The role of digital media technology in promoting the reform of traditional curricula in higher music education
Data publikacji: 03 lut 2025
Otrzymano: 04 wrz 2024
Przyjęty: 20 gru 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/amns-2025-0014
Słowa kluczowe
© 2025 Yuyang Xiao, published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Music education, as an important part of college education, has positive significance for enhancing students’ aesthetic quality, comprehensive quality, spiritual connotation, etc., and is an important way to carry out aesthetic and moral education [1–2]. In recent years, with the continuous development of digital media technology, domestic colleges and universities music teaching mode and teaching methods have undergone radical changes, which is both a concentrated expression of college music education with the times, but also the fundamental requirements of digital music teaching in the new era [3–4].
As information technology and the Internet become more and more deep and popular, digital media has penetrated into all aspects of our lives. Music applies digital technology to all aspects of creation, performance, recording, mixing, post-processing and distribution, which greatly enriches the temporal and spatial expression of the musical art stage [5–6].
At present, more and more digital media technologies are widely used in music education in colleges and universities, opening up a new space for online music education while enriching music teaching content and innovating music presentation. For this reason, colleges and universities should give full play to the advantages of digital media, which are widely used in music education to enhance the effectiveness of music education [7–8]. Digital media is a form of media that stores and transmits data digitally, which not only has strong information carrying capacity, but also can avoid data loss and resource waste due to the limitation of technical tools. Therefore, the use of digital media in music education in colleges and universities can not only provide students with more high-quality music resources, but also provide a new perspective for the presentation of music education content by virtue of its visualisation and diversified information carriers, so that the originally boring music theory classroom becomes rich and vivid [9–11].
Digital media technology has significant advantages such as openness, sharing and diversity, which can provide a broad music resource base for music education in colleges and universities, so that music teachers and students are no longer limited to textbooks and teaching materials when obtaining music education content, but can obtain and download the required music education resources from catechism platforms, new media courseware, and foreign music websites at any time and any place [12–13]. Secondly, digital media is a comprehensive media form integrating text, image, video, animation and other audio-visual elements, which can not only make the music content presentation more visual and three-dimensional, but also create a vivid and interesting music classroom for students. Therefore, colleges and universities should make comprehensive use of audio and video, images, animation and other digital media to present music content intuitively and three-dimensionally, so as to transform invisible music into real and sensible images or scenes, deepen the students’ understanding and cognition of the music content, and fully mobilise the students’ multisenses, so that students can enhance their music appreciation and music aesthetic qualities in the rich audio-visual experience [14–15].
Music education is undoubtedly a very important part of basic education. Especially with the continuous enhancement of China’s national power and the improvement of people’s living standard, music education has received more and more attention from the whole country and families. In this case, each college and university also gradually carry out music education, and gradually positioning the cultivation goal for the cultivation of high-quality music education personnel.Parkita, E explored the path of music education based on computer-assisted technology, and believed that the combination of new technology and traditional music teaching methods has a positive significance for the improvement of the level of music education [16]. Horsley, S et al. analysed the links that exist between social media, music and educational theory with the aim of discovering the fundamental elements that influence the effectiveness of music education, focusing on the impact of social media on music education [17]. Schmidt-Jones, C demonstrated the effectiveness of common notation in music education practice and introduced the online music teaching model, pointing out that this online music teaching model provides students with open and rich resources while making music education independent of time and geographic constraints, and arguing that it can be vigorously popularised [18]. Pierard, T et al. illustrate the attention paid to digital media technologies in the field of music technology education and discuss musical learning models and musical practices in digital audio workstations, which contribute to a certain extent to the development and optimisation of music technology education [19].Gorbunova, I et al. talk about the fusion of music computer technology and traditional music technology, which effectively stimulates people’s cultural interest, and reveal the phenomenon of the widespread use of digital media technology tools in music education, with a focus on the value and significance of contemporary sheet music [20].
