Projects
Outline Proposals
Object
The
object of these Pilot Projects is to develop – in collaboration
with a number of experienced composers and teachers of music in schools
and colleges – a repertoire of effective and enjoyable pieces of
live music or music/multimedia theatre, which
•
explore the use of electronic music and multimedia technology in live
performance - in combination with whatever vocal or other acoustic or
electronic instrumental resources are available within the class or
group;
•
are designed, in the first place, for development, preparation and live
performance by a whole class or similar group of Primary or Secondary
school or College students and their teacher(s), in collaboration with
the composer – during the course of, say, 12 half-day workshops
in a single school or college term;
and which, subsequently,
in their finished form,
•
will be suitable
for publication and distribution for rehearsal and performance by other
schools and classes - with published score, ‘parts’, samples
and any other sound or visual components, together with Teacher’s
Notes and a video recording of the performance for reference purposes.
In particular, they
should be designed to
•
explore contemporary electronic means for live music making, in real
time - sensors, samplers, sound processors, sound modules, keyboards,
sequencers and other sound processing technology;
•
combine these with whatever vocal, instrumental, acoustic or electronic
resources are available amongst the students in the class – eg.
voices, guitars, recorders, brass, woodwind and percussion, either as
soloists or in groups;
•
include a
substantial element of improvisation;
•
involve, in some cases, collaboration with specialist members of staff
in other disciplines and electronic arts (Dance/Performance, Video,
Graphics, Drama, English, Art, Technology and Design, for example),
or the collaboration and commissioning of writers, poets, or creative
artists in other fields;
•
also, perhaps, include work on switches and other items by pupils interested
electronic engineering, metalwork, engineering and/or design;
•
are suitable for performance in ‘integrated’ mainstream
schools and colleges admitting a proportion of students with special
educational needs.
Aims for Students
Our aims for students
participating in the Projects are
•
to give each one an enjoyable experience as a member of the group collaborating
in the creative development - and performance to an audience of a piece
of live music or music theatre;
•
to foster their musical, technical and social skills;
•
to develop their perceptions and understanding of the basic elements
of music - pitch, interval, harmony, timbre, pulse, and musical structure;
•
to develop their abilities to listen with concentration, and to analyse
critically and constructively what they hear;
•
to give them the experience of hands on exploration of contemporary
electronic music and multimedia technology;
•
to enable them to enjoy a substantial share in the creative responsibility
for the piece.
Commissions to Composers
Each Pilot Project
will be the subject of a commission to a composer to work with a class
or group of Primary or Secondary School or College students and their
teacher(s)
•
to devise/design/compose – possibly in collaboration with other
artists a piece for development, rehearsal and performance by a whole
class or other group of students, involving them in the exploration
of electronic music technology in live performance, as well as participation
as narrators, dancers, singers, or as whatever other instrumental and/or
vocal soloists or groups (acoustic or electronic) may be available within
the class or group.
•
to collaborate with teachers and students in the realisation, preparation,
rehearsal and performance of the piece including, perhaps, supervising
the development by the students of some of its components, eg sound
samples, words and drawings or other graphic or video contributions
for presentation as part of the performance.
•
to present
a written form (or performing score) of the final piece, so that it
can be published (by arrangement with the composer and a publisher),
and subsequently performed by other groups and schools. This may require
the devising of new forms of graphic notation by each of the composers
(and their collaborating students and teachers) in order to define the
contributions of the individual players/singers to the piece as finally
performed.
Scope, Location and Duration of Pilot Projects
• Age Range and Location. After the
Preliminary Pilot Project with Heather Wastie (“Seasons and Cycles”)
and Class 4S, Leighswood School, Walsall, Autumn, 2002), we propose
to realise a further 6 Pilot Projects, involving classes of students
from different age groups across the range from Year 5 (9-year olds)
to Year 11 (16-year olds and beyond) in primary and secondary schools
and colleges across England.*
•
If the current series proves successful, we shall hope to inaugurate
a second series of 6 Pilot Projects two each in Northern Ireland , Scotland
and Wales,.
• Time Scale. We shall aim to complete
the first group of Pilot Projects within a period of 15 months ie by
the end of the Autumn Term, 2003.
• Key Stages These Pilot Projects
are designed to offer teachers and students many of the requirements
of Key Stages in Music 1 (Primary, to age 7), Key Stage 2 (Primary,
to age 11), Key Stage 3, Secondary to age 14) as well as many of the
Key Stage goals in English, and other subjects which could be incorporated
in the Project.
Cost
There will be no
cost to the school or college hosting a Pilot Project.
School
Time
The amount of school
time allowed for the collaborative development, rehearsals and performance
of each Pilot Project will be as assessed and agreed by the school and
teachers concerned, in collaboration with the composer.
Costs have been
estimated on the basis of a preliminary half day introductory session
early in the term preceding the one selected for the development and
performance of the piece. This is for the composer to demonstrate some
of the new technology, explore the students interests and abilities
and discuss the form and content of the piece with them.
This would be followed
during the subsequent term by the actual period of development, rehearsal
and performance normally within the timescale of a single school or
college term, and either in the form of 12 or so weekly double school
periods or half days or, alternatively, for some groups, development,
rehearsals and performance might be concentrated into a shorter period.
Electronic Music Technology for Live Performance
There is a wide
range of possibilities, the choice of which will need to be discussed
between composer, teachers and students.
