Written by Katrina Proctor, content manager at Midnight Music.
As a music educator, many of my colleagues have asked me about artificial intelligence (AI), what it is, and how I feel about it. To everyone I’ve talked to, it feels as if AI, like ChatGPT and other “chatbots,” came out of nowhere overnight.
First off, what is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT stands for “Conversational Generative Pre-Trained Transformer.” In simple terms, ChatGPT is a new, publically-available AI website that can generate anything from an essay on a historical person to a recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies just by asking it to. This is leading to new ethical dilemmas for us as teachers, as this technology has already been shown to be somewhat limitless in its potential to cross moral lines, such as its reported ability to write phishing emails or even malware computer code.
In addition to all of this, somehow, in what feels like overnight, we now have to contend with AI making up a large sector of what we will read online. We must now verify our news and information and question if a human even wrote it.
Apprehension is normal!
First, I want to say that it’s normal to feel apprehensive and even fearful of tech advancement. I completely understand where this fear is coming from. But AI is nothing new; every time you put in a Google search or scroll through social media, you’re interacting with AI. However, ChatGPT and other chatbots still feel different.
Why?
Because our students have immediately become some of the largest consumers of these sources of AI, and we immediately feel unprepared for how to contend with it- especially in the educational sphere.
While many in other fields are concerned about AI taking over their jobs, I don’t think teachers, especially music teachers, need to worry about that. That being said, it is problematic to many teachers (and for good reason!) that students are already using AI to complete work, write essays, and pass it off as their own.
It’s a lot, and understandably so. But after doing some research and thinking about it myself, I really believe, even in the face of all the negatives, that we should be optimistic about AI and our continued role in music education.
In this blog, I’ll discuss why music teachers shouldn’t be scared of AI and how we can instead use our natural unease to fuel opportunities in our classrooms where students can experiment and create with AI in responsible and ethical ways.
While AI can do some things very well, it still doesn't have the same capabilities as humans when it comes to creativity and intuition.
We have talked about ChatGPT, one of the latest artificial intelligence (AI) technology models, and how it’s been making a splash in education, and not always for the most appealing reasons. However, I’d love to offer you this – while ChatGPT can certainly do some tasks very well, it still doesn’t have the same capabilities as humans when it comes to creativity and intuition.
AI can, for example, copy down notes or transcribe melodies quickly and accurately (it’s even what makes our favorite music scanners work). But, music instruction relies on the power of things that are lost to the algorithmic world (things you can’t program): emotion, depth of understanding, individual connections – all those are key things that students build with us, their teachers, as well as their peers and ensemble over time to become creative thinkers and strong musicians. In this way, AI hasn’t yet come close to replacing that kind of teaching, nor do I think it ever can.
Teachers will always be needed in order for students to get the most out of their learning experiences.
As music teachers, it’s natural to be a little apprehensive about the role artificial intelligence (AI) is playing in our music classes —after all, who isn’t wary of advances in technology, especially when it comes to such an artistically-inclined field as ours?
AI, like ChatGPT, can help music students break down basic music concepts and patterns with computational precision. It can tell them all about Beethoven, list off the most popular chord progressions, and even explain the purpose of a ‘leading tone’, but our job has never been just to teach music theory and historical facts —our mission is to help our students reach their creative potential. And no matter how helpful AI can be in laying the necessary groundwork for creativity or understanding, music teachers will always be needed to help our students get the most out of their music education experiences. Only we can provide guidance and feedback on the creative process itself, ultimately offering our one-of-a-kind insights and advice that can only come from years of experience in music and education.
Machines can never replace the personal connection between a student and a teacher.
Machines can never replace the personal connection between a student and a teacher. After all, music isn’t just an academic endeavor – it is also an emotional one. As music teachers, we serve as more than just lesson authors or task deliverers: we are mentors, motivators, listeners, counselors, and sometimes even friends.
When teaching music, there needs to be an understanding not only of music theory and technique but of context, nuances, and emotion as well. Machines can spit out music facts and even lessons to a certain extent – however, they cannot provide the same support emotionally or relationally that we, as human music teachers, can offer our students.