With the wide application of digital media in the field of education, online teaching has gradually become a new normal. Especially in the post-epidemic era, online teaching methods have become the main way of education in higher education.McDougall, J et al. explored the application of digital media technology in education based on cultural studies, education research perspective, and the issues related to the support of cross-media forms of education and the connection between teaching and learning inside and outside the school [21]. Decuypere, M et al. describe the rapid development of technology accompanied by an intensification of changes in the educational model, in particular the widespread use of digital media technologies in education and the establishment of numerous digital educational platforms, and point out that the New Crown Epidemic has accelerated this process of digitisation of education [22]. Chan, B. S et al. examined the impact of digital media courses on improving students’ digital literacy based on the analytical interview method, and the results of the study showed that digital media courses promote students’ digital competence and digital literacy to a certain extent [23]. Näykki, P et al. dialectically explored the role played by digital technologies in education, arguing that digital technology-enabled forms of education have been effective in stimulating student interest while creating more opportunities for educational interactions, but that there is also a process of neglecting students’ affective learning with these digital technologies, culminating in four examples of pedagogical practices that are discussed in detail [24].
The article applies digital media technology such as virtual reality and augmented reality to the reform of higher music teaching, and proposes a reform method for higher music education based on digital media technology. It applies virtual reality hormone and application to vocal and instrumental music teaching, and uses augmented reality technology to develop higher music education resources, realises the application of virtual musical instruments in music teaching, and designs the overall architecture and functional framework. Apply the music teaching methods proposed in this paper in practice and analyze the examples. Through the research on the teaching effect of instrumental music performance and music aesthetics, we explore the effectiveness of the music teaching method based on digital media in this paper as well as the promotion role in music education reform.
As a new type of teaching tool with great advantages, the expressive and dissemination power of virtual reality technology on teaching content cannot be ignored [25]. Compared with the traditional teaching mode, teachers in the course of students unilateral “indoctrination”, there is inevitably a nonactive, weak interaction bottleneck, and the introduction of virtual reality technology teaching mode focuses more on emphasizing the learning process of students, so that students can independently experience, spontaneous thinking and learning, to increase the practicality and authenticity of the teaching, to meet the teachers and students of the teaching content 3D display of interesting and innovative. Meet the demand of teachers and students for interesting and innovative 3D displays of teaching content.
There are two ways of teaching vocal music: mental imagery induction and physiological interpretation. Mental imagery elicitation focuses on the psychological process, often extended to the student’s psyche through metaphors and other means, so that they can respond physiologically to the mental cues and thinking processes, and then technically realise the regulation of the voice.
The process of interpreting physiological functions involves the use of physics, physiology, and other knowledge to enable students to understand the process of sound activity from a scientific perspective. In this way, the student can visualize and train the coordination and functioning of the body’s organs. During practice, the student can automatically control the coordination of the body organs and use their body wisely to train the necessary singing techniques.
Teachers can use computers or other information devices to explain the position of the vocal cords, lungs, and diaphragm by opening a three-dimensional graphic of the relevant physiological anatomy and comparing it to a picture. When explaining the vibration of the vocal cords, a virtual dynamics model is opened and used to explain how the vocal cords vibrate, the formation of resistance, how the lungs breathe and how the diaphragm is supported. Students can easily and efficiently master their vocal lessons through virtual reality technology.
Virtual reality technology is characterized by immersion, interactivity, multi-perception, conceptualization, and autonomy. As a teaching tool, its advantage in application is that it can effectively overcome the problems of a purely online classroom. At the same time, providing realtime perception through virtual reality technology can deepen students’ understanding and memory of music theory knowledge and practice experience, thereby enhancing their independent learning ability.