•
Sensors. A variety of ultrasonic and infra-red non-contact movement
sensors, as well as switches, joysticks and so on all requiring a minimum
of the kind of physical dexterities needed to play traditional musical
instruments - can be connected to sound modules, samplers, sequencers
or drum machines, and used to trigger and control a wide range of powerful,
expressive sounds in a number of independent musical parts - live, in
real time. (Hardware and Software)
•
Keyboards.
Synthesiser keyboards or MIDI keyboards can be used to control samplers
or sound modules. (Hardware)
•
Other MIDI Controllers. Electronic Wind Instruments, sequencers and
other MIDI Controllers can be connected to samplers, sound cards, soundmodules,
drum machines) (Hardware and/or Software)
•
Samplers can be used to store the recorded sounds to be articulated
in performance, and their subsequent electronic transformations (Software
or Hardware)
•
Sound Processors
filters, reverberation and echo devices, ring modulators and so on,
used to modify samples in various ways. (Software or Hardware)
•
Media – most of the music technology listed above is available
as software for the PC with, in some cases, related hardware
Other
Musical Contributions
The composer will
be asked to include soloists or groups of any of the following which
are available from among the students in the selected class
•
Voices solo or group,
sung or spoken
•
Instruments solo
or group, acoustic or electronic – reecorders, saxophones, woodwind,
brass, percussion (tuned and untuned), guitars and other plucked and
bowed strings,
Duration of the Piece
The recommended
duration of the commissioned piece will be 15 –20 minutes which
could include several improvised or partly improvised passages.
Educational Scope -
Other Creative Collaborators.
Members of staff specialising in other arts and disciplines (English,
Dance/movement, Creative Writing, Drama, Art, Performance, Sculpture,
Sport, Photography, Video, Technology and Design) might be invited to
collaborate in the Project.
By the same token,
a writer, poet and/or graphic artist might be commissioned to contribute
and collaborate in the piece. The educational scope of a Pilot Project
could, in this way, be extended in several directions.
For example,
•
The incorporation in view of the movement sensors used to articulate
sounds - of a Dance/Performance element (Dance, Drama)
•
The creation of samples and other sound processing operations, (IT,
Music Technology, Composition)
•
The design and construction of switches and other input performance
devices.(Design and Construction, Electronics)
•
Sung or spoken narration with solo and chorus voices on subjects ranging
from natural events to folk tales and ballads, historical , fictional
or descriptive pieces, with words contributed or selected by the students
themselves (English, English Literature, History, Creative Writing,
Drama)
The design and construction
of graphic, video or other material designed to be modified or transformed
in real time by movements detected by sensors, and projected or shown
as part of the piece (Dance/Performance, Video, Art and Design, Photography)
Organisation
and Support
Elektrodome (Registered
Charity (No. 107 1068, Company. No. 424 6584), was set up in 1993 by
Edward and Judith Williams to explore the expressive potential of electronic
music technology in live performance, and to share the resulting discoveries
with students of all ages and abilities. (see brochure)
The Trustees of
Elektrodome have agreed to support these Pilot Projects, and have authorised
applications by Elektrodome for funding, and for the holding and distribution
of funds, for this purpose.
Elektrodome will
be responsible for
•
Organisation, administration, co ordination for the Projects
•
The selection by Elektrodome’s joint artistic directors, in consultation
with the school or college concerned - of the composers to be commissioned;
.
•
securing the funding for
i.
commissions to the composers (and, if required, poet, librettist, graphic
artist and/or any other collaborating artist) for devising and composing
the pieces,
ii.
paying the composers, their technical collaborators(and other artists)
for their workshops in the classroom with the students
iii.
composers’ (and/or other artists’) expenses and travel,
iv.
Cost of preparing ‘parts’ or other material
v.
Cost of making a video record of the Pilot Project performances
vi.
The appointment - in consultation with the school of an independent
external researcher/observer working under the general direction of
Professor Phil Ellis, of the University of Sunderland (for the Northern
part of England), and Dr Nicholas Bannen, of the International Centre
for Research in Music Education, University of Reading (for the Southern
half of England) - to monitor and observe the Projects, and produce
an assessment and brief report for each on completion.
The Supply of Music Technology for the Elektrodome Pilot Projects
The Soundbeam Project
(E.A. and J.M. Williams trading as The Soundbeam Project) have undertaken
to supply on loan to the School or College and the Composer, for the
duration of the Project
i.
A complete Desktop Soundbeam kit with 4 ultrasonic Sensors and 8 switches
and all necessary leads.
ii.
A software synthesiser, sampler, sequencer or other sound processing
software required.
iii.
Technical support, where necessary.
The School or College will be expected, if possible, to supply
i.
PC (running Microsoft Windows 98 or later)
ii.
A suitable PC soundcard
iii
amplifier and speakers, or such other pa equipment as may be required
iii.
Keyboards, percussion and any other suitable equipment for use in the
Project at the discretion of the composer
Professor Phil Ellis, of The Department of Performing Arts (Music) at
the University of Sunderland (covering the Northern half of the country),
and
Dr Nicholas Bannan, of the International Centre for Research in Music
Education, University of Reading (covering the Southern half), have
agreed to help
with
i. the design of evaluation criteria,
ii.
the selection of observer/researchers for the Pilot Projects
iv.
overseeing the observer/researchers and overseeing, evaluating and
drafting final reports
Edward and Judy Williams,
Joint Artistic Directors, Elektrodome, February 2003.
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