Education and Information Technologies (2022) 27:45–64

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10568-2

Engaging students in creative music making with musical

instrument application in an online flipped classroom

Davy T. K. NG1 · Ellen H. L. NG2 · Samuel K. W. CHU1

Received: 31 January 2021 / Accepted: 25 April 2021 / Published online: 2 July 2021
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
2021

Abstract
In K-12 schools, classes are forced to transform online due to the class suspension
amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Educators began to design alternative ways to con-
duct some meaningful learning activities for their students. However, not all subject
disciplines could be easily transformed online, especially for those requiring much
social interaction and creation processes. In this article, we explore the learning pro-
cesses through learning Shubailan, a form of music folk-talk-singing, with a mobile
instrument application called muyu in an online flipped classroom among 122 sec-
ondary school students in Hong Kong. The opportunities can encourage students to
learn music theories and instruments about Shubailan, and create a Shubailan piece
through 6-lesson music learning. To gain more online face-to-face time for collabo-
ration, flipping the online classroom is adopted in this study to engage students in
lesson preparations via preassigned recorded videos and collaborative activities dur-
ing face-to-face online lessons. In this study, a mixed research method was employed
with the use of a learning satisfaction survey, teachers’ observations and semi-struc-
tured interviews. We found that this strategy could effectively motivate students to
learn music and improve their music knowledge in Shubailan. This article presents
evidence of implementing the online flipped classroom approach to enhance stu-
dents’ satisfaction and knowledge acquisition throughout Shubailan music making
processes, and offers recommendations for online music educators. Results provide
a set of innovative pedagogical approaches to teach music in an online alternative
mode during the difficult times.

Keywords Online flipped classroom · Flipped classroom · Music mobile service ·

Music learning · Musical instrument application · COVID-19

* Davy T. K. NG
[email protected]
Extended author information available on the last page of the article

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46 Education and Information Technologies (2022) 27:45–64

1 Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting imposition of social distancing had
consequences in various subject disciplines (Ng & Chu, 2021a; Ng et al., 2020;
Ng et al., 2020), especially seriously affecting the instructional design of music
lessons and the relationship between music teachers and students. One reason is
that music learning involves much social belonging, collaboration and affiliation
(Philippe et al., 2020). Recent studies on collaborative creative music making activi-
ties (Nielsen et al., 2018; Sangiorgio, 2015), improvised interaction to make music
friends (Aucouturier & Canonne, 2017), and high-level performers in classical
orchestras (Biasutti, 2013) has highlighted the social nature of collaboration, com-
munication and companionship in music education. Such collaborative activities
could encourage music learners to share co-constructed artistic ideas and knowledge
in their learning groups, and to play out at individual and societal levels of train-
ing and performance such as rehearsals, recitals, solo performances, contests and
concerts (Philippe et al., 2020). However, during the pandemic, these collaborative
music learning activities became impossible and educators need to design an online
alternative mode of instruction.

1.1 Using technology in music education

Prior literature suggested that using digital technologies in blended or online learning
such as wiki, simulation, social networking sites and social media tools could effec-
tively support collaborative learning in various disciplines and grade levels (e.g., Chu
et al., 2019; Ng, 2021; Ng & Chu, 2021b). However, studies criticised that research
on understanding the effectiveness of online pedagogy for music learning is underde-
veloped (e.g., Edward et al., 2018; Pike, 2017). In fact, there are multiple advantages
of teaching music in online and computer-aided environments. For example, online
music learning enhances students’ flexible learning (Biasutti, 2015), allows creative
opportunities for music making in studio production (King & Himonides, 2016),
encourages students to exchange dialogues for collaboration and promotes effective
music knowledge acquisition (Adileh, 2012). However, there could be many teaching
challenges when transforming to an online alternative mode. First, the notable latency
in web-conferencing environments due to internet bandwidth will limit the smooth-
ness of face-to-face online learning (Johnson, 2017). Second, it may deteriorate the
interactions between music teachers and students when expressing and performing
music in social events such as music practices and orchestra (Philippe et al., 2020).
Third, motivating students in online music learning environments could be challeng-
ing and educators need to pay extra effort to redesign their pedagogical approaches
(Bowman, 2014).
After reviewing the advantages and challenges of online music learning, the next
is to know how educators adopt online instructional strategies to teach music based
on evidence-based studies. Ho (2007) described that multimedia technologies such

