1. It is important to include a collection of introductory activities, aimed at developing the students' technology literacy in terms of the media to be used.

2. The computer is a tool to help achieve the aims of music education; it is not a end in itself.

3. It is important to organise space and time.

Organising space

The perfect place would be a music room equipped with computers and peripherals in sufficient number for the whole class to work at the same time. Alhough not everyone can have this ideal situation, alternatives can be found. Music activities where the whole class uses computers can be done in the computer room, and if this is not possible, in a music room equipped with at least one or two computers and peripherals; in this case, a computer corner in the music class can be set up. At any rate, it is best for the students to work in pairs or groups of no more than three or four. If there is not enough equipment, the work teams can be organised to take turns, so that all the students get a chance to do all the activities.

When there are very few computers, the activities going on simultaneously have to be more varied. While one group is working on score-editing tasks, for example, another could be experimenting, trying out playing music with a MIDI controller with the headphones connected; a third group could be playing traditional instruments (flute, keyboard, etc.), and still another could be doing a listening activity, also using headphones.

Scheduling the activities

Activities involving the use of computers can be incorporated into the classroom in a variety of situations in music education. Considering beforehand what routine processes would be simplified and what music skills would be developed with each activity will help you decide on the best time to introduce them. This means that teachers have to make decisions on whether the computer should be used in an on-going or sporadic way, whether it should be used before or after a traditional class, or whether it should be just one more resource to use systematically in the music class.

Examples for using the tools

1. After a traditional class, doing activities on the computer designed at three different levels of complexity can help meet students' individual needs:

   a. The average student does activities designed to fill in and reinforce music knowledge previously acquired in the classroom.

   b. Students who need remedial work do activities that help them acquire and refine the music knowledge they were not able to pick up in class.

   c. Advanced students do activities designed to let them go more deeply into what they've learned in class and to introduce topics not dealt with in class.

   Example:
   In class, the students played a song on a musical instrument.

   a. The standard student who played the song correctly can now take the edited song and make an analysis of it and a simple accompanyment to improve the performance.

   b. The student who had trouble playing the piece can edit the score as he listens to the music and analyse it.

   c. The student at the highest level can create a new piece of music with characteristics similar to the piece she was presented, in terms of structure and formal elements.

2. Before a traditional music class, the students can do experimental-type activities designed to involve them in a process of analysis and deduction and to encourage them to come up with doubts and queries, thus arousing in them new needs and expectations for learning. Done before contextualisation, this type of activity can also address individual differences.

   Example:
   Before you give the conceptual explanation of the triplet, have the students listen to MIDI files where these groupings appear.

   a. Prepare music files of pieces that should include triplets but don't; the students have to work out where the triplets should go.

   b. The students edit musical phrases that include a certain number of triplets.

   After doing these activities, the students can go on to conceptualise and practice the triplet with other tools on the computer.