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 A few months ago I wrote a few articles (including one that ran in MENC Teaching Music Magazine) about the topic of using technology and software to teach educational concepts in music class. In particular I mentioned a little game called Wii Music that I have been personally fascinated by in how easily it seems to grab the attention of students of all elementary school ages. While it is not a purely educational game it is still very useful in music class. I and many others around the world have tried using it in some form or another with our young students and I have to say in most cases it has been a very good experience.
Nintendo recently released a press release about Wii Music and its growing incorporation into music education classrooms in the United States. The adoption of this game by teachers and by the MENC has been slow to blossom but appears to be growing steadily. I have pasted the Nintendo press release below. Feel free also to take a look at the other articles on this topic:
REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Nintendo’s new Wii Music™ game is spreading
from the family room to the classroom, thanks to newly formed
collaborations with select schools and educators. To help inspire
students and promote an active appreciation for music, Nintendo is
working with teachers to incorporate Wii™ consoles and Wii
Music software into their lesson plans to offer teachers a unique
tool for creativity and improvisation.
Nintendo’s collaborators in this effort include MENC: The National
Association for Music Education, which is recognized as the world’s
largest arts education organization and as a teaching resource for all
levels from preschool to graduate school. MENC will help teachers in 51
cities across the nation integrate Wii Music into their
curricula, making use of the game’s 60-plus instruments and fun array of
tutorial exercises in rhythm, tempo and song structure.
“The goal of Wii Music is to inspire people of all ages to enjoy
music,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice
president of Sales & Marketing. “By partnering with educators and
bringing Wii Music into their classrooms, we hope to give
students a memorable, hands-on experience that helps them discover their
own creative voice.”
The Wii console’s motion-sensing controls allow Wii Music users
at any experience level to step up and jam, whether playing solo or as
part of a group. Using the wireless Wii Remote™ and
Nunchuk™ controllers, players make simple, intuitive
movements to strum a guitar, play a trumpet or bang a drum.
“At any grade level, it’s essential to provide students with the tools
and encouragement they need to be creative,” said John J. Mahlmann,
executive director of MENC. “We look forward to collaborating with
Nintendo to drive awareness and advocacy for music education through Wii
Music.”
Some teachers already have begun to incorporate Wii Music into
their lesson plans.
“Wii Music has brought a renewed excitement to music class for
students from first grade to fifth, myself and even some of the
classroom teachers,” said Helen A. Krofchick, a music teacher at Doby’s
Mill Elementary School in Lugoff, S.C. “I love how many music standards
can be covered in such a short time. Students also have to use language
skills, spatial awareness and hand-eye coordination. We have a school
very supportive of the arts and Wii Music has empowered our
program even more. Any system that is educational and can add a love of
music to children’s lives should be in every classroom.”
Other collaborating and partner organizations currently include San
Francisco’s Blue Bear School of Music and New York’s Opus 118 Harlem
School of Music. Teachers in these programs will use Wii Music to
build students’ familiarity with technology while bolstering their
ability to create and improvise. Experts in the field of music say
getting kids interested in music at an early age can help build a
lifelong appreciation.
“The joy of playing music is something that should be experienced by
everyone, regardless of age, talent-level or experience,” said Joe
Lamond, President & CEO of NAMM, the National Association of Music
Merchants. “Research shows that more than 82 percent of people who don’t
currently play a musical instrument wish they did. Wii Music can
help address this by providing a positive introduction for millions of
people who might not otherwise be inclined to try.”
Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the
content their children can access. For more information about this and
other Wii features, visit Wii.com. For more information about Wii
Music, visit www.WiiMusic.com.
About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of
interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan,
manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™
and Nintendo DS™ systems. Since 1983, when it launched the
Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.8
billion video games and more than 480 million hardware units globally,
including the current-generation Wii and Nintendo DS, as well as the
Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo
64™ and Nintendo GameCube™. It has also created
industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™,
Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and
Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America
Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s
operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about
Nintendo, visit the company’s Web site at www.nintendo.com.
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Educational Articles 