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as interactive presentations, video and recordings could help students learn music
through listening to music, reading score, hearing musical instruments, and reading
biographical, cultural and historical background among 1741 students in 15 Shang-
hai secondary schools. Kruse and Veblen (2012) examined 40 YouTube folk/tradi-
tional music instructional videos and found that most videos taught music instrumen-
tal technique (73%), music theory (58%) and melody instruction (58%). The online
instructors modelled the correct and incorrect ways of playing the music instrument
and provided pedagogical advice for students to address potential problems (Kruse
& Veblen, 2012). Moreover, these recorded videos demonstrated the use of physi-
ological prompts (e.g., hand shape and placement), and simple music instruments
or equipment (e.g., music picks, tuning pegs, wooden sticks) to scaffold students in
music understandings. These findings shed lights on how teachers adopt recorded
videos and social media (YouTube) to design their online music instruction. In addi-
tion, Johnson (2017) claimed that social-constructivist activities with collaborative
learning tasks and community interaction, as well as digital illustrations such as pro-
cedural demonstrations are necessary to enable students to imitate teachers to play
and learn music in groups. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Serdaroglu (2020) used
YouTube as the channels for the London Symphonic Orchestra to share their exper-
tise and educational content to create safe and trustworthy resources designed par-
ticularly for children, thus supporting the online music education.
Emerging technologies have already created learning opportunities that chal-
lenge the traditional pedagogical approaches in music learning through mobile ser-
vices and web-conferencing software (Cho et al., 2019; Sabet, 2020). Prior studies
demonstrated that recent musical instrument applications (apps) such as Echobo
and Garageband could successfully engage secondary school students to participate
in performing blended learning practices with their mobile devices (e.g., Lee &
Freeman, 2013; Väkevä, 2010; Wise, 2016). Bauer (2014) explained that various
musical instrument apps used in current society by young people, such as iTunes
and Spotify, be regarded as a manifestation of collaborative possibilities. Hu (2019)
further found that music mobile services such as QQ Music could enhance music
information retrieval and provide users shareable digital libraries which have great
potential for informal music learning. Pike and Shoemaker (2017) employed digi-
tal pianos, internet MIDI software, acoustic pianos and Skype video-conferencing
software to teach primary students sight-reading in a distance learning mode. They
found that both groups (online or face-to-face classroom learning) could enhance
their sight-reading ability and learning attitude in terms of enthusiasm, motivation
and confidence. During the pandemic, Johnson and Merrick (2020) adopted the
innovative uses of Zoom, a web-conferencing software, to support students’ well-
being, communication and connection in a socially constructed environment among
teachers and students. With digital affordances, digital technologies could effec-
tively meet the teaching challenges of distance learning through connecting with
their teachers and classmates via online platforms, enhancing students’ learning
motivation, autonomy and interest in music (de Bruin, 2021; Pike & Shoemaker,
2013).

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1.2 Flipping the music classroom

The flipped classroom approach has been regarded as a successful form of

blended learning in many subject disciplines (Zainuddin et al., 2019). With the
support of learning technologies, students could study preassigned digital materi-
als such as recorded videos, readings and simple tasks so that the teachers will be
able to conduct activities that build students higher-order thinking skills in the
face-to-face lessons (Dong et al., 2019; Jong et al., 2019). Most frequently, it is
done by requiring students to view teacher- or publisher-created videos outside
of their class. During the face-to-face lessons, students will be able to have more
interaction with students, instead of lecturing. This way, flipping the classroom
inverts the conventional pedagogies to engage students in direct music instruction
through digital materials via an online platform and interactive activities during
face-to-face classroom learning (Zainuddin et al., 2019).
During the outbreak, the flipped classroom becomes an online mode such that
students need to study the preassigned materials first before their face-to-face
online sessions (Stöhr et al., 2020; Tang et al., 2020). The preassigned materi-
als could be recorded lectures, recordings, readings and simple tasks. During
the face-to-face online sessions, teachers guide students in higher order thinking
interactive activities such as music performance, making and problem-solving.
This makes the learning environment become a dynamic and interactive place for
students to apply concepts with their creativity. Second, as students pay atten-
tion to informative learning outside class, teachers can spend more class time on
guiding pair and group work, as well as task-based and interactive higher-level
learning activities (Jong, 2017). As such, lesson time in face-to-face online class-
rooms should replenish teaching materials given outside of class. Teachers can
have more room to assist students in engaging and real-world applications on the
basis of self-guided tutorials and quizzes (Stöhr et al., 2020). This helps increase
the class time for collaborative activities in music learning.
Invited by a local secondary school in Hong Kong, our research team helped
organize a music learning program for 122 S.2 students to learn music. This study
designed an online folk-talk-singing experience called Shubailan (數白欖) which
is a Chinese form consisting of rhythmic storytelling and singing originated as
a means for beggars to ask for money in the past. Nowaday, this form of music
shows its unique features of cultures, singing, performance and lyrics, particu-
larly about the rhythm, beat and sentence styles of lyrics. To motivate students
in music learning and best use the face-to-face class time during the lessons, the
researchers designed the flipped classroom approach with the use of a mobile
application called muyu ­(木魚) to engage students in making Shubailan compo-
sitions during the music lessons. Such an innovative approach in music instruc-
tions motivates students to study the preassigned materials before the face-to-face
online sessions, thus making students more active in performing their work dur-
ing the lessons.
As a qualitative research, we strive not to generalize this Shubailan learning in
music online lessons as common to all secondary school students. Rather, we are
interested in documenting the pedagogical considerations within the context of

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music learning in an online flipped classroom approach amid the outbreak. For this
purpose, the following questions were addressed:

1. How do students perceive the lesson preparations and face-to-face online

sessions throughout the Shubailan online learning experience?
2. What are the perceived benefits of the online flipped classroom approach in
music learning with the use of musical instrument apps?

