Ableton Live professional learning development for secondary school music teachers

Abstract

There is a gap between secondary school music teacher’s knowledge of digital audio workstations (DAWs) and the phenomena of the digital musician. A digital musician is a student who uses a computer as their primary instrument for composing and performing music. This case study of in-service professional learning development (PLD) was based on the DAW Ableton Live and its integrated hardware controller, the Push. A review of professional learning literature informed the blended learning design (BLD) approach of the study. The analysis used a six-phase inductive approach for interpretive analysis of the themes. Results of this pre-COVID-19 study revealed that time, BLD, facilitation and videos impacted on the learning of the participants. Additionally, the participants underwent two linked paradigm shifts: first to include a computer and DAW in their conception of what music-making could be, and second that Ableton Live and the Push were musical instruments. Findings suggest that future PLD could increase learner readiness for using videos and a BLD in addition to preparing them for a paradigm shift.