|
the most interesting project i did as a student was making a piano suite based on faulkner's novel "sanctuary."
when you're teaching, your perspective changes about what works and what doesn't...the most successful projects i've put into motion were and were not group undertakings---the project was pretty straightforward sounding: the students had to acquire cheap audio recording equipment and collect examples of "found" or "environmental" sound over the semester. i wouldn't tell them what i meant by "environment" as i wanted them to think about the category as they moved into the process. about 2 weeks before the end of the semester, i would point them at a range of free audio software packages that they could download---they had to use the sound materials that they had collected as the basis for an audio piece. which meant they had to learn enough about the software packages to be able to make something happen---so they ended up improvising with the platforms. the group aspect kicked in as a function of learning to use the platforms--some folk had used them before (but the constraint was that those students who had used audio platforms before had to download one that they had not used) and so knew how to make at least some things happen--so were able to help out others who did not find the basics to be intuitive.
they had to keep a process journal across the whole of the project and do a little presentation during the reading period that set up something of what they were doing or using and then they'd play the track they had made.
the results would astonish me every time.
so i figure it must have been a great class.
__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear
it make you sick.
-kamau brathwaite
|