Collaborative Score Transformations in Online Music Lessons: the MusiCoLab Toolset

Chrisoula Alexandraki, Demosthenes Akoumianakis, Dimitris Milios, Alexandras Nousias, Yannis Viglis, Michael Kalochristianakis, Konstantinos Velenis, Maximos A. Kaliakatsos-Papakostas

Abstract: In the world of music teaching and learning, music notation artifacts serve as indispensable material that facilitate effective communication, interpretation, and manipulation of musical compositions. Through these artifacts, educators can guide students towards achieving the objectives of a music lesson, nurturing not only technical proficiency but also fostering creativity and artistic expression. This article presents the development of VHVCoLab, a versatile web application that addresses the needs of music education, by seamlessly integrating practices for synchronous collaboration and asynchronous interaction. The article presents our efforts for collecting the requirements of music instructors, with respect to music notation artifacts and their transformative capabilities, our design and implementation approach for supporting established and novel application affordances as well as an informative pilot assessment guiding our ongoing and future developments. As the domain of online music practicing has attracted plenty of interest in the last decade, we aspire that the VHVCoLab application exemplifies the possibilities of harnessing online platforms to enrich the musical experience and propel the growth of aspiring musicians worldwide.