It's in our job description to teach our students about the world we live in, and AI will be a big part of the world in which they will live.
Teaching our students about the world around them is a key part of our job as teachers. We want to prepare them for life beyond the classroom, and that includes giving them the skills to use technologies that will shape their future. AI is already impacting multiple industries and is headed for even more growth in the years to come.
Even though it might seem intimidating or complicated at first, it’s important for us to be willing to learn about AI, too, so that we can help our students make sense of it. After all, there is no better way to equip our students to work with something they will encounter for the rest of their lives than through thoughtful and practical instruction from somebody who genuinely cares about them — you.
AI isn't going away anytime soon. It is our responsibility to teach students to use AI ethically by demonstrating to them that it can be done in our own music classrooms.
As educators, it’s our job to demonstrate to our students the ethical standards we expect from them in regard to AI technology. Without a doubt, AI isn’t going away anytime soon, and as music teachers, it is up to us to be exemplary role models in using technology responsibly and ethically.
How?
We can do that by incorporating AI applications into our classrooms in ways that respect both copyright laws and human creativity. We need to teach our students about creative ownership and how to use AI ethically. We should also be clear about what AI can do, as well as its limitations, in order to help students distinguish between human-made art and machine-generated content. Ultimately, AI can only mimic and replicate other currently available information; it cannot, as much as it tries, create something entirely new.
We should have meaningful conversations with our students about how they can use AI responsibly now and what this could look like throughout their future lives as musicians. Doing so will help set a solid foundation for them on how to use this industry-disrupting tech efficiently, safely, and responsibly, even in their future musical careers.
Conclusion
As music teachers, it’s our responsibility to teach students about the world they live in. AI is going to be a big part of the world they grow up in. It’s important that we help them learn how to use tech like ChatGPT and other new AI while taking care to respect copyright laws and demonstrate honesty and integrity. We can’t allow ourselves to be afraid of new technology – instead, we need to embrace it and show our students that it can be used responsibly in our own music classrooms. We have so much to teach them that AI can’t even come close to replicating!
What ideas do you have for incorporating AI responsibly in your music classroom? Do you struggle with this new tech? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Drop a comment below!
Other resources you might like:
- Scoring a Film Clip: Teaching Movie Music Composition in Bandlab, Soundtrap, and GarageBand
- Google Creatability Experiments: Creative Music Sites for Special Needs Students
- 9 Interactive Google Doodles You Can Use In Your Music Classes
- EarSketch, where music tech meets coding
- Composing Music for Video Games: A Project & Guide for Music Teachers
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Looking for More Resources for Music Teachers?
Hello! I’m Katie Argyle – an Australian music technology trainer and consultant with a passion for helping music teachers through my businessMidnight Music.
I’m a qualified teacher but no, I don’t currently teach in a school. I help teachers through my online professional development space – theMidnight Music Community– where there are tutorial videos, courses, links and downloadable resources.
I like to focus oneasyways to incorporate technology intowhat you are already doing in your music curriculumthrough a range of creative projects. I also run live workshops and have presented at countless conferences and other music education events.
If you want simple, effective ideas for using technology in music education, I would LOVE to help you inside theMidnight Music Community.
3 Comments
We have created a tool for teachers that allows them to write reports for students using AI at https://Teachers.Report – have a look and try the demo!
Love this article!
It sure helped me understand a little bit more that ChatGPT is not the enemy. Lol. I truly believe it can not replace us. We must help students respect the level of how it can be helpful. What concerns me is AI, ChatGPT and others like it, will not be used in a positive way. Now that’s scary!!!
I admit I do want help how to add this to choir.
Thank you!
Yes – I share your concerns about it being used in a scary way. For choir, you could try asking it for warm-up suggestions (physical, rhythmic, melodic), breathing exercises, repertoire suggestions (!), program notes for the pieces you’re working on and also ask it to write you some test questions for your next assessment. Just a few options!