Gaming during music class: a win-win situation

When you have made it your personal mission to continue to improve music education, you set the bar high, especially if you want to do everything right. And that can make you insecure, Daan van Haren knows. But it was precisely because of his own experience that he could be a source of support for students who also struggled with insecurity. And because of that, in turn, his own self-confidence grew. A win-win situation, culminating in Daan’s graduation product: a music game.

In 2011 Daan started studying Music Technology at HKU University of the Arts. He graduated in composition and music production, and, as he says himself, "learned a lot about studio technique and composition techniques" That laid the foundation for a self-employed career as a media composer. "I did that for a number of years, but there wasn’t enough work. Besides, I missed working with people. That’s why I sought out the Tailor-Made BA in Music in Education."

More modern

During his studies, Daan soon discovered his passion for teaching. "When I started I thought about how my own school days had been and what I would do differently. I was already working on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and how that works. In my first week at ArtEZ I already noticed that people had views on education that matched my own: a little freer and a little more modern." In his student days, music education was not exactly interesting and Daan wanted to switch things up a bit. "I'm interested in sustainable music education – education that sticks with you and that you carry with you for the rest of your life."

Rest is beneficial

It was a bit scary to be in front of a classroom of a group of teenagers, says Daan. "Add to that my natural urge to teach both competently and differently, and I could get a bit insecure. But being calm helped. I remember teachers from my past who were all over the place, and that didn’t work so well for me. I was glad that I could be myself and that I did manage to hold the group’s attention that way." His favourite aspect of working in the classroom was discovering that he really enjoys the pedagogical side. "That you can mean something for the children and make a difference. It has now also become somewhat of a mission of mine to build up children's confidence who are also insecure."

Gaming for hours on end

Daan’s graduation product is linked to his work at a cluster 2 school for deaf and hard-of-hearing children and children with a language development disorder. In that context, he came across a website with information about sustainable music education and found an article about gaming. "I thought this was very interesting," says Daan. "Because I always wondered how it could be that kids were sometimes unmotivated for school, for example, but could spend hours gaming. What about tapping into that motivation?"

One step at a time

The research into games that Daan carried out for his programme provided him with an answer to that question. "Games are constructed in an interesting way. You start with something very simple, something that you will easily succeed in doing, and then you go forward step by step. That way, you achieve a series of experiences in success." And these are important, according to Daan: "Such a successful experience motivates you to keep on going. Then you notice how it helps boost children’s self-esteem. Music classes can also be very difficult for a young person, for example, when you have to sing in front of the class, since you are putting yourself on the spot. For me as a teacher, that’s a big challenge. And it’s rewarding when it all works out."

Educational game Tadish!

Together with some friends, Daan developed the game Tadish!, a game that teaches you to understand rhythm better. It is paired with musical notation, and students see the notes and hear a voice pronouncing the notes. Then they have to click on what they hear. "The game is self-explanatory and students can use it on their own. It is a game suitable for many target groups, thus also for my ‘own’ target group: my students with a language development disorder." He tested the game himself in his class. "Everyone was motivated and when I went back to work on music notation a while later, I noticed that they still remembered a lot. So it really stuck."

Technology in the classroom?

"I have a music technology background. Nowadays, many people listen to electronic music. I’d like to bring that into the classroom. Some teachers are working on it, but it is still a long way off. I like to introduce children to the technological means of making that music. Also, learning through a game, just like I created with my final product, has a promising future, I think." Some of Daan’s friends are programmers, others are graphic designers, and he could put their expertise to good use in developing Tadish. "With my educational and music background, we now want to develop educational games. The product of my research is the starting point for that."