----- Original Message ----
From: Richard Sales <richard@glasswing.com>
To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
Sent: Saturday, August 16, 2008 5:35:05 PM
Subject: Re: Tapping into your musical/improvisational ideas and skills for my classroom!
Hi Margaret
I'm in one of those odd blips where I have some time and your query
sparked my motor so...
I think the human voice is the ultimate axe. Anyone can make vocal
sound. It can be anything from grunts to singing to noises etc.
If you have digital editing capacity you can fiddle with pitch,
reversing, cutting words up, making harmony...
Have kids make the sound of moods, colors, planets and stars etc.
Express being a kid like never before!
I know from my studio that it ALWAYS blows kids minds when you do a
little voice blip and then scratch it rap style or mangle it.
Voices are cheap and the ultimate tool of expression
Have groups make group sounds.
Back in the 60's there was a big movement - I think called 'treated
voices' that was REALLY COOL with voices doing non voice like things.
It was very experimental stuff. Some of the
college jazz acapella
choirs are now doing stuff like that and it's very cool. And it's very
popular in those schools too.
You could create a drum bed and sync the voice / noises to the beat.
You could, of course, do the drums with the voice.
I like it because it would be relatively easy to do and bring fairly
immediate results.
Do an opera! Obviously, NOT Mozart or Hair. An arty opera. Just
thinking out loud.
The first barrier will be them wanting to sing pop songs. But that
could be turned around too.
Okay... I gotta get back to work. I hope I've understood your quest....
but it sounds like some kind of product might be a good goal.
A CD at the end of ten weeks?
all the beast
richard sales
glassWing farm and studio
vancouver island, b.c.
www.glassWing.com www.richardsales.comwww.hayleysales.com www.joannesales.comwww.blueberryfieldsfarm.comwww.broombusters.orgOn 16-Aug-08, at 12:16 PM, margaret noble wrote:
> Hello Live Looper List!
>
> This is Margaret here, I chime in from time to time and am very much
> looking forward to Y2K8 this October!
>
> In order addition to working as an artist, I teach high school. This
> is my second year and my bread and butter, the good news is that I
> love my job. I am designated as the sound production and digital arts
> instructor. My school is founded on project based learning, it is free
> to students and functions as a charter school. If you are curious
> about the school, here is the link:
>
>
http://www.hightechhigh.org/>
> So, why am I reaching out to you all?
>
> Basically, I have free reign with my curriculum. I am about to start a
> 10 week class with a group of 25 tenth graders. I want to focus
> exclusively on sound, listening and musical movements (no visual
> content). I plan on screening lots of documentaries and presenting
> listening exercises for exposure and dialog. Additionally, I want to
> have morning group improvisational exercises. Maybe 5 minutes or so of
> performance, then record it and play it back to class. It assumed that
> most (maybe all) students have absolutely no musical training thus
> the goal is to create exercises where success is
easy for the newbie.
> It is also assumed that these kids definitely will have moments of
> shyness and/or pressure to be cool thus anything that goes too far
> might be rejected.
>
> Here are some ideas I have for tools (suggestions, recommendations
> based on super low budget please):
>
> - Having the students craft very cheap tonal single notes from pipes
> for a tonal tool and having them create an atonal percussive
> instrument (like shakers).
>
> - Sending an audio out from every classroom computer/midi controller
> to a central mixer for computer based sounds improvisational
> exercises.
>
> Now exercises: this is where I need alot of help with:
>
> - I am thinking of hybrid versions of Steve Reich's • Music for 18
> Musicians
>
>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCZEckS5X94>
> And just to throw one more curve ball out when considering this
> course, I am no musical expert and have been getting by with
> production more than musicianship for my work.
>
> Ok, so there it is! I am looking for your input on listening exercises
> (musical and purely sound-art), instrument construction,
> improvisational warm-ups and even performance or recording projects.
>
> Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you all!!!!!
>
>
http://margaretnoble.net/>
>
>
>