2 Methodology

2.1 Research design

We conducted a mixed method case study with a learning satisfaction survey, teach-
ers’ observations and semi-structured interviews to investigate the aforementioned
research questions. The data is used to describe a case in-depth in real-life com-
prehensively. We recruited 122 Secondary 2 students in four classes in a Hong
Kong secondary school to participate in a 6-lesson Shubailan online experience in
a flipped classroom approach during the COVID-19 pandemic. All students had not
learnt Shubailan in their music studies before.
We designed an online flipped classroom environment where students needed to
watch six recorded videos in a learning management platform Google Classroom at
their leisure time before their music lessons. During the six online face-to-face les-
sons, a music teacher (the second author) taught 122 students from four classes to
create their Shubailan work based on music knowledge including Cantonese opera,
lyrics writing, music accompaniment and instrument from the recorded videos. Stu-
dents were classified into five of a group and the students will create and perform a
Shubailan song in a group. In each lesson, the music teacher encouraged the students
to work cooperatively whilst engaging in the muyu playing tasks. In addition, the
teacher held whole-class discussion and group performance at the end of each lesson
to demonstrate their work. Throughout the six online face-to-face lessons, teachers
can review how students can have further improvement and they can appreciate each
group’s work. The teacher and two teaching assistants circulated the online music
room to interact with students, watching their Shubailan performances or presenta-
tions, and helping them tackle the challenges they encountered.
In the study, we are interested in understanding whether students acquire their
Shubailan making effectively in an online flipped classroom setting with the use
of a mobile instrument application muyu. After the six lessons, an evaluation was
conducted using qualitative and quantitative empirical research methods. To collect
qualitative data, we applied techniques of participant observation using both pas-
sive and active participation methods including photo taking, field notes and docu-
ment analysis (e.g., teaching materials, students’ work). Furthermore, we applied
the technique of semi-structured interviews using a set of predefined questions as
guideline (Kallio et al., 2016). In addition, we applied a learning satisfaction ques-
tionnaire in a 5-likert scale to receive feedback regarding how students perceived
the learning experience of Shubailan online learning (Table 2). The questionnaire

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comprised eight questions to measure students’ view (e.g., “I have a more flexible
learning mode that I can learn at my own pace as the videos are available at all
times online.”). These items were adapted from course satisfaction and motivational
surveys based on the benefits of online learning (e.g., Ng & Chu, 2021b; Li et al.,
2020). The factors were hypothesized to facilitate students’ learning and attitudes
towards music online learning (e.g., flexibility, perceived ability, interest). First, flex-
ibility was assessed by questions 1, 2 and 8 to measure whether our online learning
design could effectively facilitate students’ flexible learning mode. Second, inter-
est was assessed by questions 3, 4 and 6 (e.g., It is more interesting than the tradi-
tional face-to-face classroom music learning). Third, question 5 measured students’
perceived ability about Shubailan concepts. Fourth, question 7 measured students’
engagement and interactivity. Other than conducting the survey, we administered a
knowledge test before and after the online music learning experience to evaluate the
Shubailan creation ability.

2.2 Instructional design

After watching the preassigned recorded videos in Google Classroom for lesson
preparation, the face-to-face online learning activities will focus on composing,
performance and appreciation to cultivate students’ creativity and music appreci-
ation ability. Here is an example for an online music lesson. At first, students will
listen to a popular rap by FAMA (a HK pop rap artist) and teachers asked them to
state the differences between pop rap and Shubailan. Then, teachers guided stu-
dents to mark the zhengban and diban (ㄨ andㄨ) in selected part from the video,
and tried to perform it out. Other classmates then gave comments on whether the
performers acted correctly. After that, the teacher separates the class into five of a
group. They composed and performed their song under the assigned topic ‘My
favourite food’ (see student’s work, Fig. 1). Students will have ten minutes to
improve their work with what they learnt in each chapter, and each group of stu-
dents would have two minutes to perform and present their work (e.g., elements

Fig. 1  A mobile instrument app

called muyu to perform Shubai-
lan pieces

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Education and Information Technologies (2022) 27:45–64 51

of Cantonese opera, main features) in the shared screen of Zoom, a web confer-
encing software. The requirements of students’ work are as follows:
• Each work should have at least four sentences.

• Each sentence should have three, five or seven words only.

• Present their work with buyu (卜魚) to show the zhengban and diban (ㄨ
andㄨ).
Regarding the musical instrument application, we used a user-friendly mobile
service called muyu which could allow students to create and perform their Shu-
bailan pieces (Fig. 2). Students could choose the hitting sound in the setting first.
When they use a figure to touch the muyu on the screen, a sound will be given
out. After the student performance, teachers guided students to appreciate each
other’s work by asking questions like “Do you think this Shubailan script trans-
forms smoothly?”, “Any students can think of another word that also rhymes
here?” These questions could encourage students to co-build constructive ideas to
polish each other’s Shubailan pieces. The details for lesson preparation and les-
son activities are described in Table 1.

3 Results

In what follows, we present the quantitative and qualitative results of Shubailan

online learning experience during the lesson preparation and face-to-face online
sessions in an online flipped classroom. After attending six lessons of Shubai-
lan music learning, all students were invited to complete a 5-point Likert scale
(n = 122) and 30 of them were further invited to review the recorded videos and
reflection of their Shubailan online learning experience.

Fig. 2  (a) Buyu (b) Muyu

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Table 1  Details of lesson preparation and lesson activities

Lesson preparations Lesson activities in groups

Music theory in Shubailan (Appendix 1) • Perform the four basic skills in Cantonese opera.
• The four basic feats of a Cantonese opera per- • Study and perform the music score in Shubailan
former (chang唱、zuo做、nian唸、da打). according to their features, structures, zheng ban
• The main features, structure and characteristics and diban.
of shubailan. • Sing a Cantonese opera with the use of zhengban
• Meaning and use of zhengban and diban (ㄨ and diban.
andㄨ). • Discuss which words in the Shubailan piece
• Use of chenzi (襯字) belong to chenzi.
Video (8.5 min): https://​www.​youtu​be.​com/​ • Mark the zhengban (ㄨ) and diban (ㄨ) in your
watch?v=​li_​izCpN​NI0&​featu​re=​youtu.​be work.
Music instrumental in Shubailan (Fig. 2) • Experience the musical instrument application
• Introduction to Chinese Percussion Instruments: muyu.
buyu (卜魚) and muyu (木魚) • Produce different sounds in the mobile application
Video (12.5 min): muyu.
https://​www.​youtu​be.​com/​watch?v=​sXPqX​ • Make a Shubailan work based on the music
eg9kYo theories with the musical instrument application
(Fig.4).
• Use a mobile instrument application muyu to
perform students’ work in front of classmates.
Classic and modern examples of Shubailan • Appreciate the classical Shubailan pieces and
(Fig. 3): Students are required to watch at least discuss the music skills and knowledge involved.
eight minutes of the videos for further discussion • Understand the everyday use of Shubailan.
in their classes • Improve students’ work through small-group
• Two classical examples of Shubailan discussion with the three examples.
◦ Hubugui (胡不歸之慰妻) https://​www.​youtu​be.​
com/​watch?v=​t3Q8J​7KB0mc
◦ Huatian Baixi (花田八喜) https://​www.​youtu​
be.​com/​watch?v=​MBEVj​UmVrm8
• Two modern examples of Shubailan or rap
singing
◦ A marketing advertisement from HK Public
Housing Association (1.2 min)
https://​www.​youtu​be.​com/​watch?v=​7yhrO​dDU_​
ZA
◦ A popular rap by FAMA, a popular signer in
Hong Kong (3.5 min)
https://​www.​youtu​be.​com/​watch?v=​deFT4​
Xo6ucM

3.1 Perceptions on lesson preparations

3.1.1 Qualitative results

During the lesson preparation, students needed to complete five instructional vid-
eos about basic knowledge of Shubailan music learning. Prior studies have claimed
that the ideal length for the video lesson is eight to twelve minutes (Abeysekera
& Dawson, 2015; Ronchetti, 2010). Thus, in our study, we designed and recorded
each video will be around seven minutes on average for students to complete lesson

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Fig. 3  a Hubugui b Huatian Baixi c An advertisement from HK Public Housing Association

preparation before their face-to-face online classes during the leisure time. Students’
feedback for watching the recorded video were divided into four aspects: to learn
an interesting topic in music (n = 16); to entertain myself during the leisure time
(n = 10); to help complete an assignment for teachers (n = 8); and to achieve a bet-
ter grade (n = 3). Unlike the study of Zainuddin, Shujahat, et al. (2019), Zainuddin,
Zhang, et al. (2019)), which suggested that most students do not like pre-recorded
video lectures or studying content outside of class time due to a lack of motivation,
our study showed that students have interest in reviewing the videos in an online
flipped classroom setting.
Many students suggested that the recorded videos uploaded to Google Classroom
could support their self-directed learning. As one interviewee claimed: “I can watch

