Confusion?

Vic, like many, you seem to be a victim of my lack of clarity. I take it that you don't understand the (albeit developing) concept of "emotional listening"...

Quoting myself:

Emotional listening would be along the lines of paying deep attention to the subjective experience of a performance or piece of music.


We all do this, to an extent. What I am trying to describe is this skill:

Listening openly, without judging or categorizing
Observing my response- emotions, physical sensations, memories
Continuing to observe my response, without analyzing or judging my response
Expressing that response through music, poetry, painting

(edit for clarity)

pr

The big and little pictures...

(deep breath!) There are four tributaries converging here:

• the music workshop. how many hours per day, what are the skills being taught, how are these being related to cognitive and emotional goals, what are the performance goals...
• the year-round music program which will perhaps involve types of listening (analytic, emotional) , types of performance (solo, duo, group), singing, music history, instrument building and repair, world music, and a webcasting radio station.
• the arts program which will be have a couple of levels of involvement, but will of course emphasize use of materials, the intimate relationship between audience and artist, history, and the contemplative dimension of drawing and painting.
• the over-arching development of contemplative practice at TAS, which students may enter through Zen, art, Shim Gum Do practice, community involvement, or all of these.

More from Vic

my main question is about what the focus is and how much time there is to
work with.  if it's an hour a day sort of thing then that helps me to better
design what they'll be building and figure on how much of the work i'll need
to do ahead of time for them- making kits for them to assemble- that sort of
thing.

if it's a longer building session more can be done (and designed) by them
and the instrument making thing can take on more dimension- talking about
what makes it work- the effect of materials- amplifying- all that.  if we're
having shorter building sessions sharper focusing can be done.

the raw logistical things help me to form my ideas- how much time/ space/
how many people. if the focus of the week is best on music making and higher
functions there is is likely best to make the instrument making super simple
...that can be done.

if necessary, i think we could have instruments built and ready to use after
a minimum of 2 or 3 hours of assembly.
how long do they build/ explore and adjust/ compose on/ teach the
instruments?
who's in the room?  how many students/ teachers?

vr

More from Vic

my main question is about what the focus is and how much time there is to
work with.  if it's an hour a day sort of thing then that helps me to better
design what they'll be building and figure on how much of the work i'll need
to do ahead of time for them- making kits for them to assemble- that sort of
thing.

if it's a longer building session more can be done (and designed) by them
and the instrument making thing can take on more dimension- talking about
what makes it work- the effect of materials- amplifying- all that.  if we're
having shorter building sessions sharper focusing can be done.

the raw logistical things help me to form my ideas- how much time/ space/
how many people. if the focus of the week is best on music making and higher
functions there is is likely best to make the instrument making super simple
...that can be done.

if necessary, i think we could have instruments built and ready to use after
a minimum of 2 or 3 hours of assembly.
how long do they build/ explore and adjust/ compose on/ teach the
instruments?
who's in the room?  how many students/ teachers?

Some Perspective Taking

 I'm mostly concerned with the focus and scope and the
project- if we're going to build i think it will need to have more time in
the workshop.  in your comment it looked as if you were suggesting that in
one hour on monday 5-10 students would complete instruments- absolutely not
possible even in the best imaginable shop.

i am also suspect of setting out too firm of a schedule- i'd like to have a
solid idea of how to start, a good idea of where we want to lead and a
flexible approach to how things will progress in time.

i think it's important not to rush anything for the students- i would like
there to be too much time (easy to fill by exploring) rather than not
enough.

lots to discuss- i'd prefer to talk in real time.

vr

Comments: Reposted...

There is a third way of listening, I think.

* Background/passive/party listening
* musical/structural listening
* EMOTIONAL listening

Emotional listening would be along the lines of paying deep attention to the subjective experience of a performance or piece of music. Basically:

"What is your internal/subjective correlate to the piece of music?"

Not simply "how does it make you feel", but the immediate experience of FEELING that the music evokes and how it changes. Simple words are not adequate. Action, response, responding with poetry, music, drawing, movement. Communicating WITH the performer or composer. Not simply "consuming" and not complex-ly "analyzing".

2ish ways of listening...and more

hey all-
lots to respond to.

i see 2 ways of listening-
*party- to listen and just simply enjoy (passive/ textural experience) basic consuming
*active/ musicianly- to be hearing structure and patterns as a dominant part of the experience

a great overall goal of the music program is to bring people (serious music students and lay people alike) closer to the latter category.

lesson ideas- ---have students participate with the sound they are used to passively consuming

***students bring a song [or just start right in with any ramones song (my fave of the moment- sheena is a punk rocker)]- it gets used/ analyzed for structure. pick it apart as if it were a lesson for actually learning how to play it. include discussion (specific examples in the song) of structure/ form (building/ releasing tension, repetition, chord structures, verse/ chorus)

***find the basic rhythmic pulse, ask student to maintain this (extremely simple) rhythm (simply tapping the table/ book) through the song (tapping along with recording) beginning to end- very important to go all the way through the song- we're working on shifting the essential way the student relates to time and to get them to actively participate/ break the barrier.

