Musical Inspiration

As we head towards production in Term 3 we are starting to explore the different senses to find out how these can affect an audience and performers. Today we focused on auditory senses and classical music. Probably the least listened to kind of music for Year 4/5 students in the Kete. 

Students were split into Whanau classes. Two music workshops were set up with one library rotation also included. The two pieces were choosen as they both had a compelling story that could be shared afterwards and the music could evoke strong emotions and help kickstart their imaginations. 

The first workshop listened to 'In the Hall of the Mountain King' by Edvard Grieg.

The second focused on the music for an animation called 'The Piano'.

Students could sit at tables, on chairs or lie on the floor, where ever they felt comfortable. They then listened to and responded to the music by drawing what they imagined was happening. We discussed that they would need a beginning, middle and end with characters and a setting. They were then free to interpret the music by themselves. 

Using a simple comic strip template gave them the opportunity to add speech, thoughts or onamatopeia if that fit with their story. But the main focus was drawing, with music as inspiration. 

It was wonderful to see students relax, close their eyes and think about the story the music was telling them. They then drew and I kept the music playing for the next 15 minutes. 

I haven't seen this particular group being that focussed, especially on a rainy Friday afternoon. Only 3 out of 80 students struggled to think of ideas and we helped them by sharing our main idea  in one or two keywords, eg cry, lost, unhappy, die, funeral, rain, ballet, piano. They then "hitch hiked" someone else's idea to get started. 

In our busy teacher lives we sometimes forget the impact that music can have on our students and ourselves. We can also underestimate the perceptiveness of our students when it comes to responding to unfamiliar mediums. 

Seeing students being capable of interpreting music in a sophisticated way was awesome. Creative thought and artwork being triggered by something as simple as a song or piece of music and a space they felt comfortable to create in. 

I'm looking forward to exploring the other senses on our path to become performers.