The use of virtual reality technology in instrumental music teaching is diverse. In the instrumental music classroom, the problem of insufficient teacher strength can be solved by creating virtual instrumental teachers. It can also simulate the performance scene of well-known instrumental music masters, so that students can feel the artistic atmosphere. At the same time, it can also simulate the scene design to present the story behind the music, so that students can realize the course learning objectives just like listening to stories, watching movies, and playing games. The most frequent use is to present instrumental music knowledge in a three-dimensional and vivid manner. In the teaching of musical instruments, the details of the correct sitting (standing) posture of instrumental playing, basic techniques, how to hold the instrument and other details can be presented in an all-round way with virtual reality technology, and at the same time, the pause and enlargement of the control fingerings are shown with the display screen. In addition, students can ask questions in a timely manner, and teachers can obtain a "face-to-face" answer in a virtual reality-simulated environment. In conclusion, virtual reality technology can realize the three-dimensional and vivid presentation of instrumental music teaching content to a greater extent, whether it is a large learning scene, or small learning details are included, effectively connecting the teaching elements of instrumental music teaching, and turning the linear “one-to-many indoctrination” in the traditional teaching into a threedimensional multi-dimensional “full immersion”. It turns the linear “one-to-many indoctrination” of traditional teaching into a three-dimensional and multi-dimensional “full immersion”, presenting all the elements of classroom teaching.
This paper takes the teaching of musical instruments in music education as an example to realize the development of augmented reality-based teaching resources for musical instruments.
Virtual musical instrument is a kind of soft (hard) component system that can replace the traditional physical musical instrument for displaying or playing along with the development of computer graphics and images, virtual reality, sensors, audio acquisition and processing technologies [26–27]. It is mainly divided into two categories: physical virtual musical instruments and network virtual musical instruments. Physical virtual musical instruments refer to the simulation of physical musical instruments through the construction of digital, physical, or analogue electronic systems with specialized functions. And network virtual musical instruments are connected to the system through a variety of terminals (such as computers, smart phones) to call various functional software, the sound source database of various types of musical instruments, to achieve the physical musical instrument mimicry operations and services. In the digital era, virtual musical instruments have become a new method and tool for music learning and music creation, with the characteristics of high popularity, low cost, low threshold of use, etc., and have a very broad prospect in music education, service, creation and other aspects.
The virtual musical instrument in this study refers to the use of three-dimensional modelling technology to build a realistic 3D musical instrument model, and then through the audio acquisition and processing technology to complete the acquisition of the sound of the physical musical instrument, the use of augmented reality technology to achieve interaction with the 3D musical instrument model, a resource that helps learners to learn the knowledge of the musical instrument, culture.
Augmented reality-based higher music virtual musical instrument teaching resources belong to the multimedia teaching software that assists teaching and learning by nature, so when designing and developing them, they should be carried out under the guidance of modern educational theories, educational ideas and teaching concepts, and their functions should take into account the educational and related teaching requirements (such as the analysis of teaching content and objectives, learner characterization, etc.), and they should also follow the general methodology of software engineering. Based on this, under the guidance of experiential learning theory, constructivist learning theory, empathic theory and immersion theory, and combined with the general method of software engineering development, the development process of augmented reality music virtual instrument teaching resources includes the stages of demand analysis, design, production and development, testing and release, in which the final “teaching product” needs to be constantly evaluated and corrected for teaching application. The final “teaching product” will be used for teaching and exploring its teaching effect. The overall design process is depicted in Figure 1.
Overall design of virtual instrument teaching resource based on AR
The architecture of augmented reality-based virtual instrument teaching resources for primary school music is shown in Figure 2. It mainly adopts a three-layer architecture model: a data service layer, a business logic layer, and a representation layer. The data service layer includes the target recognition map database, sound effects, videos, 3D models, UI pictures, and other materials. It mainly provides the whole data support for the augmented reality virtual musical instrument resource system. Among them, the target recognition graph database is to upload the produced learning graph cards to the Vuforia platform, and then download the files suitable for the Unity editing environment again after the server carries out grey scale processing and feature extraction and packaging, and the files such as UI, sound and video, models and other files are imported into the Unity environment by being produced and captured externally. The Unity3D environment is the main location for the business logic layer, where the data is processed using Unity’s component system and VuforiaSDK development tool. Specifically, firstly, Vuforia acquires the recognition image through the camera, and uses ImageTarget to match the recognition map and 3D model. Secondly, it relies on the Unity3D multi-functional component system and scripting to implement the specific functions of this teaching resource, such as calling the UGUI system to develop the UI interface. The representation layer includes UI interface display, model recognition and display, audio and video playback, gesture interaction, and other multifunctional interaction functions.