Fig. 4  Student Shubailan work

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the recorded video whenever I want and wherever I am. I can use the functions like
fast forward and pause to any point I want to review. It is useful for me since I am
not a music guy. This can help me review [the concepts] that I need to create my
Shubailan pieces.” A teaching assistant reported that the students enjoyed watching
the recorded videos instead of asking her about the teaching content in the small-
group discussion forum. This online flipped classroom approach tended to encour-
age students with strong self-initiative (Li et al., 2020). However, in this study,
students seem to actively prepare their lessons with the preassigned instructional
videos. One possible reason is that students may feel bored and they would like to
attend some leisure activities such as exploring interesting topics like Shubailan dur-
ing the class suspension. Like the study of Ng (2021), which suggested that students
enjoyed having some online extracurricular activities of artificial intelligence learn-
ing during their class suspension to cope with boredom during home-schooling.

3.1.2 Quantitative results

According to the learning satisfaction survey concerning lesson preparation, stu-

dents gave the most positive response for having a better understanding of the Shu-
bailan concepts through watching preassigned instructional videos during lesson
preparation (M = 3.30, SD = 0.85), indicating that they were satisfied with the infor-
mation quality such as demonstrations and knowledge delivery in the recorded vid-
eos. This is consistent with other studies, poor media quality has a negative effect
on students’ use of online learning tools and platforms (Li et al., 2020). One stu-
dent with middle music creation level said that, “In the traditional classroom, I lis-
tened to teacher’s instruction most of the time, sang songs and played/ performed
recorders together. We had little time to create music and get feedback from teacher
or classmates. However, the online flipped classroom approach helped me a lot in
music learning.” Another study gave a positive comment: “I can learn interesting
content at my leisure time. Before the class, I watch the videos and the notes helped
me to think refine my Shubailan work. Creations can’t just happen immediately dur-
ing lessons. I need time to rethink and recreate to make a better work.”
Second, the online flipped classroom approach allows students to watch the
instrumental videos several times to improve their learning based on their needs
and preferences during lesson preparation (M = 3.21, SD = 0.67). Other studies
also claimed that students would easily forget the content taught; however, using
instructional videos allowed students to review the teaching content again (Li et al.,
2020; Ng, Reynolds, et al., 2020; Ng, Shi, et al., 2020). This could help students to
take time on reviewing the preassigned learning materials without lagging behind
(M = 3.19; SD = 0.84). “I can’t pay attention during online lessons and music is
not my cup of tea. I would listen to the audio/video materials many times at home,
specifically for the content that I do not understand well.” This way, the combina-
tion of recorded videos and face-to-face online communication had a more positive
effect on flexible learning than simply adopting either mode (Giesbers et al., 2014).
Finally, this approach supported students’ flexible learning and self-regulated learn-
ing to facilitate students to create music during class suspension. Table 2 indicates

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Table 2  Learning satisfaction of Shubailan online learning in an online flipped classroom approach
Statements Mean (n = 122)

1. I have a more flexible learning mode that I can learn at my own pace as the videos 3.16
are available at all times online.
2. It allows me to take time on reviewing the material without lagging behind. 3.19
3. I get less frustrated towards the musical instrument application and music making 3.16
during the online face-to-face lessons.
4. I am interested and capable of exploring Shubailan in a deeper manner during the 3.18
lessons.
5. The demonstrations and knowledge delivery in the recorded videos give me a better 3.30
understanding of the Shubailan concepts.
6. It is more interesting than the traditional face-to-face classroom music learning. 3.13
7. It creates a dynamic, engaging and interactive classroom which focuses on student 3.35
interactions and music creation.
8. It allows me to watch the instrumental videos several times. 3.21

that the learning satisfaction of the online flipped classroom learning approach
regarding music creation.

3.2 Perceptions on face‑to‑face online sessions

3.2.1 Student interaction in a web‑conferencing software

Regarding the student interaction during the face-to-face online sessions, Table 3
demonstrated that most students gain a significant improvement in Shubailan knowl-
edge (M = 68.85, SD = 18.38, p < 0.01). The music teacher commented on students’
work: “I appreciate students’ work. At the beginning, none of my students know Shu-
bailan. Now, students know many learning elements on the focus of Shubailan such
as Cantonese opera, lyrics writing, music accompaniment and instrument playing.
In addition, from my observation, students can easily play the beats of their Shu-
bailan work using the music app in an online flipped classroom.” A student gave a
positive reply: “In the past, I don’t like Chinese Opera or muyu – it’s an old stuff to
me. However, the music app and e-learning method refresh my perceptions to this
traditional Chinese music culture. It’s not that old-styled!”.
In terms of students’ satisfaction, students agreed that the online flipped class-
room gave them great opportunities to collaborate with other class students dur-
ing their face-to-face online sessions (M = 3.35, SD = 0.94). They believed that

