When you hear Skip Daynes talk about the state of music in Utah’s public schools – you get a sense that something really needs to be done. Despite a vibrant and enviable musical culture, e.g., a world-class symphony, internationally recognized piano competitions, several great music schools, and more, when it comes to nurturing music at the grass-roots level in our public schools, music education, once a proud curriculum mainstay in Utah, is now largely an "elective" (optional) in most schools, or has disappeared altogether. Research cited in a previous issue of the Melodeon, which positively links music-making to increased cognitive performance, suggests that action is needed. Indeed, something is happening. Daynes Music, in collaboration with the University of Utah, and ePiano, an innovative developer of music software, is moving into the next phase of the "UPlay" Piano Project.

Initial Successes
During the last school year, a successful piano-lab pilot program at the Franklin School in Salt Lake City, showed participation in a piano-centered program translated to improvements in test scores and reduced truancy for the at-risk students in the program. Now, work is beginning on a larger project, dubbed UPlay Piano, named for its affiliation with the University of Utah. The ultimate goal is to give kids who otherwise wouldn’t be able, a chance to benefit from piano lessons. 

Since the ‘80s, computers, software, and electronic keyboard combinations have created opportunities for technology-enhanced music instruction. However, this equipment-heavy approach is expensive and suffers from traditional software’s “set it and forget it” design – requiring continual upgrades to maintain relevance. 

Cloud-Based Curriculum
In a bold step for a music retailer - Daynes Music has spearheaded the UPlay Piano initiative to deliver piano lessons to every school with some basic equipment, via the internet. To achieve its state-wide mission, the UPlay Piano curriculum will be "cloud-based," that is, the software will reside on internet servers, instead of "shrink-wrapped" media such as CDs. Thus, delivery and upgrade costs will be all-but eliminated, and pedagogical changes can be easily implemented across the board. In 2009, working with Daynes and ePiano, Dr. Susan Duehlmeier, Piano Area Chair at the University of Utah's School of Music, and Doctoral students, Cassie Olsen, Director of Outreach, and Lindsey Wright, UPlay Curriculum Coordinator, began creating an initial set of lessons, and mapped out the core of the UPlay Piano curriculum. Early on, the decision was made to put the curriculum "in the cloud."

Most traditional piano lessons are centered on “method” books featuring music notation, text and pictures. UPlay Piano is taking the next step through the creation of an easy-to-update, online, and interactive method. The UPlay Piano method uses animated stories to convey musical concepts, and then immediately follows up with games, exercises and assessments to determine whether students are “getting it.”  Each UPlay Piano lab will have an actual teacher, who has also been trained in the program, and will coach, direct, and help individual students in their learning adventure. 

Continuous Assessment
To maintain relevance, UPlay Piano will continuously gather student and teacher feedback on the lessons and student performance. This feedback will help determine where and how to make changes, which can then be instantly transmitted to each UPlay program without the nuisance of upgrades, installations, etc. The technical challenges of UPlay Piano are being managed through affiliation with ePiano, a New England-based software developer with deep experience in interactive music learning. According to Charles Johnson, Founder of ePiano, “UPlay Piano will be the first music education curriculum to completely leverage the new generation of web technologies for interactive music learning. It’s exciting to be a part of it. There is unlimited potential to add and change content based on student and teacher feedback”. We agree.

[TOP OF PAGE | RETURN TO THE AUG-SEPT-OCT MELODEON MENU]

Please Note: Coupon offers are only available on our email version of the Melodeon. Subscribe now and get some great offers!