From signal to noise
Resituating maker pedagogies ‘from the sound up’
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22428474 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Andreas Kitzmann (0000-0002-0739-2903, York University), Kurt Thumlert (0000-0002-2021-1740, York University), Jason Nolan (0009-0005-6454-7333, Toronto Metropolitan University), Melanie McBride (0009-0001-0371-0767, Toronto Metropolitan University), dakota melin (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (India)) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-22 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Music, Technology & Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1752-7066 • E-ISSN: 1752-7074 |
| Publisher | Intellect (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1386/jmte_00077_1 |
| OpenAlex | W7166141893 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 19 |
Maker initiatives in education developed over recent decades through the intersection of DIY culture, the Maker movement and constructionist theories of learning. Scholars in music education have recently advocated for the adoption of ‘maker’ pedagogies to enhance and reshape music learning, link students with emerging technologies and innovative creative practices and integrate music-centred maker technologies to support STE(A)M initiatives. This article draws upon a recent music makerspace study that invited participants to build their own analogue modular synthesizers and learn through the process of instrument building, troubleshooting, testing and sound-making. Using this study, we examine claims about ‘maker education’, address gaps in the research and literature on making and highlight tensions in attempts to translate ‘making’ from authentic informal learning environments to formal ones in educational institutions. Our findings challenge celebratory claims about ‘maker education’ as well as identify missing modalities of learning – forms of practical knowledge, embodied skill, modes of inquiry and co-emergent competencies that are rarely examined or acknowledged in the literature on making. We conclude with a discussion of what aims – and whose purposes – are served when context-specific practices and epistemologies are recontextualized for formal educational environments or retooled to serve academic theory.
Audio equipment · Constructionism · Embodied cognition · Modalities · Multimodality · Strict constructionism · Diverse Music Education Insights · Music Technology and Sound Studies · Teaching and Learning Programming
The Maker Movement in Education
The textility of making
I.—Knowing How and Knowing that
The State of Makerspace Research
Making the best of it? Exploring the realities of 3D printing in school
Pathways to sustainable futures
On human correspondence
Sonic cultures of making
"Bring on Sector Two!" The sounds of bent and broken circuits
Playing and Making Games for Learning
A Team-based Approach to Open Coding
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |