In class I worked with a fellow classmate, Joseph. I found the experience quite valuable because we got to choose between two prompts in class in how we would use the makey makey to introduce music learning in our community or influence others. We chose the prompt to use the makey makey for some kind of large scale piano at the mall, we had this idea because we always though that cool things at the mall always had a big influence over little kids, we remembered as we were kids how the projects like these going on at the mall always excited us as we walked by. We had to overcome some ideas about how to put it on a larger scale possibly which we could do with a lot of extenuation chords and some larger metal plates. Another thing we must have overcome was the fact that a lot of people would want to try this, and we decide maybe make multiple stations where many kids can try different things with the makey makey. Basically our prototype we ended up building in class was just a piece of cardboard with some tinfoil on it as well as the makey makey wires running to different pads on the cardboard, we used scratch and put a bunch of electric drum sounds on it, sadly before class was over we didn't get to experiment with much else because we had to figure out how the program worked as well, which was still very beneficial as well as now we understand how scratch operates with makey makey and will be valuable to future assignments.
Now I will list situations and ways I could use makey makey for the experience of others in a teacher setting In a listening based experience with middle school general music students: I could have the students hit the button on the makey makey which will then play a sound. This whole assignment they will not be given pitches but they will just hear the sounds, then I would have them play the sounds and try to figure out the order of the sounds and place them in the order of a scale. This will engage my students ears and help them recognize the intervals of a major scale. For multiple experiences I would give them a chance to find intervals like 4ths or 6ths as well so they might be able to try something really difficult, keeping in mind that that is something they would possibly need a little more help with, and then wright the notes out on the board after the experiment and showing them ways and having them share their ways they might have identified the distance in pitch. With a non formal community music making group with members from diverse populations: Ive always thought of music as a universal language, I actually went to the saxophone symposium this past year and I realized that theory in my head when I was watching these French and Asian and America saxophonist all preform together without ever even speaking, it was beautiful . That leaves me no doubt that we can't do that in the classroom. So first off I wouldn't even have the students speak, I would give them each a makey makey and I would have them put a drum set, or piano, or whatever miscellaneous combination they make on their own, then I would have them switch stations and have them edit the design of the last student, then I would have them switch again and I would have them do the same thing again, I would repeat this process about 4 times in total. As an end result I would have the students show me how their experiment was changed and I would have them wright on a notecard 3 things that they liked and disliked about what the other students did. This experiment would be great I believe because it gives students a chance to interact with each other with just music, and then it allows the students to look at their project a different way, opening their eyes to the creativity they could also explore. With a Honers Ensemble in a Performance Situation: This would be a good chance to get creative in an ensemble, I would hookup a makey makey in the back with a percussion interment like bells for instance, something metal so it actually plays. I would then try and find a song to feature some kind of sound effect like a synthesizer or something or maybe just something as cool as sound effects. Like for example a song theme around superhero, we could have the music from a fight scene and add those cool hitting sound effects in the background. Though it may be difficult to find effects such as, but honestly we could record our own and then convert it into a bunch of mp4s and put the audio clips on to the makey makey ourselves, that way we don't limit our creativity with our recourse. That just being an example I feel like honest the results are endless because when you combine technology with an instrument the only limitations you really have are the ones you set for yourself. While I was writing this blog I have opened myself up to new situations and made realizations for what I may be able to accomplish with makey makey in the future, I feel that the limitations are inviolable and my creativity is everlasting.
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In this post I will be talking about a prompt given to me by my professor for my MUS150 class. This will be similar to The "My Class" post that I have under the Scholarships tab. In here I will critic and edit another students post about the class environment they have created. I will now post the prompt in red.