Table 3  Students’ learning Learning ability Pre-test Post-test Paired t test

ability in pre-posttest with a
total score 100 (n = 122) Mean 25.74 68.85 11.85*
SD 25.14 18.38

* p < 0.01

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the face-to-face online music performance and appreciation in Zoom with the use
of digital muyu could create a dynamic, engaging and interactive environment to
enhance student collaboration in the Shubailan creation processes. Eleven students
indicated directly in their interviews that this was one of their reasons they enjoyed
their music creation during the face-to-face online sessions in a flipped classroom. A
student commented, “Although we [students] cannot meet each other at school or go
to classmates’ home to complete the [Shubailan] project, we could still make use of
Zoom to do our project. Other than verbal communication, there are some interest-
ing features of Zoom such as whiteboard, giving likes and discussion forums for us
to express during the class.” Similarly, Jessica, another student said, “Teachers used
interactive whiteboards to teach beats and clap. We can talk and sing with rhythm
and play with varied rhythm patterns with the mobile app [muyu] by screen shar-
ing.” Another student reflected, “Other than voicing our opinion during the lessons,
we can discuss in the break-out room and give ‘likes’ and ‘thumbs’ [to my class-
mates]. These interactive features of web-conferencing softwares such as breakout
rooms, annotation tools and whiteboards provided digital affordances for students to
sustain their music learning online.
Our students’ comment and survey responses aligned with some recent studies
that these web annotation tools can enhance students’ knowledge sharing, collabo-
ration, and visual presentations of concepts. For example, Tseng and Yeh (2018)
demonstrated that secondary school students were significantly correlated with
reading ability by highlighting the structure of paragraphs in an English reading
comprehension. Ng, Reynolds, et al. (2020), Ng, Shi, et al. (2020)) explored how
visual presentations of geometry in a computer application can produce a positive
learning outcome to simulate methodical thinking especially with the support of 3D
printing technologies. In music learning, teachers can incorporate interactive white-
boards with digital pens through singing with lyrics and pictures (e.g., identifying
the underline and circled rhyming words, picking the pictures for the song from clip
art), teaching notation and composition, and interpreting music through drawing
phrases (Ng & Ho, 2021; Nolan, 2009).

3.2.2 Student interaction with a musical instrument application

Students may not have musical instruments at home during the pandemic. Using
a musical instrument application during the online face-to-face lessons would be
an alternative mode for students to perform in front of others and appreciate oth-
ers’ work through the web-conferencing software. A student commented, “Though
I don’t have any music instruments at home, I can still enjoy playing music through
the music app [muyu]. My teacher told me [in the lesson] that there are other music
mobile apps available such as Garageband. Although these applications may not
give me a perfect learning experience compared with the real ones, this is under-
standable. I still enjoy it!” Similarly, another student reviewed, “Although I miss the
old days of playing instruments and singing songs with classmates in the classroom,
performing in front of the camera in such an online music conference with a mobile
app can be interesting too.” Moreover, a student who did not have a strong back-
ground in music reflected that, “I don’t know music. But if I have some preassigned

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music patterns or beats in the settings of the music app, I can easily create some
songs [during the lessons].”
Combining the music applications in the flipped classroom approach offered
music making opportunities for K-12 students to embrace different music technolo-
gies such as auto-accompaniment software, digital audio workstation, audio record-
ings, electronic instruments, music notation software and interactive whiteboards
(e.g., Bauer et al., 2012). In fact, these emerging technologies successfully present
extra learning opportunities for music learning. Prior studies provided evidence for
these musical instrument apps that could effectively enhance students’ collabora-
tive informal music learning, learning engagement and attitude in the online class-
rooms to acquire skills and concepts in music learning. For example, Väkevä (2010)
found that informal pedagogy with the use of Garagenand could encompass vari-
ous modes of digital creation in face-to-face pedagogical situations, informal learn-
ing, and open networked learning environments and musical online communities.
The practice of playing instruments with features through recording and rehearsing
could allow students to perform live in an online learning environment or even an
online or music appreciation group. Moreover, Sabet (2020) examined the experi-
ences of secondary school students using GarageBand for iPad in a music class to
compose original music. It was found that students could actively share and pre-
sent their music pieces during the lessons. Based on qualitative analysis, perform-
ing, recordings and rehearsing with the use of music technologies would encourage
students to think creatively and even tackle instructional roadblocks of music learn-
ing. In addition, Jaffurs (2004) reflected that the proliferation of computers, tablets,
and smartphones has resulted in music applications such as GarageBand in being
some of the most widely distributed musical instruments to conduct informal music
learning practices. As such, musical instrument apps have a constructive role in the
online music learning community to effectively stimulate students’ creativity across
other music education contexts.