***find a simple bass line (one that represents the chord structure) and teacher plays this through the song. if possible, go for having students do the same (or just come in on the chorus) on 1- or 2-string guitar/ bass. coming in on cue will be a good test of being there with the music and will emphasize the function of the chorus.


getting students to record is a great thing- gotta make the technology super simple. immediate. people say "garage band" is easy for this, but as of now i have no experience to offer (but i bet this would be good). starting with cassettes would work and be low-pressure.


webcasting radio stations- could be great. would involve good material on learning the computer/ microphone. could be a great hook to draw in students.

• paired playing and composing at the piano-------great stuff. does wonders. i like the idea of having one pair teach another pair to do their thing. there's something about working in a group (pair) that makes more structure happen (would likely make the compositions easier to learn).
  

• beginning guitar instruction----also great. bass too. and dare i say it- drums...
  

• group singing, led by a current student----yes-do it if there's interest. have sporadic visits from a voice teacher.
  

• the instrument workshop------i am interested in getting ideas from all people. tell me more about the audience idea.
  

• Vic's other visits for guitar, banjo, mandolin, etc-----i'm hoping for 3 or 4 visits/ year. happy to fill in where my knowledge helps most. want to make the sound-oriented event be more approachable- would like suggestions/feedback on that.
  

• outside instrument instructors (for an extra fee)---getting more happening is good. yes. follow the interest.
  

blogging!
vic

The Whole Music Program

So, we've got a problem. I have had some success with having two kids work as a team on the piano, playing different parts of one of their own compositions. Actually, quite a bit of success. On the other hand, I am really limited in what singing I can do (only for now, hopefully), and my guitar playing is not sophisticated. I am beginning to play guitar again.
How do we approach a year round program? I think one thing might be bringing in a guitar teacher. He or she would have to be good with technique and more interested in sound than just songs. But I do know a guy who is a good "song" teacher- you know him- who the kids would find satisfying. But he isn't so sonic oriented. But he knows recording pretty well...so maybe it is a good idea?

The other thing is this idea of webcasting a radio station. Perhaps I could get a listening workshop going in the spring that would be something like having students make CDs or playlists of musics in different genres... pre-romantic classical, be-bop, sixties rock, etc. That plus the recording skills might attract some students.

Additionally, our audience for the instrument workshop could be a non-musician feedback group. I have some text I will post on this idea of the "creative audience".

Here are some elements to consider for the music program:

• paired playing and composing at the piano
• beginning guitar instruction
• group singing, led by a current student
• the instrument workshop
• Vic's other visits for guitar, banjo, mandolin, etc
• composing-teaching the compostion-performing
• outside instrument instructors (for an extra fee)
  

I left my notes at home

But...some quick thoughts:

first, we must rethink the entire art program. Goals?

• That our students shift from seeing the arts as a consumer/producer relationship to
  it being communal, expressive, spontaneous
• That they understand the role of form and the use of materials but never lose their sense of play.

As for music, I see us as developing several lines of study:

instrument maker-->who composes a tune-->teaches it -->hears it back
deep listener of many musics--> can we start an online radio station?
piano player primitive who understands tone and mood, and the several dimensions
of music e.g. rhythm, register, harmony, melody

Pete

thoughts on the instruments

hey all-

i'm looking forward to the instrument building week. as of now, it's likely to be a lot of strings.

as it is i've been thinking mostly of monocords and harps. dulcimers or lap steels could be great too. tools will be drills and saws and files and it'll all be super straight-forward. simple construction and a focus on the essential function of the instruments. also- i'll bring some pickups for students to try out- magnetic and transducers.

the instruments will be assembled on boards in a very simple and elemental way- want to be able to focus on the idea of music/ instruments rather than the craft end, though that will obviously be in there too.

i'm hoping that the experience/ process of conceiving and making music and then creating instruments to do that with will be the real lesson- i'm basing lots of this on the idea of court composers having musicians and instrument makers on staff. chicken and egg- instruments/ music. i predict students will modify their designs many times.

we'll need lots of zither pins (like on an auto harp/ piano) will be needed...and a tuning wrench. i have a source for these.

i'll bring my books and some sketches of my own and the specialized tools and materials we'll need.

we'll need to use a decent power drill- is there one available?

it's good for me to have an idea at this point of the scale of the project- any estimate of the number of students interested in the project would be great (for the purposes of ordering materials) as well as how much time is available.

looking forward!

vic