Using DAWs for Music Education

Computer technology has become a valuable tool in modern youth music education. There are many reasons music teachers might want to integrate computer hardware and software into their lesson plans, including:

  • Schools or districts with the ability to allocate a computer or tablet to every student are often unable to provide instruments, or to fund a band or orchestra program at the school.
  • Computer-based music instruction can be more relatable and engaging for students than more traditional methods. Using digital audio workstations (DAWs) to work with beats, loops, and virtual instruments, students can easily learn to create the sounds associated with music they know and love, providing an entry point into a lifetime of music making.
  • Learning to make music with virtual instruments in DAWs can serve as a gateway to learning to play a more traditional instrument. Students can trigger the DAW’s built-in sounds and samples with electronic keyboards, drums, and other hardware. They can also use the DAW to record themselves singing or playing acoustic or electric instruments, either to create their own multitrack recordings or as a practice aid.
  • Working with DAWs can also open up a number of future artistic and career paths for students, including audio production and engineering, composition, arranging and orchestration, and creating audio for movies or games.

The following is an overview of three DAWs that many music educators have had great success using in their classrooms.

 

  1. Soundtrap for EducationRuns on:
    Web browser. Can be used on a variety of platforms.

What it does:
Soundtrap is a cloud-based DAW designed for creating music and podcasts, collaborating with others, and sharing one’s creations online. Soundtrap for Education offers a separate, protected environment for teachers and students. As part of individual or group assignments, students can create music using beats, loops, and virtual instruments, or they can record themselves singing or playing a connected instrument. Teachers can create invite-only groups, monitor student progress, create assignments, and provide feedback within the app. Educator resources available within Soundtrap include tutorials, lesson plans, certified courses, classroom ideas, assessment rubrics, and more.

Soundtrap integrates seamlessly with both Noteflight and Flat online music notation platforms, as well as with several online learning management platforms such as Google Classroom, Canvas, Schoology, and MusicFirst. Sample lesson plans include ideas for integrating music and recording techniques into literacy, foreign language, science, business, and math lessons.

Soundtrap is a Google for Education Partner and was awarded “The Best Website for Teaching and Learning 2015” by the American Association of School Librarians.

What’s included:

  • MIDI-compatible instruments and sounds, playable on-screen in the app or via a connected keyboard or other controller
  • Loop library
  • Ability to record audio tracks
  • Beat maker
  • Online/distance collaboration features, including video chat

Pricing:

Educational Pricing
 A 30-day free trial is available to educators. School or district plans are available for purchase (50-seat minimum).

Resources:

 

  1. BandLab for EducationRuns on:
    Web browser. Can be used on a variety of platforms.

What it does:
BandLab is a cloud-based social music platform and online DAW geared toward integrating music making with collaboration and sharing within the online community. BandLab for Education lives in a separate environment from the main BandLab site; its private space is set up for teachers to create assignments for individual students or for groups. Students can complete their assignments by working with beats, loops, and virtual instruments within the app, or by recording themselves singing or playing connected instruments. The teaching resources available within BandLab for Education include class setup guides, tutorials, sample lesson plans, support articles, and more.

BandLab for Education includes integrations with other BandLab products. While BandLab does not offer the range of e-learning or music notation platform compatibility that one gets with Soundtrap, there is also no need to sign up for a paid school- or district-wide multi-seat plan; BandLab for Education is completely free.

BandLab for Education received the “Best Classroom Technology” award at NAMM 2018.

What’s included:

  • MIDI-compatible instruments and sounds, playable on-screen within the app or via a connected keyboard or other controller
  • Loop library
  • Ability to record audio tracks
  • Online/distance collaboration features
  • Educator resources available within BandLab include class setup guides, tutorials, and more

Pricing:
 Free

Resources:

 

  1. Apple GarageBandRuns on:
    Mac, iPad, or iPhone. GarageBand comes pre-installed on many Apple devices; it can also be downloaded from the Apple App Store.

What it does:
 Unlike Soundtrap or BandLab, which both live entirely online, GarageBand is an application for Mac, iPad or iPhone. Its functionality is more limited than Apple’s professional-grade DAW, Logic Pro, but in many ways the two programs function similarly, and it is possible to use GarageBand to accomplish quite a bit musically. It comes with an expansive library of high-quality virtual instruments, samples, and loops, and offers many onboard effects and amp simulators. It also features a synthesizer, in this case a stripped-down version of the Alchemy synth that comes with Logic; users also get a library of modern synth patches and a Transform Pad feature to allow customization of sounds.

While it is possible for students and teachers to collaborate on projects using iCloud, the process is less straightforward than it is with cloud-based DAWs. However, what GarageBand lacks in straightforward online collaboration and sharing options, it makes up for with its sound libraries and built-in recording and production capabilities.

Getting started is easy, and students can find themselves making music in no time. As with Soundtrap and BandLab, players can either work with virtual instruments directly in the app, or they can use connected instruments, mics, or hardware controllers to record their parts. The iPad and iPhone versions of GarageBand have some additional perks that can be used in designing fun classroom activities: users can play expressive on-screen Touch Instruments that sound and respond like real keyboards, drums, guitars, strings, and so on; they can create beats using Beat Sequencer; they can use Live Loops to DJ with loops and samples or remix their own recordings on the fly; or they can use Smart Instruments (piano, guitar, bass, or strings) to play chords by tapping a chord strip on the screen.

For students learning to play piano or guitar, GarageBand also comes with a collection of built‑in lessons with an option to download more — including many song lessons made available by the artists themselves. The app is capable of providing students with instant feedback on their playing.

Because GarageBand does not live in the cloud, it does not include a secure online educational space with a built-in lesson and assignment framework like those provided with BandLab or Soundtrap. However, Apple does provide considerable support to educators. Celebrate Music in the Classroom offers a wealth of resources for music teachers, including lesson ideas for integrating music into subjects such as math, science, literature, social studies, and history.

What’s included:

  • A complete sound library that includes high-quality instruments, loops, samples, presets for guitar and voice, playable within the app or via a connected keyboard or other controller
  • Ability to record audio tracks
  • Extensive effect and amp simulator plug-ins
  • A basic synthesizer
  • iPad/iPhone: Touch Instruments, Smart Instruments, Beat Sequencer, Live Loops
  • Piano and guitar lessons with instant feedback

Pricing:
 Free

Resources:

 

Additional Resources for Using DAWs in the Classroom
 
Midnight Music, a training website devoted to helping K-12 music teachers integrate technology into the classroom, offers both free and paid training content for all three DAWs featured above. A sampling of their free content includes the following:

Their blog features many more free-to-access tech tips, reviews, and lesson plan ideas.

For those who would prefer to work with a different DAW, many full-featured commercial DAWs offer free “lite” starter versions. There are also a handful of other free or low-cost multitrack recording apps available for Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, or iOS/iPadOS:

The book Electronic Music School: A Contemporary Approach to Teaching Musical Creativity, by Will Kuhn and Ethan Hein (Oxford University Press, 2021), is highly recommended for high school teachers seeking to develop a more advanced digital music production curriculum revolving around Ableton Live and modern popular music styles. Elements of the curriculum can be adapted for use with simpler DAWs such as GarageBand, or within more time-constrained instructional settings.

(This page was compiled in August 2023 by Lexi Stern)