"For this class, I’ll open without speaking. I’ll start playing an ostinato for the class through garage band or the like (I’ll have to make sure the class knows how to use the program before the class). The loop will go on for several bars and then I’ll give 2 examples of songs (from different genres) that could work with the ostinato given. I would then open an assignment for the class to come up with more songs or tunes that would work with the beat given. They would work together and perform in front of the class at the end of the class. The homework for this lesson would be for the students to come up with their own ostinato for homework and then some songs that would go with it. It can be in groups, but everyone will have to perform for the class the next time we met. This experience is helpful for both building confidence in a student’s work, as well as working on improvisation skills. The connections build on a student’s previous experiences with any song they’ve heard and enjoyed enough to remember. This can help with composition especially in a time where the main form of entertainment is to listen to mashups. That’s what this entire exercise is, discovery of mashups that haven’t happened yet. Ear training is gained through this, as the student should be able to make a song work with a repeating part, whether or not it did before. Then the improvisation skills will come from this as well. I’ll help them as the teacher through my showing them my examples and encouraging group work so there are multiple people and music genres going through the class. If they had been developed well, there will be a wide variety of songs through different genres and even some original works depending on the students working. Some next steps, as I want to be a choir teacher, would be to apply this to a song we’d be working on. Usually gospel songs require some improvisation. If we were to take a break in between concerts and do this lesson, and then introduce a gospel song, they’d all be able to figure out more ways to add to a song besides just singing the word “baby” a lot of times, and more than just 2 people could audition and do well. This experience is definitely based on a summer camp experience that I’ve actually had at the vocal arts camp here, but with technology. We were actually learning a gospel song and we all had the opportunity to improv. The teacher didn’t have auditions first, she just told certain portions of sections to do what they want for practice, so they find out what sounds good. She then told us not to be scared of trying something that would seem strange. She told us to sing what we were doing, and then she proved her point by singing “Hakuna Matata” to what we were doing and it sounded AMAZING. Then once entering college, we have learned how to use garage band or the like, and we even recently had a class that worked off our reading on improvisation and composition." First off I can see that the person that typed this has put a lot of though into it and has used some dynamite comparisons for their examples. But I feel like working in groups would cause the students to rely on the one student that would know how to use the programs and the rest wouldn't be obtaining any information from the situation. I agree on the fact of improvisation being important and a valuable skill, I believe that is a skill everybody could do and everybody could benefit from. I feel as that if they can improvise then they have the true understanding of music and the natural feel of rytham, as for when you improve you are writing music in your head and developing a sense of feel for chords and rytham and style. So from the beginning I would keep the class opening and I would allow my students to ask questions after I preform for them and let them pick my brain some on what I just did, also answer any questions they might have about their later assignment. I would do that so my students would understand what I was doing exactly and I would also show them how widely they can spread their creativity because the thing I want to do the most is make them think and share their thoughts, then I would have them find somebody else in the class and reflect their opinions or ideas on that student. Then I would tell them to somehow combine their ideas into one and form one hypothesis or design or whatever the case may be and then wright down what the have talked about and turn it in at the end of class so I can see their ideas. The whole point of this process is to have my students develop multiple points of view on a situation to get a better understanding of what might be a good or, not a bad idea just different idea. My students will never have bad ideas just unclear ideas. I would go as much to have them build something with an ostinato in it but, I would like them to build past the idea of just an ostinato so my students learn multiple things in one setting. I would also give them a bit more time then one class considering since this is high school and the students might be a little overwhelmed and have other classes and also it would give my students more time to develop ideas and not throw together a sloppy assignment lacking info and depth and clarity. Sometimes I feel that learning as much as we want to rush the process, it takes time to develop a healthy mind. I feel like presenting/preforming them would put a lot of unnecessary pressure on the students. I feel like for an assignment like this it should be optional to present it for extra credit but I would rather have them share it with me privately to give the students a chance to truly express their hidden creativity to me. In summery of how I would run things differently then the prompt I was given I would start out the class the same way, but then I would allow them to answer questions then wright down their thoughts of what they would take and what they would like to do with the experience they just saw. Then I would have them share their ideas with another classmate and then I would have them find a way to combine their ideas and make them really think outside of their box and dig deep into their creativity. Then I would have them wright it down and turn it in for a class work and participation grade. From their I would present my assignment , I would have them build a track containing an ostinato and then I would have them add 3 things to the track that they don't know how to use and then I want them to figure out how to use it so they can take multiple experiences from this assignment. I would give them a week so they can experiment and build on what they have started in the beginning of the week, I then would have them submit it by email or possibly google docs in a midi file or some sort of audio clip. Then later in the week I would allow the students to have them played for the class the class (optional for extra credit) and then I would have the students wright down 3 things about the clip they noticed and stood out to them. If nobody volunteered I would probably just put some of my own clips up their for the students and have them build on that. Then I would assign every student another students audio clip and I would have them add 2 new lines to the original song, then I would have them add 2 other effects/filters or ostinatos, and then send them back to me for a final grade and have a final class discussion on it next week and talk about what can they take from this experience and use in their own development as a musician I feel like with this process It would be a bit more efficient and the students would take a bit more information in the end and be opened up to new ideas and would be able to also share their ideas. I feel like not limiting the assignment to a day will also not rush creativity and will allow the students to become more open and truly design something completely from their own thought process. the class discussion and papers would just be to make sure they are thinking and they are not just taking advantage of the class. Like I said their is no wrong answer I just want to see what has developed in their heads. I want to know I have impacted them and made them a better person and musician by the end of the course. The technology needed for this assignment would be a computer or some sort of internet device, I would provide them with multiple sites with free trials that would allow them to get creative for no price and as of computers being available, I would stay after school a few days and get a computer lab reserved to make sure every student has the chance to work and build on this assignment and themselves. To lead the experience I would need a knowledge of how to do all the assignments I have given because it wouldn't make much sense to assign something and not know how to do it myself. Id also need to understand theory and voicing to be able to suggest better ideas or different ideas on their assignment when submitted. Barriers that might affect this assignment would be depending on the program it might be harder to do some things because they are all so different and sometimes even for experienced people opening new programs to you can be difficult. But I'm having faith in my students to discover what they need to be successful. I feel my students would learn independent creativity and also would be able to use the basics of some sort of music production program. I would assess it based on if it meets my guidelines as spoke of before, and if they really built it from their own mind or just copied it down and put random notes and didn't really try (you can tell). The outcome isn't as important to me as I just want them to take something from this and be able to use their new knowledge for their own experience and advancement in music in the future. |
Brandon RhinehartHere I will be posting lesson plans and reflections. Archives
December 2019
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