Digital tools, referring to a wide range of hardware and software, are increasingly integrated into music education due to advancements in technology and growing accessibility. This trend is evident in an increasing number of teachers utilizing digital tools in their classrooms and a growing body of studies examining how these tools can support children's learning. In elementary school-related studies, the primary objective of using digital tools is to increase student engagement, which in turn can support the development of musical skills and learning motivation. This systematic review evaluates the current state and effectiveness of interventions in this field. A total of 2,382 records were identified, with 15 studies meeting the inclusion criteria (e.g., studies from peer-reviewed journals, including at least one digital tool, and focusing on elementary students). These studies examined outcomes such as musical performance, music theory skills, creativity, and proficiency in digital tool use. Most studies reported positive effects of using digital tools on musical skills. In several studies, the interventions not only improved measured musical skills but also had significant impacts on motivation and engagement. To assess the trustworthiness of these interventions, the review conducted a comprehensive critical appraisal of their methodological designs. The findings revealed that all studies exhibited certain limitations in their study designs, which undermined the strength of the available evidence. This review highlights the variety of interventions, measurement approaches, and outcomes in this field, acknowledging the challenges of this diversity in drawing overall conclusions. It highlights the necessity of rigorously designed interventions in future studies and provides valuable insights into the effective and broader application of digital tools in elementary music education.

Music learning can provide students with significant emotional and educational benefits, including stress relief, increased confidence, self-expression, brain development, enhanced attention, and perseverance. Despite these advantages, many students perceive music lessons as less important and tend to pay less attention in music classrooms. Consequently, motivation plays a crucial role for both teachers and students in facilitating an effective teaching and learning process in music education. Although motivation is generally understood as a student’s desire to engage in the learning process, it remains a complex concept that researchers and educators continue to explore across various educational contexts. This study aimed to review students’ motivation for classroom music by analyzing research from different studies in music education. Following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, 27 studies were reviewed and included. The findings identified four theoretical constructs related to motivation in classroom music: expectancy–value theory, self-determination theory, mastery motivation, and achievement goal theory. Among these, the first two were most commonly discussed across the reviewed studies. All the reviewed studies employed self-reported questionnaires as their primary assessment tools. Most studies indicated that girls demonstrated higher motivation levels than boys in music classrooms. Additionally, the findings emphasized that teachers’ instructional strategies are critical for enhancing students’ motivation. This study contributes to the field of music education by highlighting the pivotal role of teacher strategies in fostering motivation and by providing a comprehensive review of motivational theories, assessment tools, and gender-related motivational differences in music education.

A tanulmány a gamifikáció módszerét, valamint annak oktatásban, ének-zene oktatásban történő alkalmazási lehetőségeit mutatja be. A gamifikáció egy olyan, egyre nagyobb népszerűségnek örvendő módszer, mely az oktatásban is használható. A módszer legfőbb jellemzője, hogy az élet olyan területein használ játékos elemeket (például pontozás és szintek), ahol a környezet alapvetően nem játékos. Ilyen, nem játékos környezetnek tekinthetők az oktatás, illetve a tanulás különböző területei is. A módszer során a tanulók játékos szerepbe bújva szereznek pontokat a tanórai feladatokért. A játékos elemek lehetővé teszik, hogy a diákok úgy tanuljanak, hogy közben szórakoznak. A módszer egyik előnye, hogy képes motiválni a tanulókat. A tanulmányban példák olvashatók arra, hogyan lehet alkalmazni a gamifikáció módszerét a tanítás során, valamint az ének-zene órákon.

A tanulmány röviden bemutatja a gamifikáció (jákosítás) módszerét, majd annak egy alkalmazási lehetőségét az ének-zene tanításban. A módszert olyan 7. osztályokban próbáltuk ki, ahol a tanulók nem tanulták emelt óraszámban az éneket, és nem is tartozott az ének-zene a kedvenc tantárgyaik közé. Az újfajta tanítási módszert a zenei romantika témakörén belül valósítottuk meg három tanórán keresztül. Pedagógiai kísérletünkben kontrollcsoportos vizsgálati elrendezést alkalmaztunk. A gamifikáció tanórai felhasználásával sikerült jelentősen növelni a tanulók motiváltságát. A gamifikáció új módszertani elem lehet az ének-zene tanításában, mellyel a tanárképzésben is érdemes foglalkozni. A tanulmányban bemutatott módszer ötleleteket adhat más tantárgyak tanításához is.

Music holds a distinctive place in Hungarian culture, yet school music lessons are often perceived as less meaningful than other subjects. Building on McPherson and O’Neill's eight-country study, the present research introduces data from Hungary, a nation strongly associated with Zoltán Kodály's influential educational legacy. Grounded in expectancy–value theory, the study examined students’ motivation toward music in comparison with seven other school subjects (Hungarian language, mathematics, science, physical education, art, history, and foreign language) using a single-item measure for each expectancy–value component. A total of 4,073 students from Grades 5 to 12 (aged 10–19 years) participated. Results revealed that both competence beliefs and value components (interest, importance, usefulness) declined across grade levels, whereas perceived task difficulty remained low and stable for music. Girls and students engaged in extracurricular music activities reported significantly higher motivation than boys and non-music learners. Notably, the decline in music motivation in Hungary was steeper than that observed in the original eight-country comparison. This suggests that the motivational decrease cannot be explained by perceived difficulty but rather points to the weakening of value components within a changing social and cultural context. The findings underscore the need to revisit music pedagogy in Hungary and to adapt the Kodály tradition to contemporary learners’ motivational realities.