Technology has changed music dramatically and continues to do so. It can't be reversed or escape, and will continue. It happens in both obvious and subtle ways, small and significant ways. On my other blog, I just wrote a post about how something as simple as the existence of shuffle has a huge impact on the way music is experienced.
Obviously, this means that technology also has to have an impact on music education. Music education needs to reflect the contemporary state of music, in addition to teaching about the past. This is what the idea of TPACK gets at, in my opinion. Anyone can learn to functionally use a piece of software or other new technology aimed for general consumption without much trouble. Likewise, any music teacher should start out with a strong knowledge of music based in both past and present.
The key idea of TPACK is that technology develops quite quickly, and so in order to stay up to date, it is necessary to have an understanding of how new technologies interact with established music and education paradigms. Without this understanding, it would be difficult to make intelligent choices concerning the implementation of technology in music education. Even if technology is simply used "because it is available," it is going to have some impact on the student's musical experience and education. In the absence of consideration and planning, this impact may very well not aid in the attainment of educational objectives.
To consider a specific example, one of the most obvious examples of technology changing music education is that of music notation software. Whereas before a composer would have to conceive of music aurally, play it on piano(or whatever other instrument themselves), or convince someone else to play it, they can now get instant feedback from computer programs. In general, this is a huge boon for learning composition. How can one create experiences and learn from them if one cannot listen to the music one creates? However, there is also danger of becoming too dependent on this software. Piano skills are incredibly valuable for a composer for a number of reasons, and those aiming to compose should still be encouraged to study them. Likewise, aural development is imperative. No program is going to be able to truly simulate the experience of music performed by human musicians, and since most music is intended for performance by humans, composers need to be able to envision the final product aurally within in their own minds to have complete control over their creations.
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Your point about music educators needing a balance of past and present is a good one. Students who are growing up in a highly technological age deserve exposure to the vast collection of technology-based resources that are available to enhance their music learning. Likewise, it's important that they also benefit from more traditional music education teaching methods (e.g. your example of piano as a compositional tool). I agree that the importance of TPACK lies in the individuality of its usage and its ever-changing qualities. Educators need to commit to staying current on what's available.
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