Creating music assignments for students to complete directly in notation software can help students both learn about theoretical concepts like suspensions and appoggiaturas as well as the practical skills of manipulating music notation on the screen.

Philip Rothman and David MacDonald start this discussion by identifying the outcomes to be achieved by this method. We then talk about some approaches for organizing these assignments and where to source them from, some tips that make the files easier to work with, and, what to avoid as a technical matter when using the software as a kind of learning tool in this way.

We’ll also touch on web-based applications and the types of platforms that are common to different education levels. Finally, we’ll sum it all up, and, in the spirit of education, apply what we’ve learned to all types of collaborative situations, whether they be student-to-teacher or peer-to-peer, regardless of what software you find yourself working in.

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