# Unleashing Creative Synergies: A Mixed-Method Case Study in Music Education Classrooms
## 2 Methods
The research was conducted in a music classroom equipped with 25 desktop computers capable of running music creation programming platforms (e.g., EarSketch, Sonic Pi, and Tune Pad). By designing algorithms to generate musical pieces, a strong connection between music and programming is established [26; 33]. For the investigation, we used EarSketch and Sonic Pi platforms. The research plan comprised three distinct phases:  
* Preparatory phase: Introduction and presentation of the work unit plan to the class. An explanation of each question in the pre-questionnaire was provided, ensuring that participants had the opportunity to seek clarification. No questions were raised during this time. The pre-questionnaire was then individually completed by all participants, including the participant music teachers, utilizing the provided link on the classroom computers. Additionally, after school, the music teachers were trained (by the researcher) for an hour on the practicalities and technical setup. The role of the music teachers was primarily focused on learning alongside and supporting the students. The involvement of all participants was notable, as they were present and actively engaged in the initial preparatory phase, which centered around data collection. * Implementation phase: Took place each week from Monday until Wednesday, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Throughout the entire unit of work, no major technical issues or interruptions were encountered. However, there were instances of student absences. To ensure continuity for absent students, they were able to catch up on missed lessons with assistance from the music teachers, their classmates, and the researcher. This involved the administration of questionnaires (students) and interviews (music teachers) to all participants. Every participant, without exception, actively engaged in the completion of the questionnaires and interviews. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the participants' experiences, post-lesson reflections were conducted for a duration of 30 min after each lesson. These reflections were approached from multiple perspectives: the researcher and the participant music teachers. * Reflection phase: The reflections captured in the implementation phase range of valuable observations relevant to addressing the research questions. These observations encompassed engagement levels, the occurrence of meaningful discussions, and observed differences among students. The reflections played a crucial role in providing qualitative insights into the unfolding of the unit of work, enabling the study to effectively address the main research questions. It is noteworthy that all students present in each lesson completed the assigned work, questionnaires, tasks, and reflections, ensuring comprehensive data collection for analysis. During the implementation phase, the researcher conducted the teaching while the music teachers supported the students during the lessons. As communicated by the music teachers, none of the students had special needs or language issues. The pre-questionnaire revealed the following information about the students/participants:  
* Prior programming knowledge: All 68 participants in the study have prior programming knowledge of the software Scratch 2. This prior programming knowledge provides a unique context for understanding their engagement with music composition and computer-based music creation. * Specialized musical instrument training: Among the participants, a subset of seven individuals is currently receiving specialized musical instrument training. This training focuses primarily on four instruments: piano, guitar, violin, and flute. These participants are in the process of developing advanced musical skills through instrument-specific training. * Lack of prior experience in music composition: It is noteworthy that, according to the data collected, none of the participants reported prior experience in composing music.