4 Discussion

4.1 Overview of the main results

Music educators identified several challenges including lack of teaching resources,

low priority given to music in schools, time to teach music and adequate prepara-
tion time (Russel-Bowie, 2009). These issues became more challenging during the
pandemic (e.g., Baratè et al., 2020; Daubney & Fautley, 2020). For example, stu-
dents lack musical instruments at home and could not play and perform instruments
together as usual. Even worse, compared with other subjects such as language and
science, schools tended to give a lower priority to music learning and teachers did
not have enough online learning resources and preparation time to transform their
teaching online.
According to the data analysis, the results showed that the online flipped class-
room approach helped solve part of the practical problems that teachers met in online
music learning contexts and led to more interactive time for higher-order thinking

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activities such as online music appreciation, performance and making during the
online face-to-face lessons. By analyzing the responses of students and instructors,
this section discusses three aspects of online flipped classroom approach. First, self-
regulated instructional videos in a learning management platform encouraged stu-
dents to have a flexible learning preparation to gain some factual knowledge about
Shubailan before their lessons. Second, in-class interactive activities engaged stu-
dents in making Shubailan pieces via collaboration, discussion and creation. Third,
using musical instrument apps allowed students to perform and appreciate music
especially for those without physical musical instruments at home.

4.2 Flexible lesson preparation

The online flipped classroom approach engaged students in studying preassigned

materials such as instructional videos before the online face-to-face lessons in a
flexible mode, which could greatly reduce instructors’ direct teaching time. Online
flipped classroom offered a variety of learning modes such as individualized and
group work, creating a seamless and flexible environment satisfying students’ auton-
omous motivation needs (Wang, 2017). For example, Wei et al (2020) showed that
88 middle school students could significantly improve their mathematical learning
performance by watching prerecorded video lectures and completing their learning
activities before class in a flexible online flipped classroom. In another study, Jing
(2018) reflected that online flipped classroom approach could internalize students’
music learning and enhance their learning interest, application of music and cultural
knowledge. Students could also enjoy audio and visual materials to learn music at
their leisure time in enrichment activities before and after classroom to broaden their
horizons (Jing, 2018).
In our instructional design, lesson preparation provided flexibility which allowed
students especially those without a strong background in music knowledge to under-
stand and follow the concepts at their own paces by watching the recorded videos
again. Some students with no music understanding problems nevertheless watched
the recorded videos to better prepare part of the course content before lessons. This
enabled them to thoroughly understand the content of the course and prepare well
for making their Shubailan pieces during the face-to-face online lessons. In addition,
as the online flipped classroom approach was integrated into Google Classroom, the
secondary school’s learning management system, all students access the teaching
materials without much technical problems. Overall, an effective lesson preparation
could reduce direct teaching hours and encourage more interactive and collabora-
tive activities during the face-to-face online classes to stimulate students’ higher-
order thinking and creativity, which could help solve practical problems for music
educators.

4.3 Collaborative online face‑to‑face learning environment

The potential benefits of online flipped classrooms in music education could reduce
didactic teacher-led activities greatly such as music theories, music history, aural

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Education and Information Technologies (2022) 27:45–64 59

training and the acquisition of notational skills (Ruokonen & Ruismäki, 2016;
Southcott & Crawford, 2011). In our study, the online flipped classroom approach
with the use of musical instrument apps helped offer students learning opportunities
to create their own Shubailan pieces in groups even without physical musical instru-
ments at home.
Using technology in music education could provide students creative and collabo-
rative possibilities via meaningful music making activities (Crawford, 2017; Leong,
2012). In our study, the features in the web-conferencing software such as breakout
rooms, annotation tools and giving ‘claps’ or ‘likes’ would provide a virtual plat-
form for students to perform in front of others and appreciate each other’s work with
a music mobile application. This meaningful and contemporary online music activ-
ity brought the outside world into the music classrooms such as how Shubailan was
used in the cultural and marketing fields, or everyday topics for creation, which pro-
vided authentic learning opportunities for students to learn music. Although we only
focused on a musical instrument application in this study, there was great potential
for understanding other music technologies into music education.
By developing the flipped classroom approach, this case study explored how
teachers engage students in Shubialan music making with mobile instrument appli-
cation and solved some practical problems related to music teaching amid the
COVID-19 pandemic at a secondary school in Hong Kong. The success of this
mode has several implications for the practice of blended learning and online learn-
ing. First, students are motivated to take full advantage of flexible lesson preparation
and interactive activities during the online face-to-face classes. Second, the use of
technologies in music education (e.g., recorded videos, web-conferencing software,
musical instrument application) is a strong contributor to learners’ engagement and
satisfaction in online learning. Third, the effects will be further enhanced if mean-
ingful music mobile services, learning tools and platforms are integrated system-
atically. More real-time collaborative tools should be used to promote interactions
between students and teachers, even in face-to-face classes. The Shubailan music
project enabled students to use technology to learn music compositions, culture and
histories, and instruments to encourage students’ music making, sharing and collab-
orating processes. It was believed that, under the new norm of learning and teaching,
not only music, but all educators from other subject disciplines will need to be pre-
pared for a shifting paradigm for online or blended teaching.

