ER
From Singing to Producing: The Value, Boundaries, and Pathways of Music Production Education in Primary Schools in the Digital Age
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Abstract
Children increasingly encounter music through recordings, short-form video and platforms that make editing and remixing ordinary parts of listening. Primary music curricula, by contrast, still give most space to singing, instrumental work, movement, listening and notation. This article asks what might be gained by treating production as part of general primary music rather than as an optional technology activity. The discussion draws on work in composition, informal learning, studio pedagogy, elementary production, playful music teaching and teacher self-efficacy. Production is used here for the work that takes place when musical ideas are recorded and shaped. It includes compositional decisions, but also editing, arranging, mixing and the handling of a finished recording. The aim is not to displace performance. It is to make room for forms of musical participation that are often less visible in a live lesson. A developmental pathway is proposed in which close listening leads into recording, manipulation, mixing and classroom sharing. The article also considers the practical limits of this work, particularly teacher preparation, access to equipment, assessment and the need to keep production connected to embodied music making.
Keywords
Primary music education; music production; digital audio workstation; music technology; informal learning; teacher self-efficacy; sonic authorship
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How to cite this paper
From Singing to Producing: The Value, Boundaries, and Pathways of Music Production Education in Primary Schools in the Digital Age
How to cite this paper: Qin Zhou. (2026). From Singing to Producing: The Value, Boundaries, and Pathways of Music Production Education in Primary Schools in the Digital Age. The Educational Review, USA, 10(6), 352-359.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/er.2026.06.003
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