The impact of generative AI on school music education: Challenges and recommendations

The widespread application of generative artificial intelligence (AI) poses both opportunities and challenges in formal music education. Students can now effortlessly compose using simple text prompts with AI music generators, a situation which encourages innovative pedagogical approaches and democratizes creativity in the music classroom. However, concerns about cultural bias, originality, equity, and the ethical use of generative AI in school music education require careful regulation. This article highlights both the potential benefits and risks through a review of current applications of generative AI in music education, in the process proposing a set of policy recommendations that can serve to ethically and effectively guide its use. These include enhancing AI literacy among students and teachers, developing assessment frameworks that reflect the collaborative nature of AI-assisted music creation, defining acceptable boundaries in terms of ensuring equitable access to AI tools, and providing professional development opportunities for music teachers. By maintaining an awareness of technological advancements and their impact on students’ musical engagement, school music education can remain relevant to young people’s evolving musical experiences while simultaneously preparing them to engage confidently, creatively, and critically with the complex landscape of generative AI.