Late last spring, I introduced this Lullatone Raindrop Melody Maker into the classroom. Some of the children found it interesting and tinkered around on it, but I never got the chance to bring it back in.
Now I'm thinking about visiting it with this year's class, and perhaps this, the week before our spring break, is the right week to do some creative music making.
This site, Tone Matrix, is more controllable - you can make loops, but you can decide if you want the tones to be higher or lower, you can make chords or dissonance...it seems like it could be really interesting work for those children who are always at the piano with the headphones on, playing their three note compositions over and over again. I think we would also be able to record the compositions using Audacity, a free recording program that we have installed on the computer.
Nice resources Allie!! And the sounds are really beautifull!
ReplyDeleteyou may also want to try to make some creative music using children's voices and bodies...
Give plenty of time to guided exploration!!
do you have musical instruments in your class?
Thanks for your comment, Ana! We do have instruments in the classroom, and the children use them quite often. Your work is definitely inspiring me to use them more freely, and to document the children's creations.
ReplyDeleteWell audacity is a very good tool, considering that is free. It is also easy to use... And it is wonderfull when children listen to what the do... And if you can video recording a "performsnce" and then show them to children, is wonderfull!!!
ReplyDeleteYou may also ask them to "write" as they want the compositions they made. You can invite them by saying that their friends from other class are very curious about that and they should "notate" it to show it... Thy can use drawings, symbols, words.... Let their imagination flow : )
I have passed this to all my teachers - and a large amount of time has been spent playing this. It is more addictive than tetris or America's next top model. Thanks for sharing! I love the resources you always find...how do you do it?
ReplyDeleteIts so cool! I had it one day, and I have to share the recordings and photos when get back to Brussels.
ReplyDeleteAnd the resources come from being hopelessly addicted to the internet, and always looking for something to do besides my grad school work!