Extended Reality Applications in Music Education: A Competency-Based Review Across Instructional Domains

Extended Reality (XR) technologies, including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR), have been increasingly explored in music education to support immersive, interactive, and embodied experiences. As research activity in this area grows, the resulting literature remains fragmented across application types, learning contexts, and target populations, making it difficult to obtain a coherent overview of current research trends. This paper presents a review of XR applications in music education. A total of 303 peer-reviewed records were identified through Scopus and Web of Science and processed according to the PRISMA guidelines, resulting in 25 studies included in the review. The selected studies were analyzed and categorized according to three main instructional domains (namely instrumental technique & performance skills, music theory & aural skills, and ensemble & conducting skills) using a competency-based perspective grounded in established structures of music education curricula. In addition, earlychildhood & primary education and accessibility are examined as transversal dimensions cutting across application domains. The review identifies domain-specific research patterns, crosscategory design approaches, and structural gaps in the current XR music-education landscape. Findings indicate that XR technologies are primarily explored as complementary tools supporting embodied interaction, with more mature research trajectories in instrumental performance and music theory, more limited development in ensemble and conducting skills applications, and transversal dimensions that remain underdeveloped.