Integrating Technology in the Guitar Classroom - Jayson Martinez

Jayson Martinez, M. Mus; M. EdLd NAfME/NJMEA Guitar Education Chair jmarti37@webmail.essex.edu

If you look back in time, piled up books and going to a school no matter what kind of education you sought to gain was common. But now, those traditional learning methods do exist but in connection with some new interactive and advanced methods introduced that enhances the speed and widens the spectrum of learning. The foundation of learning still lies in attending a school with focus on books. However, in modern times mobile technology works well to add some zest to an otherwise mundane lesson. Online learning with new apps being introduced every other day has made it a serious option in the field of learning to play an instrument. Even within the classroom, tech apps such as Yousician prove to be beneficial for teachers and students alike.

Yousician

Yousician is the largest and fastest-growing music education company in the world. It is currently the #1 platform to learn how to play a musical instrument and its sister product GuitarTuna is the #1 tuning app. Yousician provides interactive learning for guitar, piano, ukulele, bass and voice. The software gamifies the music learning process, making it fun, easy and motivating to learn an instrument regardless of experience level. The platforms, used monthly by 22 million people around the world, offer users step-by-step guidance with real-time feedback and lesson plans created by music teachers. There are thousands of songs, videos and exercises to help students learn and improve.

In 2020, Yousician launched Yousician for Teachers, a remote learning solution for music education. The goal for Yousician is to solidify music learning during these arduous times. In response, they will continue to offer free access to the platform for all music educators and students and have already provided access to over 100,000 students globally. Further, Yousician is currently offering 1-month free trial & 50% teachers’ discount to Yousician Premium Subscription. By integrating Yousician into the music education curriculum, teachers will have access to an extensive library of exercises and songs, assess and guide their students with ease, effortlessly teach large groups of students, teach all the essential music concepts while students learn, collaborate, and have fun

Mission

Yousician’s mission is to make musicality as common as literacy. As an avid user of the program, I can attest that they are working towards a future where playing music is as common as reading. The developers want everyone to have the opportunity to learn an instrument, take part in the power of music, and experience the joy it brings.

To further their mission, they created the Yousician Guest Teacher Series. This series allowed Yousician to partner with artists like Jason Mraz and Def Leppard’s Phil Collen, who have dropped in on virtual music classes to surprise students. The opportunity to combine music education and user experience in a virtual capacity helped to bring joy and create a positive experience for students during these unprecedented times.

Yousician has also launched Yousician Artist Sessions, intimate live concert experiences that let fans and users connect with the artists they love while also learning about the music they play. Artists will play music for fans, share playing tips and discuss their musical process. The artists’ music will also be featured on the Yousician app, so students can learn, practice and play their favorite songs.

Yousician For Schools

The Yousician For Schools Pilot launched at EDUCA 2020 (Nordic's largest educational event) and captured the interest of thousands of educators. As a result, a select number of schools and educators were chosen to receive the donation of instruments, equipment, licenses and all the necessary training to run group guitar/ukulele lessons with Yousician. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Yousician paused it’s Yousician for Schools expansion. The teachers and schools involved in the pilot program will continue to use Yousician in their classroom during the 2020-2021 school year.

Yousician Technology

Yousician’s gamified approach to music education is an innovative technique for learning a musical instrument. Their audio recognition technology differentiates from many competitors by listening to the user play and providing real-time feedback. This creates an educational and structural learning path for users at any experience level. It also makes learning fun, motivating and effective for people of all ages.

Yousician has six experienced music educators on staff in Helsinki who have worked with and arranged music for legends like Quincy Jones. These talented minds are behind every lesson, exercise and instructional video. Their in-house band The Yousicians writes, arranges, records, and mixes every original song in the app, and arranges every licensed song. That means that any user who learns with Yousician has multiple music teachers, even while learning virtually through an app.

About Yousician

Yousician was founded in 2010 in Helsinki, Finland by Chris Thür and Mikko Kaipainen. Inspired by their own experiences with music, Thür and Kaipainen envisioned a music platform that could help anyone, regardless of experience level and location, learn to play, create and teach music. The platform provides interactive learning for guitar, bass, ukulele, piano and voice with lessons, exercises and songs. Yousician believes everyone has the potential to experience the power of music. Through its reimagined music education, the company is on a mission to share the joy of learning and playing music with the world.

Yousician is available for download on the App Store and the Google Play Store. The platform can be used on any phone, tablet, laptop or desktop.