The EARS 2 pedagogical project – an eLearning environment to introduce learners to sound-based music

In: King, Andrew and Himonides, Evangelos, (eds.) Proceedings of the Sempre MET2014: Researching Music, Education, Technology: Critical Insights. International Music Education Research Centre (iMerc), pp. 129-134.

http://hdl.handle.net/2086/12098

ABSTRACT

Discussions have been on-going in the UK regarding how to offer the broadest musical repertoire possible to young learners be it with some opposition. At the MTI Research Centre, we have been dealing with the issue of experimental music and access for almost 15 years discovering, for example, that a large portion of young learners (in some cases, the majority) are open to music made with sounds and not just notes. As a consequence of 1) the desire to make innovative music accessible to young people, the educational rationale to address both enhanced listening and creativity, in our case with sounds, and 2) Unesco’s suggestion that the MTI consider offering an ElectroAcoustic Resource Site (EARS, www.ears.dmu.ac.uk) for children, the idea of the EARS 2 pedagogical project was born. The goal of EARS 2 is to achieve a userfriendly eLearning environment intended to introduce relevant aspects of electroacoustic (or sound-based) music to young learners. The paper will present the entire project including the EARS 2 eLearning environment, its vision, its key characteristics and its means of operation alongside that of its creative software platform, Compose with Sounds (CwS) that was funded by the EU and tested in schools in six European countries. EARS 2 will be not only translated, but also culturally conditioned for use in countries beyond the UK; thus, our international vision will also be presented. Sarah Younie will present its innovative aspects from an educational studies point of view. This will include remarks concerning methodological issues. The paper will conclude with a summary of future plans related to both the eLearning site and the creative software platform. The associated workshop will offer hands-on experience regarding both the eLearning site and creative software and include an introduction to the teachers’ packs to all interested parties at the Sempre conference.