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
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The instrument making week does seem to be taking shape. What size per group, and how long per group? Perhaps an hour each day, and longer during the "workshop" day? Should each kid be involved to an extant, and then see who wants to be in for the whole week?
ReplyDeleteHow about this: every student is part of the rudimentary instrument making. We will ask for several (5-10) students (group A) to start on Monday with us, have basic instruments made by Tuesday.
Tuesday the rest of the students (group B) will be making instruments, with group A assisting.
Wednesday, Group B might continue to refine their instruments, and begin composing. We could teach them some dimensions of music (rhythm, melody, intervals, register, silence).
Each composition session should begin with an extended, reflective, preparing silence.
Thursday they could teach the composition to a fellow student.
Friday, each pair performs the piece together.
Perhaps we could set the tone with medieval zither music, chinese and japanese qin, some english and appalachin dulcimer.
We can comment here, and then put the next iteration of the project in a new post.