Algorithms and computation in music education

The chapter will discuss how bringing music and computation together in the curriculum offers socially grounded contexts for the learning of digital expression and creativity. It will explore how algorithms codify cultural knowledge, how programming can assist students in understanding and manipulating cultural norms, and how these can play a part in developing a students’ musicianship. In order to highlight how computational thinking extends music education and builds on interdisciplinary links, the chapter will canvass the challenges, and solutions, involved in learning through algorithmic music. Practical examples from informal and school-based educational contexts are included to illustrate how algorithmic music has been successfully integrated with established and emerging pedagogical approaches.The chapter will discuss how bringing music and computation together in the curriculum offers socially grounded contexts for the learning of digital expression and creativity. It will explore how algorithms codify cultural knowledge, how programming can assist students in understanding and manipulating cultural norms, and how these can play a part in developing a students’ musicianship. In order to highlight how computational thinking extends music education and builds on interdisciplinary links, the chapter will canvass the challenges, and solutions, involved in learning through algorithmic music. Practical examples from informal and school-based educational contexts are included to illustrate how algorithmic music has been successfully integrated with established and emerging pedagogical approaches.