Over 300 million people use the learning app Duolingo to get instruction in international languages like Japanese, Spanish, Hebrew and many others. But soon, you will be able to use Duolingo to become fluent in a brand-new language … music!
This week, Duolingo announced on X (formerly Twitter) that it is branching into music lessons. Called Duo Re Me, the course was developed by engineering director Vanessa Jameson.
On October 11, Jameson will unveil the new program at Dubcon, Duolingo’s virtual event that showcases the app’s new products and updates. You can register for Dubcon for free here.
The Duo Re Me program will teach users how to read and play music via short and interactive lessons on the Duolingo app, as previewed on its X account.
Tune in to Duocon on Oct 11 to get a special first look
https://t.co/yvaVIPn6lU pic.twitter.com/j26TFUbxVq
— Duolingo (@duolingo) September 6, 2023
The Duolingo announcement on X hints that its math offerings will be enhanced as well. Starting in 2022, Duolingo started to offer gamified math lessons for kids and adults. But this announcement suggests that the new activities might also combine math and music learning, which makes sense as the two subjects are often considered to be complementary.
Some research even shows that kids who play instruments are better at performing complex math problems. However, experts arestill debating whether this effect is due to correlation or causation.
Whatever the case may be, bringing bite-sized, gamified music lessons to Duolingo will help to make music literacy more accessible for millions of people. More than 3.8 million schoolchildren do not have access to music lessons in their schools, despite the fact that music education has been shown to have a positive impact on health, school attendance, mental well-being and overall test scores.
“Our mission is to develop the best education and make it universally available. Now, everyone with an interest in music can learn the fundamentals at no cost, all in Duolingo’s playful, motivating format,” Jameson said in a statement reported by VentureBeat.
You can expect the Duolingo music and math courses to be available around the same time Duocon takes place next month. The app is free to use, although you can update to a paid version for app extras and if you don’t want to see advertisements.
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