Framework of virtual instrument teaching resource based on AR
This study designs and develops augmented reality virtual musical instrument teaching resources, aiming to use augmented reality technology to display the instruments involved in the lesson in 3D stereoscopic way in front of the students, to help the students better know and feel the common musical instruments and instrumental music in various countries, regions and nationalities, and to cultivate the students’ core literacy of aesthetic perception and cultural understanding. The functions of the augmented reality virtual musical instrument teaching resources are shown in Figure 3, which mainly include three modules, namely “Sweep”, “Practice” and “Explore”. Through the “Sweep” module, the musical instruments in the textbook content can be presented in a three-dimensional virtual way, for three-dimensional musical instruments, teachers can be used for teaching demonstrations to assist in the explanation, students can gesture interaction, careful observation, independent learning. There is also a text about the instrument to introduce it, and there is corresponding instrumental music that can be appreciated. Moreover, there is a recording feature that allows students to sing along or record their own imitation of the instrument’s sound. The “Practice” module is a question-and-answer function that allows learners to practice the basic knowledge of the instrument or instrumental piece, including listening to the sound to identify the instrument, listening to the tune to experience the emotion, general knowledge of the instrument and other types of questions. According to the new curriculum standard, which advocates expanding horizons and experiencing the diversity of world cultures, the “Explore” module is designed to build a virtual music culture and art gallery through Unity3D and modeling tools for students to learn more about musical instruments and music cultures through immersive and independent explorations.
Function framework of virtual instrument teaching resource based on AR
Taking instrumental music teaching in music education as an example, this paper applies the higher music teaching method based on digital media technology proposed in this paper to the piano majors of X Conservatory of Music, and selects two classes of piano majors of the school to conduct experiments, in which there are 27 people in the experimental group and 25 people in the control group. The method of this paper is used in the piano teaching of the experimental group, while the control group uses the traditional method of teaching the piano course.
Comparison of the results of the two pre-tests
The examination of piano playing is mainly based on nine dimensions: fingering, tempo of the piece, section division, vocal line, contrast of strengths and weaknesses, technical ability, completeness of performance, expression of emotion and use of pedals. Before conducting the experiment, the piano playing ability of the experimental group and the control group in these 9 dimensions was first tested, and the results of the pre-test are shown in Table 1.
As can be seen from Table 1, using the t-test (all known as the independent samples t-test), there is no significant difference between the test scores of the experimental group and the control group before the experiment in the 9 indexes of fingering, tempo of the piece, section division, vocal line, contrast of strengths and weaknesses, technical ability, completeness of performance, expression of emotion and use of the pedals (p>0.05). The above shows that the basic level of piano playing between the two groups of students before the experiment was not significant, which meets the criteria for conducting the experiment.
Pre- and post-test comparison of the experimental group
At the end of this teaching experiment, the piano playing indicators of the two groups of subjects were tested again and compared with the results of the pre-test, and the results of the pre and post-test comparison of the piano playing ability of the experimental group are shown in Table 2.
As can be seen from Table 2, using the t-test, the experimental group before and after the experiment showed significance (p<0.05) in all of the data analyses of the nine indicators of piano playing, meaning that the experimental group before and after the experiment had significant differences in piano playing performance. The mean value of fingering of the experimental group increased from 5.68 before the experiment to 8.63 after the experiment, the mean value of rhythmic score increased from 5.41 before the experiment to 8.76 after the experiment, the mean value of section division score increased from 5.98 before the experiment to 9.16 after the experiment, the mean value of vocal line increased from 5.62 before the experiment to 8.77 after the experiment, the mean value of strength/weakness contrast increased from 5.56 before the experiment to 9.33 after the experiment, and the mean value of technical ability score increased from 5.56 before the experiment to 9.33 after the experiment. 9.33 after the experiment, the mean of technical ability score increased from 5.87 before the experiment to 9.28 after the experiment, the mean of performance integrity increased from 5.45 before the experiment to 9.40 after the experiment, the mean of emotional expression increased from 5.37 before the experiment to 9.52 after the experiment, and the mean of pedal use increased from 6.08 before the experiment to 8.89 after the experiment. Teaching the experimental group of students before and after the experiment has resulted in obvious progress and improvement in their piano playing level.
Pre- and post-test comparison of the control group
The results of the pre- and post-test comparison of the piano playing ability of the control group are shown in Table 3. As can be seen from Table 3, using the t-test, the data analysed before and after the experiment of the students in the control group in the 9 indexes of fingering, rhythm of the piece, section division, vocal line, strength and weakness contrast, technical ability, completeness of the performance, expression of emotion and use of the pedals do not show significance in all of the data analysis (p>0.05), which indicates that there is no significant change in the piano playing ability of the control group before and after the experiment. The mean values of fingering and emotional expression of the control group after the experiment decreased compared with those before the experiment, but the decrease was not significant, both of which decreased by 0.05 points. In relation to the other seven dimensions, the mean scores of the students in the control group went up, but not by more than 0.5 points, which was a minor impact. The above indicates that the students in the control group using traditional teaching method did not achieve any improvement in their piano playing level before and after the teaching experiment, and the level of playing was comparable to that before the experiment.
Comparison of posttest results between the two groups
The post-test results of the experimental and control groups were compared, and the results are shown in Table 4. As can be seen from Table 4, using the t-test, the experimental group and the control group showed significant differences (p<0.05) in all nine dimensions of piano playing after the experiment. The students in the experimental group scored 3.21, 2.80, 2.91, 3.06, 3.11, 3.50, 3.54, 3.92, and 3.10 points higher than the control group in fingering, tempo of the piece, division of the section, vocal line, contrast of strength and weakness, technical ability, completeness of performance, expression of emotion, and use of the pedals, respectively. The improvement in piano playing levels of the students in the experimental group is significantly better than that of the students in the control class. This paper’s music education method based on digital media technology has been effective in teaching instrumental music performance and improving students’ instrumental music performance ability.
Piano performing ability of two groups before the experiment
| Dimension | Group (M±SD) | t | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Experimental group (n=27) | Control group (n=25) | |||
| Fingering | 5.68±0.88 | 5.47±1.04 | 0.604 | 0.603 |
| Music rhythm | 5.41±0.91 | 5.84±1.02 | -0.758 | 0.576 |
| Music segment division | 5.98±1.08 | 5.79±1.06 | 0.527 | 0.474 |
| Sound line | 5.62±0.87 | 5.68±1.04 | 0.078 | 0.327 |
| Strong-weak contrast | 5.56±1.05 | 5.76±0.84 | -0.544 | 0.628 |
| Technical ability | 5.87±1.08 | 5.39±0.92 | 0.988 | 0.598 |
| Performance integrity | 5.45±0.82 | 5.79±0.84 | -0.623 | 0.843 |
| Emotion expression | 5.37±1.11 | 5.65±1.09 | -0.582 | 0.439 |
| Pedal usage | 6.08±0.85 | 5.64±1.07 | 0.925 | 0.683 |
Comparison of pre-test and post-test piano performing ability of experimental group
| Dimension | Pre-test and post-test (M±SD) | t | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-test (n=27) | Post-test (n=27) | |||
| Fingering | 5.68±0.88 | 8.63±1.03 | -6.482 | 0.001 |
| Music rhythm | 5.41±0.91 | 8.76±1.19 | -8.292 | 0.000 |
| Music segment division | 5.98±1.08 | 9.16±1.24 | -7.158 | 0.001 |
| Sound line | 5.62±0.87 | 8.77±1.15 | -7.018 | 0.001 |
| Strong-weak contrast | 5.56±1.05 | 9.33±1.34 | -10.852 | 0.000 |
| Technical ability | 5.87±1.08 | 9.28±0.86 | -9.742 | 0.000 |
| Performance integrity | 5.45±0.82 | 9.40±1.24 | -11.846 | 0.000 |
| Emotion expression | 5.37±1.11 | 9.52±1.10 | -12.565 | 0.000 |
| Pedal usage | 6.08±0.85 | 8.89±0.99 | -5.482 | 0.002 |
Comparison of pre-test and post-test piano performing ability of control group
| Dimension | Pre-test and post-test (M±SD) | t | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-test (n=25) | Post-test (n=25) | |||
| Fingering | 5.47±1.04 | 5.42±1.15 | 0.201 | 0.404 |
| Music rhythm | 5.84±1.02 | 5.96±0.95 | -0.426 | 0.393 |
