COMPUTER MUSIC AND COMPUTER-BASED MUSICOLOGY

The study of music at universities in the U.K. divides into a number of musicological subjects, together with composition, some performing activity and training in advanced musical skills. Various musical applications involving computer-based technology are found in industry, and electroacoustic music is important commercially as well as artistically. Most universities use this technology to teach composition and related topics. The use of computers in teaching musicological subjects is less well advanced, but some work, especially in music analysis, is supported by software. Courseware for musical skills teaching is readily available, though not across the full extent of skills currently studied. Ancillary subjects such as acoustics may be studied through self-paced CAL systems. Work in multimedia and intelligent tutoring systems for music has so far been inconclusive. Nonetheless, in general terms, the road to a constructive expansion of CAL in musicology is now becoming clear.