Recent German-speaking research on digitalisation in music education highlights both opportunities and research gaps: On the one hand, empirical studies have examined the use of apps in music-making processes (Gerland, 2022). On the other hand, there is little research on using digital musical instruments in special educational contexts (Förster, 2022). Völker et al. (2025) identify participation as one central orientation of music teachers, emphasising that digitalisation can promote musical participation through accessibility, particularly for learners with special educational needs. Yet, inclusive ideas are not consistently reflected in teachers' everyday practices.

The implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in music education appears both challenging and promising: While AI technologies may trigger a paradigm shift (Krebs et al., i. r.), they also create tensions between the potential loss and the enhancement of creative processes in music learning (Rotsch, 2025). Against this backdrop, the present study asks what is essential to ensure low-threshold access to AI technologies that foster participation and agency, thereby supporting the inclusion of all learners in creative music-making processes.

Group discussions with teachers were conducted in professionalisation programmes for music educators. The collected data were analysed using inductive qualitative content analysis (Kuckartz, 2010). The study examines how teachers perceive the relevance of participation and agency in the context of AI in music education, the challenges they face in fostering agency, and the conditions they consider crucial for meaningful participation. Furthermore, it highlights teachers’ concerns, uncertainties, and fears regarding the use of AI, alongside the opportunities and potentials they associate with it.

Finally, the contribution contextualises these findings within the competency models DigCompEdu (Joint Research Centre, n.d.) and UNESCO’s AI Competency Framework for Teachers (Miao & Cukurova, 2024), advocating reflective and responsible use of AI in music education while positioning AI competence as a factor of social inclusion and exclusion.

The content, curricula, and entrance examinations of music teacher education (MTE) tend to attract and select relatively homogenous groups that do not represent the existing societal and musical diversity (BFG Musikpädagogik, 2024 (MULEM-Ex); Hall et al., 2024; Elpus, 2015). Whether as a symptom or a cause, only a small fraction of the vast (and particularly in the digital domain rapidly expanding) range of existing musical instruments is present in MTE.

From poststructuralist and new materialist perspectives, musical instruments carry and produce knowledge and culture. Ismaiel-Wendt coined the term MusikmachDinge ("MusicmakingThings", MMT) to describe musical instruments as actants (Ankrich & Latour, 2006, pp. 399-400) that shape how music is made, perceived and learned – sometimes even more than the humans engaging with them (Ismaiel-Wendt, 2016, pp. 9&17).

A holistic, culturally responsive and diversity-conscious MTE must reflect on the accessibility of different MMT and the material aspects that shape music (education).

This practice paper discusses an approach to addressing this need through the co-creation of a so-called Digital-Analog Music Lab (DAMuLab)—a flexible multi-purpose environment (e.g., for ensemble playing, teaching-lab projects, research) that offers low-barrier access to a wide variety of MMT—following a participative approach in which students take the leading role in deciding on budget allocation, instrument selection, concept and use-scenarios of the space, accessibility etc.

The project aims at (1) strengthening democratic competencies by creating space for negotiation, collaboration and shared responsibility through its participatory approach, (2) creating space for experiencing musical diversity and developing cultural sensitivity, (3) attracting more diverse people to MTE, (4) reflecting on the role of material in musical praxes, also regarding sustainability aspects.

The presentation will report on key learnings and challenges, reflect on the project’s potential for democratic education in MTE and share transferable insights that may inspire other institutions starting similar initiatives.

The goal of any music program is to provide access to music learning for all students in the most inclusive environment possible, including to those with disabilities. With Universal Design as a theoretical framework (Hourigan et al., 2024), the purpose of this presentation is to share practical applications that focus upon the use of multi-sensory learning and adaptive technologies in elementary band/orchestra classrooms. I will share aspects of music lessons developed with and by students in an American university instrumental music methods class as part of an inclusive music education unit. This pedagogical project impacts several conference foci, such as inclusive curricular concerns, student participation in music learning, and the desire to overcome social barriers incurred by inclusive music education.

Music educators must push beyond their preconceptions to provide music to all students (Draper & Bartolome, 2021). Some researchers have considered inclusion options for students with visual and auditory impairments (Rush, 2015; Schraer-Joiner & Prause-Weber, 2008), while others have shared specific strategies for including students with a variety of special needs, for example, composition strategies accompanied by multi-sensory approaches including listening and visual activities (Clipper & Lee, 2021). Researchers have also examined the incorporation of multi-sensory or multi-modal strategies in a variety of settings to uncover effective approaches for inclusive music learning (Bremmer et al., 2021).

In this University instrumental music methods class (2023-present), preservice music teachers developed lessons for a peer-teaching experiences. The aim of this pedagogical project was to include adaptive technology and/or multi-sensory strategies in an elementary band/orchestra setting. Successes of this project included high engagement and creativity in lesson design, interest in teaching students with disabilities, and growing awareness of technological advances. Challenges to consider are difficulties with incorporating technology, lesson pacing issues, and the need to use these strategies in truly practical environments.