Over the past two years the greatest innovation I have achieved in my teaching has been in the development of a rhythmic improvisation sequence and in integrating recording and remixing into the curriculum. I have long been interested in improvisation and have always seen it as the highest form of musical expression. I have been struck by the irony that we as humans improvise with language and visual symbolism, but when it comes to music we are scared to death. I know many a talented and technically gifted musician who wouldn’t know where to begin if asked to improvise a musical phrase. Without belittling their considerable achievements, they are essentially highly trained interpreters of anachronistic art. Improvising musicians have a fluidity of expression unheard of to most other musicians and play with music as if it were moldable clay. Contrary to popular belief, this skill can be taught to children, as long as the skills are taught in a particular, sequential order. Children are also wonderfully unaware of the feats they are capable of. They are eager to fail and fall flat are their faces. It is this willingness to make mistakes over and over that makes children such effective learners.
I have been exploring the practicality of recording students and remixing their singing with existing samples using apple garage band. So far it is the only tool I have found that records live performance and allows one to simply and intuitively mix it with an existing library of samples. I began by recording students and mixing it myself, essential letting the class choose samples as I remained in the drivers seat. Then I turned the wheel over to students, giving them computers and designing instruction that would teach them necessary skills for remixing with built in limitations to avoid overwhelming them with options. I have had great success thus far, and next year hope to continue my work in a new classroom and with simplified but still powerful technology (ipads).
Our study of remix culture and the re-purposing of technology was extremely stimulating to my pedagogical mind as I saw many connections between my work and the changes that are shaking the world of technology and media. In my work with recording I am attempting to introduce students to the culture explored by Kirby Ferguson and his brilliant series of documentary films Everything’s a Remix and the work of remix artists like Girl Talk. It has motivated me to ask some very fundamental questions about music education and music creation. Is remixing composition? What skill is required in it’s creation? Can these skills be taught? Should they be taught? What implications do these issues have for intellectual property and copyright? I don’t have the answers but I’m still searching for more questions.
In designing this lesson I wanted to combine the rhythm improvisation curriculum with the recording/remixing curriculum. I chose a familiar chant or rap students have performed many times. Prior to teaching this lesson students will have had many opportunities to create rhythm patterns with the same restrictions presented in the lesson plan. They will also have had experiences in remixing loops within garage band without the improvisation and recording element. This lesson is an organic combination of the two curriculums, specifically designed to hit the proverbial TPaCK sweet spot. I wanted to include a social element with instructions for posting the song to SoundCloud, a social music site. I wanted students to participate in a critical and collaborative music workspace. Students will be encouraged to listen to one anthers work and provide positive and critical feedback. As first graders they are emerging from the innocence of informal music education to the critical and abstract world of formal music education. I hope this lesson will aid them in the transition.
Hello are you Happy, Copyright Beth Bolton 2006
[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/6790350/HelloAreYaHappy.mp3]
My Mother You Mother
[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/6790350/mymotheryomother.mp3]
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/69850312]
Teacher Tom Spackman 