Whether computer games should be included in a classroom has always been a topic of contention between teachers. The idea of brining in games that are based on online mediums often stirs fears of students not working or wasting time. The fact remains that often teachers include games into their classrooms that are not based around electronics but based in reality so why do most teachers balk at the idea of bringing a computer game into the mix? Games with aims should be included and have been proven to be a valuable tool in assisting with students learning and memory to keep them engaged to a lesson. The trick is finding a game that can be bridged to applicable content. In class last week we discussed a few different online games that were educational in nature. It is a fine line to walk between finding a “boring” game based purely around education and a “traditional” game that was not designed for teaching purposes. It is up to the teacher to be creative and find connections that may not have been necessarily intended but once found spark interest with students. One such online game that I stumbled across recently (credit to Thom for sending me a TikTok of it) was a choir simulator made by adult swim. Im sure it was created as a joke with no real educational value, but as a music educator when I saw it I was immediately impressed and intrigued. I searched for the website to play with this tool and immediately started playing around with it. The premise was simple, you control which note the mouth sings and the other three voices harmonize around you in a traditional Bach chorale like way. To someone not trained in music it is intuitive to drag between notes, but this is actually strengthening ones ability to see relationship between pitches. There are 8 different notes available corresponding to the 8 different notes in a scale (including the octave of the root note). I immediately saw multiple applications for such a tool in a classroom to explore voice leading, composition, and scalar relationships between pitches. In a world where teachers are increasingly online and have to resort to creative ways to keep students engaged I feel this is a fun tool that could be used in a composition or choir class with ease. The website can be found at:
https://www.adultswim.com/etcetera/choir/
A video of me demonstrating the use of the choir is attached below
Cool!
Hey Zach!
Great post – I’ve been pretty sceptical of games in class but I found this choir simulator example compelling. I really appreciated the quick video you put together – you could have just linked out to the game’s site or maybe found something on YouTube, but the demo you recorded immediately communicated what the game was all about, right from within the blog. Loved it!
Just wondering if you see any downsides or potential challenges using choir simulator in your classes?
Hey! Glad you enjoyed it as much as I did! Some potential downsides I could think of is that it comes from a website aimed at Adults with a more mature audience so if a student was to explore around that website they could potentially run into something that may not be school appropriate. Another downside is that the game is not able to be played with multiple people at once, I would love to see a app made that allowed people in different places to control different voices and interact with one another in real time!