Module 3 Samples
Module 3 – Discussion Forum
Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) aren’t just tools — they’re creative ecosystems that shape the way we think about music-making.
For this discussion, reflect on the musical skills and creative processes that DAW-based instruction/music making helps develop. Consider (choose from):
How does working in a DAW change the way students/we approach composition, arranging, or performance?
What kinds of listening, problem-solving, and decision-making skills are strengthened when students/we manipulate audio, MIDI, and effects in real time?
In what ways do DAWs encourage (or challenge) collaboration, experimentation, and iterative creativity?
Working in a DAW changes the way we view composers, arrangers, and performers because it demands that we become multi-hyphenate musicians. The boundaries between these roles blend and enable us to adopt responsibilities from all of those roles, especially if we are doing it ourselves and working on solo projects, which has become increasingly more popular in the past decade. Through the lens of a K-12 classroom, the student composer can now be someone who may not have prior experience reading music or putting their pen to staff paper (due to lack of music literacy skills or experience in general). But now you put a web-based DAW, such as SoundTrap or BandLab, in front of them, and they click a few buttons– they are now a composer. What is uniquely different about this process is that they didn’t need to follow the traditional sequence of Western Classical music in order to become a composer. In this scenario, there wasn’t a prerequisite of music theory and the opportunity to learn about tonal harmony and form. This student composer learns as they explore. Similarly, the nuisances of adopting an arranger and performer role is that it doesn’t require the student to previously understand instrumentation, orchestration, and the like. They use pre orders loops, trim cut, paste, drag, record, and polish in these roles. The compositional process demands creativity, curiosity, and freedom from one student, who is able to learn from the process, and not just the product. Conversely, if these roles were separate, then the performer would only be involved in the end product, not being involved in the big-picture process. Ultimately, DAW changes the way students approach music making by promoting creative, project-based experiences to refine certain skills and create culturally relevant art.