Music Education and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Reflections of Teaching Music Theory Online

Abstract

Objectives: This paper aims to identify the challenges that music theory teachers and students have faced upon the sudden educational shift from traditional face-to-face learning environments to virtual instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The research also investigates the social, cognitive, and learning obstacles that students may have experienced throughout the pandemic. Methods: Using the author’s own experience in teaching music theory during the pandemic as a primary resource for the study, in addition to existing literature on pedagogy, music theory education, and E-learning as secondary data, the researcher uses a descriptive approach to achieve the main objectives of the study. Results: The study reveals several interactive, educational, and cognitive-based difficulties that students and teachers have encountered during distance learning. The research highlights the challenges of teaching music theory via online platforms and existing software programs that lack the technical features needed for the effective instruction of this quasi-mathematical, musically-centered subject. Conclusion: The researcher suggests a number of pedagogical strategies that can assist online music theory instructors during and after the pandemic. The author concludes by recognizing the urgent need for institutional and technological interference to ensure that future online learning endeavors are effective and successful

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