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Video Games & Music Education: The Potential of narrative & musical branching

What do you imagine in sound and imagery when thinking about video games and music education?

A theme I’ve explored throughout my writing and teaching related to video games and music education (O’Leary & Tobias, 2017; Tobias, 2012; Tobias & O’Leary, 2017) is that there are many more possibilities than focusing primarily on rhythm action games in connection to performing instruments.

Inviting students to create and perform dynamic and adaptive music for video games has so much potential. I have the sense that addressing this more non-linear approach to musical engagement is rare (at this point) in music programs. It is probably more common for students in music programs to perform arrangements of video game theme music in large ensembles than to create and perform their own music for video games.

When I saw this tweet by composer Austin Wintory, I wondered if the video clip he created could catalyze related projects in music programs:

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Sonic Participatory Cultures Within Through and Around Video Games

O’Leary, J., & Tobias, E. S. (2017). Sonic participatory cultures within, through, and around video games. In R. Mantie & G. D. Smith (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of music making and leisure (pp. 541-564). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Sonic Participatory Cultures Within Through and Around Video Games In 2017, Jared O’Leary and I had our chapter, Sonic participatory Cultures Within, Through, and Around Video Games published in The Oxford Handbook of Music Making and Leisure [affiliate link].   The Oxford… Read More »Sonic Participatory Cultures Within Through and Around Video Games

Video Games in The Routledge Companion to Music, Technology & Education

Tobias, E. S., & O’Leary, J. (2017). Video games. In The Routledge Companion to Music, Technology, and Education (pp. 263-272). Taylor and Francis. DOI: 10.4324/9781315686431 Video Games (in the context of music learning and teaching) In 2017, Jared O’Leary and I had our chapter, Video Games, published in the Routledge Companion to Music, Technology, and Education [affiliate link]. The chapter provides an overview of video games in relation to music learning and teaching. Here’s how we begin the chapter:  When considering the potential of technology… Read More »Video Games in The Routledge Companion to Music, Technology & Education

Let’s play! Learning music through video games and virtual worlds

Tobias, E. S. (2012). Let’s play! Learning music through video games and virtual worlds. In G. McPherson & G. Welch (Eds.), Oxford handbook of music education (Vol. 2, pp. 531-548). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199928019.013.0035 This chapter examines the ways video games promote musical learning and engagement. It begins by outlining the background and current scope of music-focused video games. It then situates video games in terms of new literacies. Next, it provides a theoretical framework that supports… Read More »Let’s play! Learning music through video games and virtual worlds

Video Game Music

Almost a year ago I posted about the possible trend of students wanting to perform video game music. With more and more professional orchestras playing music from video games it seems like the trend will eventually end up in our music programs, especially now that music publishers are picking up on it. With websites focusing on topics ranging from remixing  to live concert tours of video game music, resources are available for music teachers to deal with this emerging genre.… Read More »Video Game Music