Assessing experience of learning gamelan instrument via technology utilization during covid-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the landscape of how people work, learn, communicate, and spend their leisure time. Music education is no exception, where technology has shifted the conventional method of instruction among music instructors during Online and Distance Learning (ODL). Most attention is given to immediate development of platforms and tools to aid music teaching and learning, yet a few studies conducted to assess the university students’ musical instrument learning experience upon technology utilization. Hence, this study aims to assess the learning experience among university students who learn Gamelan (traditional music) instruments using two online platforms; mobile application (app) and Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) during Gamelan lessons. Our study gathered data from 63 participants, taking HKB113 Gamelan 1 course at University Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Cawangan Pahang Raub Campus. These students used one of the Gamelan instrument mobile apps, Saron and MOOC via UFUTURE platform during their Gamelan lessons. A post-experience questionnaire was then distributed among the students. The questionnaire was obtained and extracted based on the relevant items in Exit Survey and Students’ Feedback Online (SuFO). The results of the Post-Experience Questionnaire, which include (i) knowledge, (ii) course content, (iii) method and tool used, (iv) and (v) the ability in playing the Gamelan instrument show the effectiveness of the utilization of the Saron mobile application and MOOC contents via UFUTURE being used. This study contributes to the literature regarding technology utilization during the pandemic in the context of learning music in higher institutions. Besides, this study offers insights and opportunities for the mobile app providers and MOOC developers in the field of musical instrument software development industry.