{"id":14569,"date":"2014-03-10T09:30:16","date_gmt":"2014-03-10T13:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/carleton.ca\/edc\/?p=14569"},"modified":"2026-05-06T13:28:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T17:28:19","slug":"mastering-music-technological-world-spotlight-james-mcgowan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/tls\/2014\/mastering-music-technological-world-spotlight-james-mcgowan\/","title":{"rendered":"Mastering Music in the Technological World: Spotlight on James McGowan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Mastering Music in the Technological World: Spotlight on James McGowan\n <\/h1>\n \n \n <\/header>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

By: Cassandra Hendry<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For James McGowan, music is life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The award-winning pianist, composer and songwriter has taught music at Laurentian University, McMaster University and James Madison University in the United States. And now, as a music professor at Carleton, he\u2019s using his experience to help students in an innovative way with a combination of technology, music and pedagogy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McGowan, who won a 2013 New Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award<\/a>, has developed an online ear training application for his students to refine their classroom skills and heighten their understanding of the material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe software package will allow us to tap into the richness and diversity of the music we\u2019re using and teaching, so students can get the most positive and relative experience out of it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The app works differently than existing ones by \u201cembracing different musical styles.\u201d It tackles approaches to learning in a unique way and organizes levels that will fit with the current curriculum, says McGowan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He expects the software will be ready to test in the fall, with hopes that its use can extend beyond just the university. But for now, McGowan is concentrating on what he calls his most important job: teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTeaching in the classroom is one of the most critical jobs I have. The impact that we have on students, particularly at the undergraduate level, goes far beyond the knowledge and skills that they learn,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As one of the winners of the New Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award, McGowan would know all about that. Part of the criteria for winning the award is to use \u201cinnovative, unique or engaging teaching techniques\u201d while being a new professor in their first three years at Carleton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of McGowan\u2019s best strategies is using the department\u2019s small class sizes to his advantage. He stresses that getting to know each and every one of his students is essential, so much that he\u2019s able to develop a student\u2019s musician skills on a one-on-one basis and watch them grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStudents feel that I\u2019m approachable because there\u2019s an actual person, not just a face talking at them, that they can engage with,\u201d says McGowan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about creating a respectful place for them to learn. It\u2019s about capturing their sense of passion and explore that, but to do it in a way that allows them to really experience music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you interested in pursuing a teaching award or do you know someone who deserves recognition? Nominations and applications are now being accepted for the 2014 Carleton Teaching Awards, including the New Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award, the Excellence in Teaching with Technology Award and the Provost’s Fellowship in Teaching Award. Get all the details here<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Cassandra Hendry For James McGowan, music is life. The award-winning pianist, composer and songwriter has taught music at Laurentian University, McMaster University and James Madison University in the United States. And now, as a music professor at Carleton, he\u2019s using his experience to help students in an innovative way with a combination of technology, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/tls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/tls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/tls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/tls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/tls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14569"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/tls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14569\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40740,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/tls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14569\/revisions\/40740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/tls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/tls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/tls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}