| Music segment division | 5.79±1.06 | 6.25±1.05 | -0.985 | 0.312 |
| Sound line | 5.68±1.04 | 5.71±1.15 | -0.188 | 0.325 |
| Strong-weak contrast | 5.76±0.84 | 6.22±0.95 | -0.985 | 0.266 |
| Technical ability | 5.39±0.92 | 5.78±1.01 | -0.812 | 0.784 |
| Performance integrity | 5.79±0.84 | 5.86±0.89 | -0.215 | 0.614 |
| Emotion expression | 5.65±1.09 | 5.60±1.03 | 0.201 | 0.850 |
| Pedal usage | 5.64±1.07 | 5.79±0.95 | -0.485 | 0.353 |
Piano performing ability of two groups after the experiment
| Dimension | Group (M±SD) | t | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Experimental group (n=27) | Control group (n=25) | |||
| Fingering | 8.63±1.03 | 5.42±1.15 | 11.058 | 0.000 |
| Music rhythm | 8.76±1.19 | 5.96±0.95 | 8.054 | 0.001 |
| Music segment division | 9.16±1.24 | 6.25±1.05 | 9.748 | 0.000 |
| Sound line | 8.77±1.15 | 5.71±1.15 | 10.068 | 0.000 |
| Strong-weak contrast | 9.33±1.34 | 6.22±0.95 | 10.946 | 0.000 |
| Technical ability | 9.28±0.86 | 5.78±1.01 | 12.381 | 0.000 |
| Performance integrity | 9.40±1.24 | 5.86±0.89 | 12.684 | 0.000 |
| Emotion expression | 9.52±1.10 | 5.60±1.03 | 13.284 | 0.000 |
| Pedal usage | 8.89±0.99 | 5.79±0.95 | 10.716 | 0.000 |
In addition to investigating the effectiveness of teaching instrumental performance, this paper further explores the impact of this paper’s music education methods on students’ musical aesthetics. It is assessed in six dimensions: music perception ability, music comprehension ability, emotional experience, music evaluation ability, creative thinking, and cross-cultural understanding.
Comparison of the results of the pre-test of the two groups Before the experiment, the music aesthetic level of the two groups of students was obtained through the test, and the test results were subjected to the test of intergroup variability, comparing and analysing whether there is a significant difference between the music aesthetic level of the two groups of students, and the specific results are shown in Table 5. According to the data in Table 5, between the experimental group and the control group conducted before the experiment, the results of the independent sample T-test of music aesthetics are as follows: the T-test evaluation dimension of music perception p=0.852>0.05, the T-test of music comprehension p=0.562>0.05, the T-test of emotional experience p=0.659>0.05, and the T-test of music evaluation ability p= 0.698>0.05, T-test of creative thinking T=0.368>0.05, and T-test of cross-cultural understanding p=0.428>0.05. Analysing the above data together, the T-test p-values of the six dimensions of physical education learning interest of the experimental group and the control group students are all greater than 0.05, which indicates that there is no significant difference between the two groups of students in terms of their musical aesthetics, and that the two groups of students’ music aesthetics converge and meet the requirements of this experiment. Comparison of pre- and post-tests of the experimental group After the teaching experiment, the difference test was carried out to compare and analyse whether there were significant differences in the changes in the music aesthetic level of the students in the experimental group before and after the experiment, and the specific results are shown in Table 6. After analyzing the data in Table 6, it was found that after the experiment, the average scores of the students in the experimental group in the six dimensions of music aesthetics improved. The scores of music comprehension, music understanding, emotional experience, music evaluation ability, creative thinking and intercultural understanding increased by 6.69, 5.39, 6.07, 5.95, 5.54 and 6.32 points respectively, and the p-values of the paired samples t-tests were 0.000, which is less than 0.01. The results of the study show that there is a significant difference in the music aesthetics of the experimental group of students before and after the experiment. Comparison of pre- and post-tests of the control group After the teaching experiment, the difference test was carried out to compare and analyse whether there was a significant difference in the changes in the level of music aesthetics of the students in the control group before and after the experiment, and the specific results are shown in