The Electronic Digital Instrument Is Here To Stay

At one point in time, a violin was a new piece of technology.
—Errin Barra (Educator), Electronic Digital Instrument at Berklee College of Music (YouTube)

And now we can’t imagine classical western music and even some western folk music without this venerable instrument.

Berklee College of Music has announced that they’re making the Electronic Digital Instrument (EDI) a principal instrument that can be studied as part of a four-semester course.

These are fascinating times to be in music education: It’s like a whole new world is coming down from the skies to coexist with the familiar music paradigms we know so well from the days I was in school (we used to play with baby dinosaurs in the swamps beyond the school yard).

Eletronic Digital Instruments have the potential to reach students who, until now, were not interested in making music because of the way it used to be taught. If you’re not a good singer and have little dexterity to play the recorder or the keyboard, it’s hard to participate in traditional music class. Not so with step sequencers, synchronized music apps and synthesizers.

More than ever, electronic music gives everyone a place in the class ensemble. That’s not something to be afraid of. That’s something to celebrate.