5 Conclusion

While a growing body of studies on flipping the classroom has generally exam-
ined its effectiveness such as motivation, ability and high order thinking skills
among different subject disciplines (e.g., Jong, 2019; Zainuddin, Shujahat et al.,
2019; Zainuddin, Zhang et al., 2019), few have undertaken how the online flipped
classroom approach to examine the learning processes involved in music learning.
During the pandemic, we explored how this approach may serve to support crea-
tive music making with the use of a mobile instrument and a web-conferencing
software in a secondary school in Hong Kong. One of the contributions is that

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60 Education and Information Technologies (2022) 27:45–64

this study offers evidence to support the online flipped classroom approach with
musical instrument apps as computer-based support for music learning. This may
serve future investigations into how music learning experiences with other mobile
services and online pedagogies can be scaffolded.
Some limitations of this study are acknowledged. The first limitation derives
from the exploratory nature of this case study in an authentic online learning
setting since there is no control group defined to compare the learning out-
comes of the experimental group. Moreover, we did not design the question-
naire thoroughly by filling more questions in each construct; as such, we adopt
qualitative approach to understand and triangulate how students perceived such
online flipped classroom approach with the use of a music application. Sec-
ond, the instructors received only a type of web-conferencing tool and musi-
cal instrument application to conduct the Shubailan teaching. The results may
vary to some degree based on instructors’ characteristics, technological tools,
and learning activity design. Further research on improving the effects of the
flipped classroom approach is necessary. Other useful teaching strategies, tools
and activities for instructional design should be explored in future work.

6 Theoretical Implications

As a theoretical contribution, the online flipped classroom approach with the use
of music technology was constructed based on the practice and reflection from a
case study in an authentic music classroom setting. Overall, this study provides
an empirical and theoretical basis for music education to promote the use of
digital technology. A list of recommendations for music teachers are as follows:

Use computer-aided instruction such as recorded videos, social media tools

and music mobile services in developing creativity and imagination, improv-
ing music skills, cultivating critical responses in music learning.
Design a set of online curriculum resources among educators to smoothly
transform music learning in an alternative online mode.
Adopt the online flipped classroom approach to minimize the direct teaching
and maximize online collaborative opportunities such as performance, appre-
ciation and music creation to stimulate students’ higher order thinking.
Use musical instrument apps to encourage students to co-construct, rearrange
and create music pieces in an online community, although these virtual music
instruments may not thoroughly simulate the mechanics of a physical music
instrument.
Other music mobile services such as social media, digital libraries and edit-
ing software are also useful to transform traditional classrooms into music
creation learning.

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Education and Information Technologies (2022) 27:45–64 61

Appendix 1 Music theory in Shubailan (Chow, 2016)

Four performance skills in Cantonese opera

The performance skills of Cantonese opera actors are divided into four basic catego-
ries, Chang, Zuo, Nian and Da.

1. Chang「唱」

There are two ways of singing to match different characters, including

Pinghou and Zihou. Pinghou is the tone of ordinary speech, mostly male
characters sing in Pinghou. Zihou is an octave higher than the Pinghou,
mostly female characters sing in this voice with false accents.
2. Zuo「做」
Zuo means the physical performances of characters, including gestures,
stepping, walking position, closing eyes, doing hands, body shape, sleeves,
Lingzi Gong, Xu Gong, water hair, abstract performance and traditional
exercise frame.
3. Nian「唸」
Nianbai means speaking out the dialogue. Use words to explain the scenes
and the thoughts and feelings of the characters.
4. Da「打」

Da means martial arts, such as dancing water sleeves, playing with fans, mar-
tial arts swords and spears, playing sticks and swings, and waving flags.

Music score of Cantonese Opera

Cantonese opera records the melodies and tone with GongChe, a type of Chinese
music score.

Symbols Types Descriptions

Zhengban Upbeat A strong beat appears where there are lyrics

ㄨ
Diban A strong beat appears where there are no lyrics
ㄨ
、 Zhengding Downbeat A weak beat appears where there are lyrics
∟ Diding A weak beat appears where there are no lyrics

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Authors and Affiliations

Davy T. K. NG1 · Ellen H. L. NG2 · Samuel K. W. CHU1

Ellen H. L. NG
[email protected]
Samuel K. W. CHU
[email protected]
1
The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
2
The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

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