MUSIC EDUCATION ity of Illinois Press. ly published 1934). ld music in the I schools: 1838-1988 n Gould reader de. New York: University ireness. London: w to lock down New York: ;ity Press. :>la. NY: Dover. Press. 'S of the I' York: Mason i man. Toronto: ical ed. by d 1964). :T: Yale University JOs Angeles: Magazine. 8. • Durham. NC: Oxford CHAPTER 6.3 LET'S PLAY! LEARNING MUSIC THROUGH VIDEO GAMES AND VIRTUAL WORLDS EVAN S. TOBIAS The imagery and sounds of games such as Guitar Hero· and Rock Band have captured the imaginations of popular media, the public, and would-be rock stars across the world. Discourse and debate surrounding these games, however, typi- cally remain constrained within a dichotomy of virtual versus "real" performance, often excluding music video games' potential as media for musical learning. Cautious music educators will wonder why they would choose to use their limited time putting video game controllers in students' hands instead of instruments. In this chapter I suggest that video games create virtual worlds rich with potential for students to interact with music in new ways. construct musical understanding, and connect their musical engagement and learning between school and home. While video games may not be the primary form of entertainment media for all young people, gameplay is firmly enmeshed in contemporary cultural milieux. Acknowledging musical playas a productive site for constructing musical under- standing (Harwood, 1998; Marsh & Young, 2006), music educators might consider the challenges and potential of using video games and gameplay as a means of and resource for teaching and learning music. Though studies pertaining to this focus are emerging (Clements, Cody, & Gibbs, 2008; Lum, 2009), a lacuna in related Tobias, E. S. (2012). Let's play! Learning music through video games and virtual worlds. In G. McPherson & G. Welch (Eds.), Oxford handbook of music education (Vol. 2, pp. 531-548). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.