Gertjan van Stam2
 1 – Macha Piano, 2 – Macha Works Introduction

Conclusions & Discussion

Macha is a remote community in rural Zambia, two hours from the nearest paved road; the majority of its residents live in traditional mud huts without running water and electricity. A satellite link to the Internet has opened up new environments for learning in Macha, including applied music instruction. In the fall of 2008, a piano educator in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota, and an eight year-old student from Macha began connecting for real-time piano lessons across 8000 miles. One year later, a 10 year-old student was added to the study.

Children in resource-limited rural settings have little opportunity to discover the delight of playing a musical instrument. New means to realizing that joy, while simultaneously growing creativity, intellect, discipline, and perseverance, are emerging.

Objectives: • To test the efficacy of applied piano lessons between two culturally and geographically disparate locations • To provide perspectives on the benefits and challenges of real-time and time-shifted communication in regards to the study of the piano within a remote setting

Materials and Methods Synchronous Interaction Real-time communication has been applied within one-to-one instruction and within small group formats, linking piano students from two different continents in collaborative learning. Synchronous interaction is achieved through video-conferencing software (e.g. Skype and ooVoo) and new technology that directly links two piano keyboards through MIDI. Internet MIDI enables MIDI-capable instruments to control, synchronize, and exchange data electronically so that a piano key that is played on one keyboard will sound the same key on the remote partner keyboard, making it possible to have a purely musical realtime conversation online. Asynchronous Interaction In time-shifted learning, pre-recorded videos are exchanged between teacher and students via social networking sites. Students download the videos at optimal times (when the VSAT connection is less congested), and work at a self-directed pace, pausing, rewinding, and repeating the video as necessary. Video and audio quality are highly controlled (dependent only on available equipment), and extra visual reinforcement is used to teach new concepts and to overcome lack of physical presence. Through asynchronous interaction, students have had larger audiences than available in real-time. When a student creates and uploads a video onto a social-networking website, it can be shared with a much wider audience than with the teacher alone. Privacy options allow the student to choose with whom the video can be shared. In this study, students have shared videos with the instructor’s North American students, larger audiences in studio recitals, and public websites, as a contribution to the field of e-learning in music.

This investigative study has demonstrated that piano lessons via e-learning can have similar results to traditional applied music instruction.

Results Results have been favorable, indicating that this new educational environment for piano study is viable. Synchronous Benefits: • If the Internet connection is reliable, real-time learning closely replicates the interaction that occurs in traditional piano lessons • Fosters personalized instruction, tailored to the student’s unique learning style • New Internet MIDI technology enables immediate and direct musical communication between teacher and student, providing exceptional audio quality between instruments • Through Internet MIDI, it has been possible to play in musical ensemble across the globe, creating a unique collaborative experience Synchronous Challenges: • It has been difficult for the teacher to effectively present new concepts within the live format when the Internet connection is weak • Students have become confused and disinterested when the quality of video or audio communication in video-conferencing has been inconsistent Asynchronous Benefits: • Advantageous for introducing new concepts due to stability in audio and video quality • Provides the student with concrete references from which to work at a selfdirected pace of learning • Makes it possible for the teacher to create a database of videos to be shared with multiple students, shifting the communication from one-to-one to one-tomany without the prerequisite of additional instructional time Asynchronous Challenges: • Void of immediate interface and support • Instruction is less individualized Data collected through field notes and video-recordings have shown that the most effective learning has occurred through the blending of real-time (facilitated) and time-shifted (self-directed) forms of communication. The synergy provided by this combination has decreased student frustration, and increased student understanding, resulting in a positive experience for teacher and student.

Furthermore, with a strong Internet connection, this arrangement can have benefits that reach beyond traditional piano lessons, including the development of computer skills, increased student responsibility (due to the lack of physical presence by the instructor), opportunities to interact face-toface with other musicians from around the globe, and continual reinforcement in learning through pre-recorded supplements. Therefore, this project will be ongoing, and this instruction will be made available to more students by: • Expanding the curriculum with supplementary pre-recorded video instruction • Involving other music educators who express interest in e-learning • Creating a dedicated keyboard lab in Macha and in other rural settings within Zambia The current pedagogical arrangement is lopsided, and is regrettably, strictly from a Western musical perspective. Other partnerships must be cultivated in which non-Western musical traditions are shared. Additionally, new bridges must be investigated regarding core cultural differences. e.g. relational versus rational mindsets. The Internet offers a multitude of possibilities for exchanging musical expertise, and perhaps a future window into many multifaceted African musical traditions.

Acknowledgments We thank George Litterst for his assistance in technological support and his donation of TimeWarp Technologies software to this study.

For Further Information machapiano.com machaworks.org