gathering ideas for a class project next year: nature into music into nature

[Connie Weber]

I was listening to NPR this weekend and heard "Discovering Walruses" on that great show, Living On Earth.

Since I was running, I had a lot of time to think. What if...

Next year I'll be teaching my environmental-themed course of study, something like History and Ecology of Life. It's a big, broad, creative, scientific year-long unit in which we get to focus intensely--AND play around. We'll be doing a lot of Problem-Based Learning; I'm really looking forward to that. And, joy of joys, we'll be back to being a completely networked class.

So I got to thinking, what about some multi-media creations based on animal sounds? What if the students took environmental sounds as the base for their compositions, say, the beginning measures, then began weaving in layered music they compose that springs off of the environmental sounds? Gradually the piece would simplify again, back into the natural sound, all by itself. I ran this by my daughter (a music student at University of Michigan--and now a performer in Barrage) and she thinks it's entirely workable. She said it's been done a variety of ways and started naming symphonies that have nature-based themes, also a couple of popular songs like the Beatles' "Blackbird".

I'm not a music teacher, still, I'm very eager to get started with this. I could use some help! I'd like to start by gathering ideas and examples from you all. Also, technological advice. I was thinking of having the kids use Garage Band--is that a good idea?

So, these are the ideas that came to me while I was running, hearing the beat of the birds, the repetitive melodies, the calls and responses. The drumming single note of the bullfrog. That led into thinking of walruses and wolves, crickets, cicadas. Who was that guy that used wolf songs for his music? What about whales? Anyone making music that goes with whales?

I'm turning to my network, my PLC for some ideas. Music people, everyone... Any ideas, examples, or advice, please share!

(Isn't it great to let one year go and begin on the creative ideas for the next year?! It's one of my favorite phases of the year... like having a completely tilled garden, ready to plant.)

[Anna Billings]

Great idea, Connie.

"What critters or nature sounds do you think would lend themselves easily into human music production?"

Frogs, crickets, all kinds of birds, rain, thunder, wind rustling through trees, moving water (a brook, a stream, waterfall, waves against a beach).

[Connie Weber]

Thanks, Anna. All wonderful suggestions.
There's a contest out on Michigan Radio: Sonic Haiku. It's Michigan sounds, in small sound-bites. I was wondering about making a podcast of the birdsong at the farm. Right now there's a wren (about 3 inches tall) that overpowers all sound around! I was pointing it out to the campers--noted that they had NO NOTICE of it until I helped them to listen. Yet it's one of the loudest sounds filling the air. How could they NOT hear it? Oh well, opening up "new ears," like training "new eyes."
Fun.

[Connie Weber]

I'm suddenly seeing that it doesn't need to be nature sounds. That just reflects my usual bias, my general orientation.

How about urban sounds, human chatter? Think of the group "Stomp." Have you seen Stomp? (I'd link to some performances on Youtube, but here at home of slow-speed, it'd take too long. People on highspeed, which is almost everyone, can see it immediately with a simple search on the site--and isn't that fantastic?)

My copies of the video "The Music Instinct, Science and Song" have arrived. Now I get to settle into the bliss of watching the show all over again.

[Linda]

Random thoughts after reading through all of this:

The kids love Stomp type things. But that is mostly rhythms.

I once had a tape of classical music (not particularly well-done orchestral things) that had the sound of loons interjected at appropriate times. I loved the loons and sometimes they fit quite well.

I think that this will be a huge project. Good luck. Let me know if I can help you once we return to school.

[Jess]

"opening up new ears and eyes" reminds me of a nature writing assignment I had where we had to go out into nature (where there were no other people or major signs of human invasion) and just sit and listen for an hour. Any epiphanies or thoughts that came to us we could write down, and then later work it into an essay to turn in (I can send it to you if you'd like - I'm pretty sure I still have it). It was incredibly inspiring and mind opening to slow down and take notice and let thoughts go where they may. I could totally see that being used as a segway for music creation inspiration.

[Jess]

I have a CD somewhere of music just like what you're talking about (if it is what I think you're getting at). It starts out with sounds like the surf and the ocean and whale/dolphin noises, then the first beginning strings of music come in and build off it. It leads into a segway of all music with a few whale noises, then dies out at the end back to just thesurf/ocean/whale noises. I'll see if I can find it somewhere in one of these packed boxes...

[Connie Weber]

Thanks for all the replies on this question about how best to teach the students this topic, and thanks for all the links to splendid resources!
I have a question now about fitting it all into a framework. The framework is roughly stated in my current blog: "Framing a year's study"
If you have something you could share there, please do! How does the study of bird song (or a nature sound) and creation of personal music based on it fit into the overall constellation of the year's theme, study of change? I just know there are some overarching understandings to weave in. (With music, I'm so out of my element, which is a good thing for a teacher to be in some areas--then you get to simply demonstrate "being a learner.")
But I'm in-the-know enough to call upon my personal learning network to share in the distributed intelligence! ;-)

[Connie Weber]

Putting a connection here to the video put up by Ed Hitchcock, which I think I'll show in class today! "Birds on the Wire"
http://firesidelearning.ning.com/video/birds-on-the-wire
Thanks, Ed!