The DigiMuBi Project Brings Together Academia, Industry, and Practice
Schott Music Supports a Ph.D. Candidate in Her Research on Innovations in Music Education at Mainz University of Applied Sciences and the University of Mainz
Can digital tools revolutionize music education? To answer this question, academia and industry have joined forces. Together with Mainz University of Applied Sciences and Johannes Gutenberg University, Schott Music has launched the collaborative doctoral project DigiMuBi (Digital Learning Formats in Music Education from the Perspectives of Media Education, Computer Science Didactics, and Media Management). The goal is to explore the potential of digital learning formats in music education.
Janna ten Thoren from Mainz University of Applied Sciences is conducting the research. She is supervised and advised by Prof. Dr. Sven Pagel from Mainz University of Applied Sciences and Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jasmin Bastian from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Fortunately, the partners were able to secure “InnoProm” funding from the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the EU, with participation from the Department of Economics at Mainz University of Applied Sciences, Schott Music, and the Strecker Foundation.
“The competent use of digital tools is an important sociopolitical task. We at the WIMM research group are delighted to be implementing an InnoProm project for the third time, one that brings together academia, business, and professional practice through innovative research,” says Prof. Dr. Sven Pagel, strategic project director of DigiMuBi at Mainz University of Applied Sciences.
Janna ten Thoren is originally from Lower Saxony and moved to Mainz ten years ago to pursue her studies. She has been involved with music since childhood and learned to play the piano using the “Piano Kids” method published by Schott Music. During her stays abroad in South Africa and Indonesia, she taught piano at schools and social institutions, gaining valuable experience as a music teacher.
In addition to researching digital learning media, the three-year DigiMuBi project also focuses on analyzing economic and social aspects. The emphasis is on understanding the integration of digital tools into various educational environments, as well as analyzing their acceptance and impact. To this end, different learning settings (e.g., group situations or self-directed learning) are analyzed, and digital teaching formats—such as interactive apps—are tested. Particular emphasis is placed on investigating the needs, prerequisites, and acceptance of digital methods at music schools and general education schools. The goal is to identify the most effective technological and pedagogical approaches for promoting musical understanding and musical practice.
As one of the leading music and media publishers, cooperation partner Schott Music has a wide range of contacts, provides insights into the development of music education products and services, and, through the transfer of expertise, is an ideal partner for the project, which investigates innovative digital educational tools and methods that have the potential to fundamentally transform music learning and teaching.
“Digitalization offers fantastic new opportunities for music education. Through ‘DigiMuBi,’ we want to understand how we can best use these technologies to provide real added value to both learners and teachers. We want to make our experience and our network available to the academic community to explore the possibilities of digital tools and ultimately democratize and diversify access to music education,” says Denis M. Freiberg, Managing Director of Schott Music.
DigiMuBi launched with a kick-off event in February 2025, which brought together the participating researchers, professors, and staff from Schott Music and the Strecker Foundation. Progress reports will be issued at regular intervals throughout the project. The project’s findings will be made available not only to the scientific community but also to the general public.
Background Information
Through the “InnoProm” funding program, Rhineland-Palatinate supports application- and practice-oriented doctoral projects that advance concrete innovations in companies based in Rhineland-Palatinate. The aim is to quickly and efficiently bring together innovation-related knowledge and business needs in order to develop potential solutions to innovative business challenges in specific pre-competitive R&D projects. By training early-career researchers, the funding program also makes an important contribution to securing a skilled workforce. This initiative is supported by funds from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
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