Table 7. According to the results of the data analysis in Table 7, the average score of each dimension of music aesthetics for the students in the control group slightly increased after the completion of the experiment. The paired-sample t-test results of the control group students on all six dimensions were all greater than 0.05, indicating that there was no significant difference. Therefore, the effect of using traditional music teaching methods on improving students’ musical aesthetics was not significant. Comparison of the results of the two groups’ post-tests After teaching the experimental course, the results of the changes in the music aesthetic level of the experimental group and the control group students after the experiment are shown in Table 8. According to the results of data analysis in Table 8, on the six indicators of music aesthetics, the experimental group is higher than the control group by 6.31, 6.22, 6.06, 5.56, 5.97, 6.30 points respectively, and the p-value is 0.000, which is less than 0.01. Thus, it shows that this paper based on the music teaching method of the digital media technology can effectively improve the students’ music aesthetics.
Music aesthetics of two groups before the experiment
| Dimension | Group (M±SD) | t | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Experimental group (n=27) | Control group (n=25) | |||
| Music awareness | 7.47±1.01 | 7.84±1.08 | -0.722 | 0.852 |
| Music comprehension | 8.32±1.03 | 7.64±0.97 | 0.985 | 0.562 |
| Emotional experience | 7.62±0.94 | 7.65±0.99 | -0.458 | 0.659 |
| Music evaluation ability | 7.67±0.93 | 7.94±0.87 | -0.523 | 0.698 |
| Creative thinking | 8.05±1.07 | 7.53±1.04 | 0.815 | 0.368 |
| Cross-cultural understanding | 7.92±1.05 | 7.52±0.94 | 0.756 | 0.428 |
Comparison of pre-test and post-test music aesthetics of experimental group
| Dimension | Pre-test and post-test (M±SD) | t | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-test (n=27) | Post-test (n=27) | |||
| Music awareness | 7.47±1.01 | 14.16±1.13 | -15.651 | 0.000 |
| Music comprehension | 8.32±1.03 | 13.71±1.64 | -12.065 | 0.000 |
| Emotional experience | 7.62±0.94 | 13.69±1.82 | -14.168 | 0.000 |
| Music evaluation ability | 7.67±0.93 | 13.62±1.20 | -13.548 | 0.000 |
| Creative thinking | 8.05±1.07 | 13.59±1.42 | -12.463 | 0.000 |
| Cross-cultural understanding | 7.92±1.05 | 14.24±1.56 | -15.054 | 0.000 |
Comparison of pre-test and post-test music aesthetics of control group
| Dimension | Pre-test and post-test (M±SD) | t | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-test (n=25) | Post-test (n=25) | |||
| Music awareness | 7.84±1.08 | 7.85±0.91 | -0.138 | 0.665 |
| Music comprehension | 7.64±0.97 | 7.49±1.11 | 0.716 | 0.422 |
| Emotional experience | 7.65±0.99 | 7.63±1.08 | 0.169 | 0.302 |
| Music evaluation ability | 7.94±0.87 | 8.06±0.94 | -0.685 | 0.273 |
| Creative thinking | 7.53±1.04 | 7.62±1.04 | -0.485 | 0.442 |
| Cross-cultural understanding | 7.52±0.94 | 7.94±0.86 | -0.846 | 0.378 |
Music aesthetics of two groups after the experiment
| Dimension | Group (M±SD) | t | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Experimental group (n=27) | Control group (n=25) | |||
| Music awareness | 14.16±1.13 | 7.85±0.91 | 15.945 | 0.000 |
| Music comprehension | 13.71±1.64 | 7.49±1.11 | 14.582 | 0.000 |
| Emotional experience | 13.69±1.82 | 7.63±1.08 | 14.025 | 0.000 |
| Music evaluation ability | 13.62±1.20 | 8.06±0.94 | 12.065 | 0.000 |
| Creative thinking | 13.59±1.42 | 7.62±1.04 | 13.512 | 0.000 |
| Cross-cultural understanding | 14.24±1.56 | 7.94±0.86 | 15.758 | 0.000 |
From the previous analysis, it can be found that the teaching effect of the higher music education method based on digital media technology is significantly better than the traditional music course teaching mode, which is of great significance for reforming the traditional music teaching mode. The advantages of incorporating digital media technology in music teaching are as follows:
First, highlighting the student’s main position. In traditional music teaching, the teacher has been in the main position, teaching music knowledge and performance skills to students, so that students are in a passive position to accept the knowledge and skills inculcated learning, resulting in many students can not accurately understand the connotation of music works. The application of digital media technology to music performance teaching can break this teaching status quo, with the support of digital media technology, can create open, diversified, three-dimensional learning scene, so that students are immersed in the learning scene to learn music knowledge, music performance training, so as to stimulate students to learn the subjective initiative, the main position of the classroom back to the students.
Second, innovative methods for teaching music. Traditional music teaching relies on the reality of the classroom, physical instruments and specific teachers to carry out one-to-many teaching, in this way of teaching, students can only accept a teacher’s musical understanding and performance training methods, so that the students’ musical vision is more limited. The application of digital media technology to music performance teaching can bring innovation in teaching methods and meet the diverse learning needs of students. For example, teachers can use VR equipment to allow students to immerse themselves in the Opera House, Vienna Golden Hall, and other virtual scenes, allowing them to choose different virtual teachers, providing them with rich learning resources. At the same time, teachers can also use VR equipment to allow students to experience physical phenomena that cannot be accessed in the real environment, including sound vibration, body and instrument interactions, music presentation images, etc., to provide students with vivid, microscopic and detailed learning materials.
Third, optimize the content of music performance teaching. Compared with the teaching of other subjects, music teaching has certain special characteristics, teachers need to adjust the teaching content according to the students’ learning status and skill mastery, which puts forward higher requirements for teachers’ observation ability and teaching ability. In traditional music teaching, teachers can only arrange the teaching content according to their subjective judgment of the students’ learning status, and there is a lack of scientific supervision of the students’ learning status. After applying digital media technology to music teaching, it can simulate students’ movements, record the sound data, intelligently analyse the problems in students’ singing or playing performances, and provide objective and reliable data support for teachers to optimally formulate teaching plans.
Virtual reality and augmented reality are introduced into traditional music education in the article, and a higher music education method is proposed based on digital media to reform the teaching mode of traditional music course education. By analyzing the teaching effect of this article’s music teaching method on instrumental performance and music aesthetics, we explore the role of this article’s method in reforming traditional music education.
Instrumental performance and music aesthetics were not significantly different between the experimental and control groups before the teaching experiment. After the teaching experiment, the experimental group improved 2.95, 3.35, 3.18, 3.15, 3.77, 3.41, 3.95, 4.15, and 2.81 scores on each of the nine dimensions of instrumental performance, while the control group’s post-experimental performance on instrumental performance was not different from the pre-experiment. It was significant that the instrumental performance posttest for both groups had a p-value less than 0.05. The experimental group had a much higher instrumental performance level than the control group. In music aesthetics, the six dimensions of the posttest of the experimental group also improved significantly, while the control group maintained a level similar to that of the preexperiment. The difference in music aesthetics between the two groups in the post-test is significant, the experimental group’s music aesthetics level is significantly higher than that of the control group, and in the six dimensions of music aesthetics the post-test results of the two groups have a P-value of less than 0.05.The method of higher music education based on digital media in this paper achieves a good teaching effect, and it has an unnegligible advantage in reforming the teaching of the traditional music curriculum.