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
per-formance 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 perfor-mance 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, Techno-logy 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/ordesign;
•
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 discove-ries
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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