Abstract:

Previous research conducted in the field of game-based learning and gamification shows the effectiveness of their application in education, but very little research was done on technology support for learning music focusing specifically on the lower grades of primary education. The authors of this paper present a comparative analysis of the existing mobile applications for learning music and musical instruments targeting young learners in order to research the role and opportunities these applications provide in education.

As a part of the DigEdu-2022 project carried out at the Zagreb University of Applied Sciences in Croatia, a mobile application TuneHop was developed in order to support primary school students in learning musical instruments through theoretical facts and game-based quizzes applying gamification mechanisms. The application for smartphone and tablet devices was developed using the Flutter framework. A preliminary trial was conducted with a group of students from one primary school in Zagreb and the research findings suggest that a digital game-based approach to learning musical instruments has a strong potential to improve interest and engagement in young students, which could eventually lead to more successful learning.

Keywords:

Technology-enhanced learning, mobile learning, game-based learning, learning music, primary education.